The French 'banlieues' (suburbs) are always presented in national and international media as a problem. Indeed, they are said to concentrate social and economic disadvantages, are ghettos for migrants and people from minority backgrounds, their inhabitants tend to participate less in institutional politics, riots happen every 5 years, etc. It is nevertheless striking that so little is done - research-wise - to try to grasp the perspective of the people who live there, and especially of the youth.