Montfermeil (France) (AFP)
"Revenge! For him and all the inhabitants of 93": in the alleys of the Clichy-Montfermeil market where "Les Misérables" by Ladj Ly was filmed, the inhabitants say their "pride" to see this film in the form of " emergency report "selected at the Oscars.
"Now the Americans will be able to contact us!" Laughs Clement between the stalls loaded with clementines and cheap clothes. This 35-year-old Clichois made a brief appearance as appearing at the start of the feature film.
"It's nice that he goes to the Oscars. Ladj has been doing this for a long time, he was shooting with his little phone," he adds. "It's a revenge! For him and all the inhabitants of 93," said Rahma, 44, also.
Many on the market have heard of the film and know the story of its 40-year-old director, who grew up and lived in Montfermeil. The film, praised by critics and already awarded at Cannes, reached a new stage on Monday: it was selected to represent France at the Oscars.
Shot in six weeks in Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil, it tells the story of a police blunder in a sensitive city of Seine-Saint-Denis, through the fate of a policeman who arrives at the anti-crime brigade .
"I loved it, I was very touched," says Cyril, 29, a specialist educator in the neighborhood. "I recognized the suburb as I know it," he says. Marked by the "brutality" that emerges, he retains the "emergency report" drawn up by the film.
- "Rage in the belly" -
"Violence is not all that here. But of course some young people in the suburbs live with rabies in their stomachs," says the educator.
He knows that President Macron "promised to do things for the suburbs" after watching the film. "I would like, I hope, but I don't really believe in it".
In this very landlocked district where the riots of 2005 started, the tram has just arrived. Several building towers fell with urban renewal. Today, it is a Grand Paris metro station which will soon emerge from the ground. On the palisades of the building site someone tagged: "fuck the keufs".
"Transport, urban renewal is good but it is not enough", continues Clément, referring to "employment", "purchasing power".
Mehdi, 17, comes to buy a Turkish pizza at a market stand. He too found himself in the film. "There are people who do preparatory classes, there is everything here". But the violence described is "also a reality". "It's good that it is shown," said the teenager. "It's hard to explain to outsiders how we live here."
Djamila, 47, discovered a reality that she did not suspect. She lives in the suburban area of the city, "it shocked me to see these young people there, the state of the cities, but we say that despite everything, we can get away with Clichy-sous-Bois".
Véronique, 50, Clichoise for years, found the film too "negative". It "only shows one aspect of things," she regrets. "I wish there was a positive image".
"It is a real source of pride for us", say Fatima and Camélia, 18, trainees in a school support association based in the city. They also remember Ladj Ly's journey: "this is an example for young people, it shows that starting from nothing, we can have everything."
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