Economy
The Othered Paris
They’ve been called “no-go zones”—regions where no rules apply. To residents, they’re neighborhoods that are stigmatized and neglected. Why haven’t targeted policies to fix them had the intended effect?
AULNAY-SOUS-BOIS—I cross the street at Boulevard Marc Chagall—not far from where the Grand Paris Express metro stop is set to open—and cut through a small garden. Chants of “No justice, no peace!” are wafting below the din of the traffic.
In a knot of modernist public housing complexes—cités, as they’re called—is a crawling crowd of a few hundred people: flocks of young kids, moms and dads with strollers, grandmas in headscarves, academics, activists, and a couple of journalists. Young men secure the borders of the demonstration, and from time to time, hand out bottles of cold water. They wear neon construction vests over black T-shirts that make a simple request in bold, white font: “Verité pour Yacine.”