Belleville is a neighborhood in the northeast of Paris, in the 20th arrondissement. The sidewalks, cafés, markets, and street corners are often filled with people stopping to talk, meet, and spend time together.

There is less of the individualism you sometimes feel in other parts of the city. A strong neighborhood life still exists here, shaped by social diversity and everyday interactions. From these encounters come scenes you rarely see elsewhere in Paris.

I went to high school in Jourdain, just a few steps from Belleville, and spent several years wandering through these streets. It’s a place I feel deeply connected to, and one I keep coming back to when I photograph.