Exploring the Reputation of a French Department and its Impact on the Olympics

We’re in the Paris suburb of Seine -Saint-Denis which will host most of the games this summer.

It’s an area with some of the highest levels of poverty in the whole of France, and a bad reputation.

In the minds of most French people, the area conjures up images of drugs, crime and riots.

Locals say that reputation is unfair – and they’re hoping the investment of the games, and a place on the world stage, goes some way to changing that. But can it?

Presented and produced by John Laurenson

(Image: Inside the Aquatic Olympic Center (CAO). It will host artistic swimming, diving and water-polo. Credit: Getty Images)