Geographies of peace in the wake of non-war violence in the city: Agir pour la Paix in a marginalised neighbourhood in France

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research on violently contested cities has focused on cities in the global South and on civil war contexts. This article makes the case for broadening this empirical scope to cities in non-war contexts, which are considered ‘at peace’ but where politicians regularly declare war on e.g. drugs and terrorism. Experiences of violence, such as riots, youth violence and the aftermaths of terrorist attacks in a marginalised social housing neighbourhood in Grenoble (France) serve as the empirical grounding of this argument. Participatory action research with different collectives in this neighbourhood shows that community initiatives were able to have a positive impact on the destructive consequences of different forms of paroxysmal violence. These collectives initiated action in the aftermath of paroxysmal violence. One of them placed peace at the heart of its approach. By weaving everyday relationships its members could repair the social tissue that violence had destroyed.