Social situation in the French suburbs

The word banlieue, which is French for ""suburb,"" does not necessarily refer to an environment of social disenfranchisement. Indeed there exist many wealthy suburbs, such as Neuilly-sur-Seine (the wealthiest commune of France) and Versailles outside Paris. Nevertheless, the term banlieues has often been used to describe troubled suburban communities—those with high unemployment, high crime rates, and frequently, a high proportion of residents of foreign origin mainly from former French African colonies and therefore Berbers, Blacks and Arabs.