Paris ‘Little Africa’ fights back against racist stereotypes
Paris, Wednesday
Branded a “no-go zone” by Fox News in the wake of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks, the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood of northern Paris has long been shunned by outsiders as a den of crime, prostitution and drugs.
Locals say the image is one-sided and unfair, and entrepreneurs and artists have taken it upon themselves to promote the area’s bustling Afrocentric vibe with shoppers and tourists alike.
“I want people to discover the treasures of this place, beyond the fact that the roads are dirty and the buildings run down,” said Jacqueline Ngo Mpii, founder of the company “Little Africa” offering guided tours of the Goutte d’Or since 2015.
“It is a neighbourhood of prostitution and drug sales, but it is also a neighbourhood where renowned creators work, where African popular culture is based, and a neighbourhood adored by its inhabitants!” says the Cameroon-born Frenchwoman.
“Flavour of Paris”
The Goutte d’Or is a stone’s throw from the emblematic artists’ quarter of Montmartre and its Sacre Coeur basilica but in some ways it is a world apart.
A dramatic change from the tourist trinkets and postcard stands that line the streets of Montmartre, the working-class neighbourhood boasts over 300 shops and restaurants dedicated to African fashion and gastronomy.
The alluring whiffs of Senegalese, Malian, Beninese and Togolese cuisine waft through its streets, which dazzle with window after window of brightly-coloured African traditional fabrics.
Once outside the walls of inner Paris, the Goutte d’Or was incorporated into the city in the 1860s and populated in large part by successive waves of immigrants, mainly from French-speaking Africa, who continue being regarded as outsiders, said Ngo Mpii.
“You can see that with time, it stayed that way in the mentality of the Parisians a bit.”
During France’s strict lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the area was often shown on television as a place where people flouted the rules, which critics say contributed to its vilification at a time that France is asking itself tough questions about race.
The country has seen numerous protests over alleged police violence following the deaths of two men in police custody in circumstances reminiscent of the killing of African-American George Floyd in the United States.
A large, colourful graffiti work in the Goutte d’Or neighbourhood reads “Police everywhere, justice nowhere” - a popular slogan at the recent anti-racism rallies, and a sign that tensions remain high.
Patrick Banks, an African-American entrepreneur originally from the Californian city of Oakland, has lived in Paris for several years, and discovered the history of the Goutte d’Or on one of Ngo Mpii’s tours.
“Paris is diverse, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, but if you don’t experience (all its neighbourhoods) you’re missing so much of what gives the flavour of Paris,” he said. - AFP
