The Village

September 2008. In Saint-Ouen, opposite the Docks, a village of a new genre is inaugurated. It is a unique project in Europe and in the world, a village to get the Roma populations out of the slums of Seine-Saint-Denis and ultimately offer them decent accommodation and living conditions while waiting for papers.

The selection of families is made on the basis of the schooling of children, on the desire to learn the French language and to find work. Led by the ALJ 93, the town hall and various other associations such as ATD Quart Monde, the creation of this village is an integral part of a larger project bringing together similar initiatives in Aubervilliers, Saint-Denis, Bagnolet, or again Montreuil.

Most of the people who live there come from Romania, communication has sometimes been difficult, but that did not prevent me, for several months, to forge links with people, to observe, listen ... for testifying without any judgment, to show life in the village as it is.