In France, since the establishment of the
Third Republic at the beginning of the 1870s, communities beyond the city centre essentially stopped spreading their own boundaries, as a result of the extension of the larger Paris urban agglomeration. The city – which in France corresponds to the concept of the "urban unit" – does not necessarily have a correspondence with a single administrative location, and instead includes other communities that link themselves to the city centre and form the banlieues. Since the annexation of the banlieues of major French cities during the
Second Empire period (
Lyon in 1852,
Lille in 1858, Paris in 1860,
Bordeaux in 1865), French cities have extended their boundaries very little despite the growth of the cities. Almost all large and mid-sized cities in France with a banlieue have developed a
couronne périurbaine (in English: peri-urban ring). Communities in the countryside beyond the near-urban ring are regarded as being outside the city's strongest social and economic sphere of influence, and are termed
communes périurbaines. In either case, they are divided into numerous autonomous administrative entities. Banlieues 89, a design-led urban policy backed by the French government, renovated over 140 low-cost estates, such as Les Minguettes and the Mas du Taureau block in Vaulx-en-Velin. Improvements were made in road and rail access, cafes and shops were built, and the towers and blocks were made to look more attractive. In Vaulx-en-Velin, for instance, shops and a library were built, houses were built to make the landscape more interesting, 2,500 homes were renovated, and the blocks were repainted.
Geography of the banlieues The word
banlieue is, in formal use, a socially neutral term, designating the urbanized zone located around the city centre, comprising both sparsely and heavily populated areas. Therefore, in the Parisian metropolitan area, for example, the wealthy suburb of
Neuilly-sur-Seine may be referred to as a
banlieue as might the poor suburb of
La Courneuve. To distinguish them, Parisians refer to a
banlieue aisée (in English: comfortable suburb) for
Neuilly, and to a
banlieue défavorisée (in English: disadvantaged suburb) for
Clichy-sous-Bois.
Paris The Paris region can be divided into several zones. In the northwest and the northeast, many areas are vestiges of former working-class and industrial zones, in the case of
Seine-Saint-Denis and
Val-d'Oise. In the west, the population is generally upper class, and the centre of business and finance,
La Défense, is also located there.
Versailles,
Le Vésinet,
Sceaux,
Maisons-Laffitte and
Neuilly-sur-Seine are affluent suburbs of Paris, while
Clichy-sous-Bois,
Bondy and
Corbeil-Essonnes are less so. The southeast
banlieues are less homogenous. Close to Paris, there are many communities that are considered "sensitive" or unsafe (
Bagneux,
Malakoff,
Massy,
Cachan,
Les Ulis), divided by residential zones with a better reputation (
Verrières-le-Buisson,
Bourg-la-Reine,
Antony,
Fontenay-aux-Roses,
Sceaux). The farther away from the Paris city centre, the more the
banlieues of the south of Paris can be divided into two zones. On one side, there are the banks of the
Seine, where working-class residents used to live (there are still pockets of disadvantaged areas) but also other areas that are especially well off. Also are large cities close to Paris, such as
Chanteloup-les-Vignes,
Sartrouville,
Les Mureaux,
Mantes-la-Jolie,
Poissy,
Achères,
Limay,
Trappes,
Aubergenville,
Évry-Courcouronnes,
Grigny,
Corbeil-Essonnes,
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge,
Brétigny-sur-Orge,
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois and
Fleury-Mérogis. On the other hand, small communities that are affluent can be found in the
Yvelines department with
Villennes-sur-Seine,
Chatou,
Croissy-sur-Seine,
Le Pecq,
Maisons-Laffitte but also in the
Essonne and
Seine-et-Marne departments:
Etiolles,
Draveil,
Soisy-sur-Seine,
Saint-Pierre-du-Perray or
Seine-Port.
Paris: Banlieues rouges The
banlieues rouges ("red banlieues") are the outskirt districts of Paris where, traditionally, the
French Communist Party held mayorships and other elected positions. Examples of these include
Ivry-sur-Seine and
Malakoff. Such communities often named streets after Soviet personalities, such as
Avenue Vladimir-Ilitch-Lénine in
Nanterre, or
rue Youri Gagarine in
Colombes.
Lyon and Marseille The
banlieues of large cities like
Lyon and
Marseille, like those of Paris, have also tended to suffer from a negative reputation. Ever since the French
Commune government of 1871, they were and still are often ostracised and considered by other residents as places that are "lawless" or "outside the Republic", as opposed to
"deep France", or "authentic France" associated with the provinces. However, it is in the
banlieues that the young working households are found that raise children and pay taxes but lack in public services, in transportation, education, sports, as well as employment opportunities. ==Crime and protests==