The Banlieue Project team discovers the Belle de Mai neighbourhood in the southern French city of Marseille. Known as a hub of resistance during the 1871 uprising, Belle de Mai now hosts the artistic wing of the cultural centre la Friche, which has put on a play honouring the history of the working-class, immigrant neighbourhood. The Banlieue Proje…

The Banlieue Project team heads to the southern French city of Montpellier and to the central Comédie square in the la Paillade neighbourhood, where residents have started organising modern-day citizen agoras. The events are a rare occasion for those who don't often have the chance to express themselves to do so. They also help restart dialogue bet…

From humour to cooking and culture, or even investigative reports, QG 92 is an all-encompassing online TV channel created by and for residents of Paris's Hauts de Seine suburbs. The Banlieue Project team met with Ihsane Jamaleddine, who's produced a poignant web series for the channel exploring the experiences of young girls in the housing projects…

Around 51 percent of French women regularly practice a sport nationwide, compared to just one in three women in disadvantaged suburbs. To turn the tide, Alessandra Machado offers non-competitive classes exclusively to women in different neighbourhoods of the northern French city of Lille. The Banlieue Project team went to meet her.…

Though 85 percent of French people do not go to the theatre, the Poudrerie Theatre in the Paris suburb of Sevran wants to recreate a link between the suburbs and the stage. The travelling troupe performs tailor-made shows, based on the experiences of local residents, inside people's homes.Door FRANCE 24 English

In 2016, then 25-year-old Kenny Tanovan took over the Neuhof futsal club in the eastern French city of Strasbourg. In less than a year, the team went on to win the regional championships in Alsace. Ever since, the club has been the pride and joy of Neuhof, where men, women and children are either a part of the team or die-hard supporters. The Banli…

After several months of training, 16 teenagers from different neighbourhoods of the eastern French city of Metz are determined to test their limits and build confidence. To that end, they took up arms in a war of words: a public speaking competition. The Banlieue Project team went to meet them.Door FRANCE 24 English

Award-winning filmmaker Nicolas Sene drew inspiration from Nanterre's Pablo Picasso housing project and its iconic "cloud towers" for his short films. As an activity leader involved in his local community, he also wanted to create links between Picasso the artist and the youth from the neighbourhood. The Banlieue Project team went to meet him.…

With his second short film, "In spite of themselves", Djigui Diarra used his own experiences to illustrate the complex relationship between police and youth in the French suburbs. The Banlieue Project team went to meet him.Door FRANCE 24 English

This week, Banlieue Project heads to the Paris suburb of Evry, where the Parc aux Lièvres housing project is set to be demolished. Using decades worth of archives plus virtual reality, a multi-generational coalition of its inhabitants pay tribute to the neighbourhood. Our team went to meet them.Door FRANCE 24 English

In the Paris suburb of Ivry-sur-Seine, ten youngsters who regularly practice a sport were chosen to join the "awakened athletes" programme. After five weeks of coaching and a course on banking, the professional training programme offered them the possibility to obtain a work contract with a major French bank. The Banlieue Project team went to meet …

For the first time, Banlieue Project heads to the eastern French city of Strasbourg. We meet four female rappers with complicated pasts and razor-sharp lyrics: Bow, Gloria, Amina and Na2s. They connected over the Art & Miss project which mixes theatre and hip-hop, while reshaping the traditionally male rap scene in their image.…

Teenagers from the Boissière neighbourhood of Rosny-sous-Bois outside Paris wanted to show their appreciation for local mothers by organising a day of spa treatment and pampering. Full of motivation after the successful event, they also launched the neighbourhood's first youth association. We went to meet them.…

Known as "The Unstable One", photographer Jean-Michel Landon wanted to give an unfiltered glimpse of life in the Échat housing project in the French suburb of Créteil. His black and white photos document both the idleness and hope of its youth. But he's more than just a passive photographer. This former social worker also serves as a mentor to his …

It's not easy to start your own business, especially when you're from the projects. This week we meet Moussa, who created an association aimed at helping youth from the French suburbs create their own companies. Among them are Emmanuel and Seiba, two successful new business owners. They tell us their stories.…

From mediocre student to world speed reading champion: this week we meet Professor Mohamed Koussa in his hometown of La Courneuve, in the Seine-Saint-Denis suburbs of Paris.Door FRANCE 24 English

They've traded hard time in jail for hard work on a farm. This week, Banlieue Project meets Rayhan, one of several convicts who now works with sheep, cows and donkeys to avoid making the mistakes of his younger years. We meet up with him at an educational farm, located 15 kilometres north of Paris.Door FRANCE 24 English

Ryad is from a small working-class neighbourhood near the French city of Lille. Stuck in a meaningless job, he wanted to inject a sense of purpose into his daily life. For that, he looked to nature, trading the office for a life dictated by the seasons instead of deadlines. And he didn't keep his new-found passion to himself. Ryad also shares his n…

Yaya was one of the few students from his high school to take the general baccalaureate course instead of the vocational one. We spend the day with him and one of the filmmakers of "Comme un Loup" – or "Like a Wolf" – which delves into the lives of high school students from Cité Curial, a housing project in northern Paris.…

In this edition, Banlieue Project visits Ile-Saint-Denis and northern Paris for a glimpse of the world of wax, bazin and bogolan – West African fabrics. We meet Maimouna Traoré, who combines the colourful textiles with her design experience to give school dropouts in France a second chance.Door FRANCE 24 English

This week, Banlieue Project heads to the northern French city of Roubaix, where we meet local barbers, boxers and entrepreneurs who are part of a youth solidarity movement. All of them come from different backgrounds but share one common vision: less talk and more action geared towards giving back to their community. We speak to the movement's foun…

A designer by training, Hind Ayadi was never predestined for a career in journalism. But in 2015, she had an epiphany: troubled by the status quo, she wanted to provide young inhabitants in the Paris suburb of Garges-lès-Gonesse with a brighter path forward and transform the public's perception of the neighbourhood. Hind ended up creating a platfor…

This week, Banlieue Project goes to the Lyon suburb of Vénissieux. Two of its residents, Driss and Nizar, spoke to petty dealers about what made them turn to selling drugs. Driss and Nizar also spoke to us about some of the structural factors that influence the problem of drug trafficking and some possible solutions.…

Reserve captain Nourouddine Abdoulhoussen offers a weekend military commando course for youngsters from Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, in the Paris suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis. He and his association "Let Them Serve" aim to transmit values like discipline, camaraderie and patriotism to youth from the underprivileged suburbs. The Banlieue Project team went…