Paris Suburb Research Articles

Homicidal Deaths in the Western Suburbs of Paris

The aim of our study was to analyze the homicide pattern in the Western suburbs of Paris and its evolution between 1994 and 2008. All autopsy reports regarding homicides from the period January 1, 1994, to December 31, 2008, were retrospectively reviewed. Five hundred eleven homicide cases were selected of 4842 autopsy cases. The following data were recorded: assailants and victims characteristics, crime scene location, homicide motive, cause of death, and victim's postmortem toxicological results. Homicide rate steadily declined over the period at the exception of the number of homicide-suicide per year, which remained constant. Homicide victims remained unidentified after medicolegal investigations in 2% of the cases. Child and elder homicide cases represented, respectively, 10.7% and 8.2% of the cases. Offenders were male in 88% of the cases. Male and female assailants showed distinct homicide patterns: females were involved more frequently in familial quarrel and child abuse. They never killed a stranger and committed homicide exclusively in a private place with a predominance of sharp weapons. Males, in contrast, assaulted almost equally a stranger or an acquaintance, often in a public place with a predominance of firearm. Victim knew the assailant(s) in 57% of the cases. Homicides mostly took place at the residence of the assailant or the victim. Homicide motive was clearly determined in 71% of the cases. Argument was the most common motive in 44% of the cases. Sexual assault was rarely found (10 cases). Gunshot wounds were the most common cause of death (37%), followed by stab wounds (27%), blunt trauma (19%), and asphyxia (13%). A decrease of gunshot wounds as a cause of death was found over the studied period. Alcohol was the most common toxic detected in blood of the victim, in 48.5% of the cases when toxicological results were available. Blood alcohol concentration ranged from 1 to 500 mg/dL with a mean value of 150 mg/dL.

Review of Jennifer Selby, Questioning French Secularism: Gender Politics and Islam in a Parisian Suburb

Jennifer Selby’s ethnography of North African Muslim migrants living in the Petit Nanterre banlieue (disenfranchised suburb) outside of Paris is an ethnographically rich contribution to the growing body of anthropological literature about Muslims and migrants in France. The heart of Selby’s argument is that the French state and dominant voices among French secular feminists have entrenched a narrative in which laicite (the particular French version of what many in Anglophone contexts call secularism), democracy, and modernity are defined by gender equality, understood as inimical to Islam. Further, this narrow French focus on Muslim women’s supposedly subordinate status as both an impediment to laicite and as something laicite can resolve, effectively displaces conversations about the issues France’s Muslim migrant women are concerned about. Among Selby’s research participants, these issues include halaal food in schools, residence papers and other issues of migrant legality, and a lack of socioeconomic opportunities; Petit Nanterre has an unemployment rate of nearly 60 %. Questioning French Secularism is structured somewhat chronologically, starting with an introduction that lays out Selby’s fieldwork methodologies and settings, followed by two historical chapters. The first of these traces the historical development of the Petit Nanterre banlieue through guest worker migration, the creation of migrant shantytowns, and the emergence of the modern public housing cite. Chapter Three provides a brief but critical genealogy of secularism in general and French laicite in particular, showing how Islam, and Muslim women’s practices especially, have become increasingly politicized in recent years. Chapter Four examines encounters between those holding opposing ideas about femininity, Islam, and the public sphere, with an emphasis on local surveillance and gossip as forms of enforcing Cont Islam (2014) 8:177–180 DOI 10.1007/s11562-012-0233-8

