Poverty in France has been my subject for over 20 years and since 2011/2012 I have noticed the proliferation of small and larger makeshift camps situated around the busiest stretch of road in Europe: the Paris ring road. Le peripherique de Paris is a highway with 38 exits that forms a 35 kilometre circle around the capital.
I began a study of this subject in late 2014. I had to travel kilometres along the edges of the ring road with all the noise, pollution, danger from cars, take long walks along the ramps, through the underpasses and check in the smallest corners. I persevered until I was able to meet the inhabitants of several camps. Some accepted my presence there but it took a long time to explain my motives and for them to accept the camera. Those I interviewed were most concerned about being dislodged from their hiding places and losing the ‘peace’ they said they had found. Revealing their location and bearing witness to their daily lives was a real risk for them. Often at odds with the system or having been in social care for many years, they believe they have more to lose than to gain by engaging with third parties. I made a kind of world tour on ‘Le periph’, meeting all many different nationalities. Not all accepted the premise of my study; these groups, very distrustful and living precariously, survive doing odd jobs and begging. Living on the margins of society they know how to get the best out of any system. It’s a lawless zone, abandoned by all. After having photographed the innards of misery in Paris for 20 years, I carried on with my work: to write this chapter for those who remain at the gateway to one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, in this area seen only fleetingly by motorists, and largely ignored by the public authorities; the forgotten of Paris.
I began a study of this subject in late 2014. I had to travel kilometres along the edges of the ring road with all the noise, pollution, danger from cars, take long walks along the ramps, through the underpasses and check in the smallest corners. I persevered until I was able to meet the inhabitants of several camps. Some accepted my presence there but it took a long time to explain my motives and for them to accept the camera. Those I interviewed were most concerned about being dislodged from their hiding places and losing the ‘peace’ they said they had found. Revealing their location and bearing witness to their daily lives was a real risk for them. Often at odds with the system or having been in social care for many years, they believe they have more to lose than to gain by engaging with third parties. I made a kind of world tour on ‘Le periph’, meeting all many different nationalities. Not all accepted the premise of my study; these groups, very distrustful and living precariously, survive doing odd jobs and begging. Living on the margins of society they know how to get the best out of any system. It’s a lawless zone, abandoned by all. After having photographed the innards of misery in Paris for 20 years, I carried on with my work: to write this chapter for those who remain at the gateway to one of the most beautiful capitals in the world, in this area seen only fleetingly by motorists, and largely ignored by the public authorities; the forgotten of Paris.
