In 1978, I made a work documentary on la Cité des 4000, a group of huge apartment blocks in La Courneuve, in Seine-Saint-Denis, in the Paris suburbs. During the three months I spent there, I often slept in people's homes to avoid going home when I stayed late into the night. This also enabled me to live as close as possible to the local people. I can knock on any door and the residents are always welcoming. I'm an immigrant myself, who doesn't speak perfect French, so that helps me to be accepted. I understand what many people are going through. I feel at home. The locals invite me into their homes for family celebrations and weddings. My camera is not a problem. Recently, I went back into my archives to dig out some images from that time. It's almost an anthropological look at the place. What was lacking there was above all integration. The mission of the French state was to help, accompany and provide assistance to this population who were left to their own, in order to integrate them into society. It failed to do so. Worse still, it ignored its children. Where do you want all these young people whose parents are immigrants to go? They have nowhere else to go, and for good reason: they were born in France. Story published in Polka magazine, September 2023. @polkamagazine Photos: La Courneuve, 1978 © Sebastião Salgado #lacourneuve #citedes4000 #france #photography #photographie #fotografia #sebastiaosalgado #blackandwhitephotography