Infestation by pyrethroids resistant bed bugs in the suburb of Paris, France

Bed bugs are hematophagous insects responsible for a re-emerging and challenging indoor pest in many countries. Bed bugs infestations may have health consequences including nuisance biting, cutaneous and systemic reactions. This resurgence can probably be attributed to factors such as increased international travel and development of resistance against insecticides. Resistance against pyrethroids has been reported several times from the USA and rarely in Europe. In France, very few data on bed bugs are available. The present study aimed to assess the infestation by bed bugs of a complex of two high-rise apartment buildings in the suburb of Paris and to evaluate their susceptibility to pyrethroid insecticides. We inspected for bed bugs 192 out of 198 apartments units (97%) and interviewed their residents. 76 (39.6%) apartments were infested. Among the 97 residents living in infested apartments, 53 (54.6%) reported bed bug bites. A total of 564 bed bugs were collected in the infested units. Bioassays showed that 54 out of 143 bed bugs were resistant to pyrethroids (37.8%; 95% confidence interval: 29.9-45.7%). DNA sequencing showed that all bed bugs tested (n = 124) had homozygous L925I kdr-like gene mutation. The level of pyrethroid resistance found indicates that this phenomenon was already established in the site and prompts the need to reevaluate the wide use of pyrethroids to control bed bugs.

French teenagers and artificial tanning

Exposure to solar and artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiations is a major risk factor for skin cancers. France has enacted one of the strictest laws that, notably, restrict tanning-bed access to adults ≥18 years old. We evaluated artificial tanning behaviours of French teenagers (11-17 years old): sunless-tanning products, sunlamps and artificial tanning beds. An anonymous questionnaire evaluating sunburn history, skin phototype, behaviours with sunless-tanning products and indoor tanning, and parents' behaviours was distributed to students enrolled in two middle and high schools in Antony, a typical city of the middle class French population, located in the Paris suburbs. RESULTS Among 713 teenagers (mean age: 13.5 years: male/female: 1.1) responding, more than half declared that it was important to be tanned during the summer, 1% reported having already used tanning pills, 9.9% tanning creams and 1.4% indoor tanning. Female teenagers significantly more frequently resorted to indoor tanning (P = 0.02), cited the importance of being tanned all year long (P < 0.0001), used tanning pills (P < 0.0001) or tanning creams (P < 0.006), and their parents relied on indoor tanning (P < 0.0001). Profiles of tanning-pill and -cream users were similar. Mean ages for the two groups were comparable. French regulations for indoor tanning seem quite effective. Our analyses revealed a typical teenager profile with sun-exposure risk behaviours, for example, indoor tanning, and use of tanning pills or creams. They could be a selective target for sun-protection information campaigns.

Nettoyage des plaies. Connaissances et pratiques des infirmiers

Wound management constitutes an important public health issue. Health authorities have published numerous recommendations on wound cleansing and dressing. The French law currently authorizes nurses to prescribe wound care with a doctor's agreement. Further, they have an essential role in wound management. In this study, we evaluate nurses' behavior in wound cleansing in outpatients and in hospital settings. The survey was conducted from 4/1/11 to 5/6/11 in 111 nurses working at Argenteuil Hospital and in 299 nurses with outpatient activity within two administrative departments (Hauts-de-Seines and Val-d'Oise) in the suburbs of Paris, France. The questionnaire included items relating to the use of antiseptics during cleansing of various types of wounds, with or without signs of super-infection, and with or without medical prescription. The results were compared with French references. One hundred and ninety-one answers were obtained: 111 (100%) from the hospital and 80 (27%) from nurses with outpatient activity (women: 88%, mean age=36 years). The mean number of wounds seen per week was 18 (0-135). In the absence of a prescription, antiseptics were used by less than 35% of the nurses for chronic wounds and burns but by more than 50% for operative and traumatic wounds. When water or physiological serum was prescribed for wound cleansing, these figures were slightly lower. Conversely, if an antiseptic was prescribed, more than 50% of the nurses used antiseptics. Where nurses disagreed with the medical prescription, more than 60% of the hospital nurses discussed this with the doctor, compared to less than 40% of private nurses. In the event of signs of super-infection, more than 85% of the nurses used antiseptics, with or without medical prescription, and in the case of disagreement, more than 90% called the doctor, whether working in a hospital setting or among outpatients. The alternative to an antiseptic was physiological saline for 60 to 80% of the nurses, with sterile water or tap water being used by less than 45%. Antiseptics continue to be used in situations in which they are no longer recommended (e.g. chronic wounds, operative wounds, super-infected wounds) whereas they are used very little for burns, where they are in fact recommended during the acute phase. This is true both with and without medical prescription. Prescriptions are not always followed in practice and prescriptions of antiseptics are more often respected than prescriptions of water or physiological saline solution. Discussion with the prescribing doctor is more frequent among hospital nurses than among private nurses.

