A City inside Paris

The Curial estate is the largest public housing in Paris. With its 17 towers and 5,000 inhabitants, this neighborhood is a city within the city. It was built in the late 1960s, in the 19th district northeast of Paris, on the edge of town. First inhabited by the middle class, neighborhood was gradually impoverished during the 1980s. The white middle classes left the area, replaced by lower classes, mainly from immigration. During the 2000s, the neighborhood is mostly known for its news item. People tortured by an ultaviolent gang in 2008, a minor stab in 2009, halls squats by dealers. Quickly, the neighborhood is portrayed by the media as the devil's den. Public authorities decide to rehabilitate and revitalize the neighborhood: 142 million euros will be devoted to reintegrate the neighborhood in the capital. I decided to meet the inhabitants of this district, and I discovered a very different vision from the one shown by the media.