Gangs cool down by hitting city beaches

Some of the most tense and dangerous inner suburban districts in the Paris area are inviting their citizens to go to the beach - without leaving home.

The idea of the "urban beach" - a simulation of the pleasures of the seaside for people who are stuck in the city - has spread the length and breadth of France in the past four years.

The concept has been adopted by several of the most violent public housing estates in the Paris area for the northern summer.

Even La Courneuve, just north of Paris, a byword for gang battles and street warfare over drugs, has its own mock beach, a swimming pool, an outdoor bar and a stage for local bands.

At La Courneuve there is a 400sq m free swimming pool and a beach made from thousands of tons of imported sand, a beach volleyball court, several trampolines and kite-making and face-painting stalls for children.

The idea of the urban beach was popularised four years ago with the closing the express road on the right bank of the Seine, importing sand, palm trees and deck chairs and calling it "Paris-Plage".

The idea has been a huge success, only motorists forced to take the slow route east-bound through Paris along streets and boulevards complain.

Last year almost four million people visited Paris-Plage.

- INDEPENDENT