Mapping language ideologies in multi-ethnic urban Europe: the case of Parisian French

Although the modern multicultural European metropolis has brought previously disparate groups into close contact, little research has focused on the effect of these shifting demographic patterns on language attitudes and ideologies. This is probably due to the sensitive nature of issues relating to immigration which may evoke contexts of socio-economic stratification, ethnic strife and even urban violence. To mitigate this sensitivity, this study examines socio-geographic representations of linguistic prestige, not attitudes towards speakers, in the Paris region. In a web-based survey, 136 Parisians evaluated the desirability, reputation and linguistic correctness of 21 cities in the Paris region. Responses indicate that perceptions of linguistic prestige are most closely connected to cities’ reputations, suggesting a close relationship between standard language ideology and spatial stereotypes. Five cities received the lowest reputation and linguistic correctness ratings and, thus, probably constitute exemplars of the poor, multi-ethnic Parisian suburbs popularly identified with a Parisian urban youth vernacular. Evaluations of the French of these five cities are shown to be related to subjects’ age, gender, socio-economic status and level of anti-immigrant bias. This study indicates that socio-geographic segregation may be driving perceptions of sociolinguistic stratification in the Paris region.

Eyjafjallajökull ash concentrations derived from both lidar and modeling

Following the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull on the 14 April 2010, ground‐based N2‐Raman lidar (GBL) measurements were used to trace the temporal evolution of the ash plume from 16 to 20 April 2010 above the southwestern suburb of Paris. The nighttime overpass of the Cloud‐Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization onboard Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation satellite (CALIPSO/CALIOP) on 17 April 2010 was an opportunity to complement GBL observations. The plume shape retrieved from GBL has been used to assess the size range of the particles size. The lidar‐derived aerosol mass concentrations (PM) have been compared with model‐derived PM concentrations held in the Eulerian model Polair3D transport model, driven by a source term inferred from the SEVIRI sensor onboard Meteosat satellite. The consistency between model and ground‐based wind lidar and CALIOP observations has been checked. The spatial and temporal structures of the ash plume as estimated by each instrument and by the Polair3D simulations are in agreement. The ash plume was associated with a mean aerosol optical thickness of 0.1 ± 0.06 and 0.055 ± 0.053 for GBL (355 nm) and CALIOP (532 nm), respectively. Such values correspond to ash mass concentrations of ∼400 ± 160 and ∼720 ± 670 μg m−3, respectively, within the ash plume, which was lower than 0.5 km in width. The relative uncertainty is ∼75% and mainly due to the assessment of the specific cross‐section assuming an aerosol density of 2.6 g cm−3. The simulated ash plume is smoother leading to integrated mass of the same order of magnitude (between 50 and 250 mg m−2).

Chicken Coops and Machines of Interminable Errors: A History of the Grands Ensembles in Parisian Suburbs

The grands ensembles, rows of high-rise public housing units constructed in and around major French cities following World War II, were anticipated as the “miracle solution” for a catastrophic housing shortage. Yet they have often been blamed for a range of social ills, and two times since their construction have been the backdrop of violent youth riots. This paper pieces together the history of the grands ensembles through an examination of the emergence of public housing in France, the transformation of the construction industry, and the philosophical and aesthetic influences of the Modernist movement.

