La Goutte d'Or
Located in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, La Goutte d’Or is home to a large population of immigrants living inside metropolitan Paris. The area is classified by the French government as Zone Urbaine Sensible, due to the high crime rates and social deprivation.
From the 1920s onwards, La Goutte d'Or witnessed a substantial influx of Algerian immigrants – back then still a French territory – looking for better living conditions in the capital. The influx remained stable until the 1950s, when another massive emigration wave came, this time from West and Central Africa. Attracted by better opportunities in France, nationals from Ivory Coast, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Mauritania, and other Sub-Saharan countries found a place to settle and maintain their cultures in La Goutte d'Or.
La Goutte d’Or experiences a variety of social issues in Paris. Drug trafficking, prostitution, and regular violence are still part of daily life in the quartier. Paris City Hall wants to break the image of the ghetto in La Goutte d'Or and make it a popular area in Paris, but for local authorities, normality requires the integration of the current community into the Parisian way of living.
It’s very interesting – and sad at the same time – to see how the urban planning of the city and its economics are used to engulf this particular community, often depicted as “undesirables” by many. The community is formed mainly by citizens from African countries such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, Congo and Niger.
Since La Goutte d’Or has been under an intense process of gentrification – aimed to push these communities out – culture, religion and social practices are some of the indicators that translate this feeling of “us vs. them” that ultimately contribute to an increase in issues such as drug abuse, violence, and religious intolerance.
Despite a strong level of prejudice towards its communities, La Goutte d’Or is the “little Africa” of Paris, where you can drink a beverage from Dakar, buy street food from Tunis, and sapé yourself as if you were in Brazzaville. Parisians are very lucky to have such diversity within their intramuros, as the French like to say.
João Bolan is a Brazilian photographer based in Paris. Bolan has worked as a freelancer since 2013. His latest works are centered on social issues in large urban centers and on the aftermath of armed conflicts.
Bolan graduated from the Magnum Photos masterclass in Creative Documentary & Photojournalism. He has worked for brands, newspapers, and personal projects in Brazil, France, Kenya and Eastern Ukraine. Bolan has since developed an authorial body of work, with an emphasis on photo reportage and documentary.