ABSTRACT

This chapter explores the topic of ‘banlieue youth,’ which has been at the centre of political debates since the 2005 riots and which is still at the core of public controversies since the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks. It has generated effective and consensual categorisations of ‘banlieue youth’ and their commitment to delinquent activities and anti-social behaviours. Those categorisations associated with these teenagers – mainly separating the ‘good’ who are going to school and the ‘bad’ who are hanging around on street corners – does not only suffer from biased empirical material but also fails to explain the social, symbolic and economic significance of juvenile delinquent practices as well as current inputs toward school.