Impact of Migration on Explanatory Models of Illness and Addiction Severity in Patients With Drug Dependence in a Paris Suburb

Objectives of this study were to assess explanatory models (considering illness experience and meaning), addiction severity among patients with drug dependence, and the role of migration. Adapted Explanatory Model Interview Catalogue interviews were conducted with 70 outpatients in a Paris suburb. Among them, 42 were either first- or second-generation immigrants, most from North Africa. Explanatory models were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively according to migration status, assessing potential confounders with multivariate linear models. Explanatory models were heterogeneous. Compared with nonmigrants, migrants reported fewer somatic and violence-related symptoms. They attributed the causes of their addiction more frequently to social and magico-religious factors and less to psychological factors. Conversely, no difference in addiction severity was found between migrants and nonmigrants. Considering local patterns of illness experience and meaning of drug dependence is a critical component of culturally sensitive clinical care.

Why is Intersectoral Cooperation Difficult to Maintain? Insights from French Cluster Policy

Intersectoral cooperation is increasingly perceived as important to regional renewal. Yet, studies of local cooperation generally show that few ties exist among actors from different sectors. However, we know little about the mechanisms behind this lack, which exists despite efforts by policy makers and, sometimes, despite the desires of upper-level managers within firms. I attempt to examine mechanisms that might explain this lack of intersectoral partnerships. To this end, I will use a study of the cluster at Plateau de Saclay (in the Paris suburbs), which was founded in response to the French government's Pôle de compétitivité policy. The paper shows that, in order to understand these mechanisms, it is necessary to examine both local arrangements and employees' work within firms. The former explains dynamics of inclusion and exclusion, while the latter sheds light on the way firm strategy is constructed. Local arrangements have made it difficult to build intersectoral partnerships. In some cases policy does succeed in making firms from different sectors cooperate, but these partnerships are difficult to maintain—a problem that results from negotiations inside large firms with conflicting economic goals and a lack of experience in measuring knowledge benefits.

The Women of the Pavillons: A Case Study

This article investigates the experiences of French women in communities of single-family homes by analyzing Villagexpo, a model subdivision built in the Paris suburb of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge in 1966. Drawing on archival resources and recent interviews with original inhabitants, the article argues that the “village“ model of Villagexpo attracted a nucleus of couples with deep roots in associational movements. Committed to the concept of village life, they facilitated social activity in the subdivision, helping female residents overcome a sense of isolation. The article modifies previous, and largely negative, depictions of the experiences of women in communities of single-family homes and places Villagexpo in the context of broader urban trends.

French secularism as a ‘guarantor’ of women's rights? Muslim women and gender politics in a Parisian banlieue

This paper considers contemporary discourse in France that positions secularism (laïcité) as a guarantor of Muslim women's rights. In the first section I sketch a socio-historical genealogy of this discourse focusing on key shifts in its articulation. I suggest that the current identification between secularism and Muslim women's rights has its main expressions in recent public policy commissions and, as an example on the ground, in the positions taken by France's largest feminist organisation, Femmes Solidaires. Informed by one another, these commissions and this organisation (a) conceptualise Islam as overtly political and patriarchal and (b) define secularism as the primary way to ‘liberate’ Muslim women. The second section examines the impact of this discourse on Muslim communities in Petit Nanterre, a Parisian suburb where I conducted extensive anthropological fieldwork. Significantly, Muslim women in this suburb are uninterested in headscarf-related debates on secularism and more vividly engaged in the 2005 Pork Affair, a locally oriented controversy in a public school. I conclude that the religious concerns of the Muslim women positioned at the centre of the secular debate are expressed in certain forms of activism, efforts ignored by commissions and women's advocacy groups.

