In the peripheral neighborhoods of France’s banlieues, migrant families navigate postcolonial legacies, higher rates of unemployment, and structural inequality. France’s integration system requires migrants to culturally assimilate while prejudice persists, leaving communities caught between exclusion and belonging. Yet these communities are also spaces of creativity and resilience that shape contemporary French culture. Documenting his friends and family, the photographer – born to Cambodian refugees – portrays lives in which community and solidarity are the clearest markers of identity.
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2026 Photo Contest - Europe - Long-Term Projects
Extramuros
Photographer
William Keo
La Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Die Zeit
Shutter Speed
1/90
Camera
LEICA M (Typ 240)
Jury comment
This long-term project offers an intimate view of suburban life in France, illustrating the daily experiences of second- and third-generation migrants from within their own communities. Close access to friends, family, and neighbors, creates space for personal narratives to describe existing social tensions with honesty, while revealing the richness of multiculturalism. Through dignified portraits, the work provides a unique perspective on migration, belonging, and the realities of life in European suburbs, resonating within the region and beyond.