Frequency of Gambling Problems among Parents of Pathological, versus Nonpathological, Casino Gamblers Using Slot Machines

Familial and twin studies suggest the implication of a genetic factor in pathological gambling, but mainly assess probands through treatment settings or advertisements. The question raised here is: are parents of casino pathological gamblers using slot machines more affected with pathological gambling than nonpathological gamblers, all interviewed on site at the same casino? Three hundred and fifty-five casino gamblers on slot machines, which included 96 pathological gamblers, 116 problem gamblers, and 143 nonproblem gamblers, were recruited in situ at the largest casino in the Paris suburbs. We evaluated pathological gambling and two addictive disorders (alcohol dependence and tobacco consumption) in the gamblers and their 690 parents (through the proband). Familial aggregation of pathological gambling was confirmed, with a risk of 3.3 for being a pathological gambler when at least one of the parents has problematic gambling. No familial co-aggregation of pathological gambling with alcohol or tobacco dependence was observed. Pathological gambling is found in excess in the parents of pathological casino gamblers, in accordance with previous aggregation studies devoted to other types of gambling, and with studies recruiting gamblers in different settings.

Mutual interests? US public diplomacy in the 1980s and Nicolas Sarkozy's first trip to the United States

In July 1985 Nicolas Sarkozy, then a young mayor of the outer Parisian suburb of Neuilly, was invited to visit the US as a ‘grantee’ on the State Department's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). This article traces the operation of the IVLP in Western Europe in the 1980s, the importance of the ‘successor generation’ in US strategy, and the background to and meaning of Sarkozy's invitation and trip. The argument is that while the IVLP can be interpreted as a form of US power projection and ‘informal empire’, Sarkozy's experience instead illustrates the mutual interests involved and the ways in which a participant can benefit by steering the Program according to their own agenda.

The Effects of Globalization in the First Suburbs of Paris: From Decline to Revival?

Author(s): Albecker, Marie-Fleur | Abstract: In the context of globalization, cities have come to the foreground and are now thought of as nodes in the global economic network. This evolution has had various consequences for urban regions, depending on whether one focuses on the centers or the peripheries. It has been beneficial to some areas, but detrimental to others. Urban territories are now experiencing various forms of growth and/or decline, whether demographic, economic, or social. This study aims to analyze the specific processes of decline and revitalization that have affected the cities, and to identify which part public policies have played in this respect.In order to grasp the varieties of decline in these “first suburbs,” a typology based on socio-economic indicators has been elaborated, which differentiates between four types of evolution patterns for suburbs lying within urban areas faced with globalization. Some of those first suburbs have indeed managed to resist decline: one group uses globalization as a way to become part of the economic center and to attract wealthy households; the second group is confronted with simultaneous social decline and economic success; a third group consists of cities fulfilling a mainly residential function; and the last is made up of localities in transition between the above orientations.This change of economic and social pattern can thus be seen as a revival, but its consequences are of particular note amidst a global crisis. The sustainability of such a revival must be questioned.

The Emancipatory Struggle

Violence used for the purpose of protest is often heavily contested. Common uses of violence during a protest such as violent destruction of property, the clash with the police and the screams and shouts of chants are often questioned and thought of as unnecessary, but the resort to violence shows the hidden message: that there are limited options outside of violence to meaningfully oppose the state. The small portion of protests that are allowed by the government in their right to free assembly give the illusion that the protester is participating in a free and open forum for democratic discussion. Like being given the right to vote, the right to strike or participate in and organize peaceful assemblies keeps the protesters in the confines of the system. I argue that in order to truly reach emancipation the protest must be an act of breaking free from the system. The protest must do what is outside of the law, protesters must retaliate against their rights and embrace the violent nature of their protest uniting against oppression in the emancipatory struggle. I will begin by defining and elaborating on the emancipatory struggle. I will then provide an analysis of state and bourgeois control through the discourse of rights with an emphasis on the class conflict. I will make extensive use of examples including the mandate of the G-20 protests and the recent struggles in the Paris suburbs. Using the theoretical concepts of Benjamin, Zizek, Virilio and Sorel I will discuss divine and mythical violence in relation to the emancipatory struggle and the spectacle of the protest demonstrating the strength of the solidarity of the people. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2011 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]

Development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify spatial patterns of industrial cancer risks: a pilot study on asbestos in a Paris suburb

ObjectivesEnvironmental and occupational exposures are usually treated as mutual confounders in the study of the association between toxic substances and health outcomes. Yet, research conducted on asbestos evidenced that occupational...

Opposing Exclusion: The Political Significance of the Riots in French Suburbs (2005–2007)

In 2005, following the deaths of two teenagers in the Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, France witnessed three weeks of widespread rioting. These events were mirrored, albeit on a smaller scale, in the nearby suburb of Villiers-le-Bel in 2007 when two local youths died in a collision involving police officers. Both during and after these respective events, many social and political commentators denounced the riots as a purely nihilistic expression of violence, a rejection of the Republic and of French society at large. However, this interpretation fails to fully consider the complexity of the situation. This essay will attempt to deconstruct the security-oriented interpretation of the violence and instead offer an analysis that views the riots of both 2005 and 2007 as a plea for access to French society on the part of those involved. Drawing on empirical fieldwork carried out in Villiers-le-Bel, the article will examine the case of Villiers-le-Bel in relation to the arguments put forward by a number of French sociologists, most notably Lapeyronnie and Kokoreff, which attributed political significance to the riots. The argument will explore the idea of the riots as a protopolitical event, that is, a primitive attempt by a socially excluded population to gain visibility in the public and political spheres.

The Polyphony Life

The Polyphony Life Melanie Page (bio) An Unfinished Score. Elise Blackwell. Unbridled Books. http://unbridledbooks.com. 272 pages; cloth, $24.95; paper, $14.95. Elise Blackwell's third novel, An Unfinished Score, explores the extent of emotion in the context of music performers, composers, and conductors. There are no characters with regular 9-5 jobs, and we are submersed in the language and consequences of their experiences with the medium. The novel's catalyst: Suzanne Sullivan (a violinist) learns her lover (a conductor) has died in a plane crash, and she's left to finish composing his viola concerto. En route, she introduces us to her dysfunctional home life, including an emotionally despondent husband (Ben, a composer and cello player) and the promiscuous, single-parent best friend (Petra, a violinist). Postmortem, the lover's widow contacts Suzanne and blackmails her in exchange for silence regarding the affair. The novel reveals itself as a realistic interpretation of human sentiment in atypical relationships. Suzanne's emotional extremities are only briefly mentioned by Blackwell, saving the reader from delving into the mush that one expects in mainstream literature. When Suzanne releases the sadness of losing the lover in her four-year affair, Blackwell accomplishes it in two concise sentences: "Now she dissolves. Her crying is as long as it is fierce, and when she is through she is dry of tears, more calm than tired." Instead of a woman who crumbles for more than half the book, she sobs halfway through the book, skipping all the hysterical details. Her reaction to her husband's infidelity is just as short: "'It just happened,' Ben is saying. 'I don't know, really, it just happened.' She blinks, and the visual static clears. Staring at the small squares of her knees, she thinks that this is something she can understand, that she should understand." Instead of irrationality, Suzanne responds with nothing; she tries to be angry, but it isn't convincing, and it's not meant to convince. The woman gives an expected response to not seem guilty, seeing how she's just as adulterous as her husband. Realistic responses are what kept me reading, since I see so little regulated emotion in other plots, where a simple breakup can leave characters with baggage for the rest of their lives. While there is surprise in Suzanne's reaction to Ben's affair, the predictability of the situation is a bit too easy. Blackwell describes the best friend Petra in the second chapter with fringy lashes, beautiful blue eyes, and standard Swedish good looks. Suzanne shrugs them off as non-threatening: "Sometimes when Suzanne looks at Petra, she wonders why she doesn't hate her on sight, as many women do. It helps that Petra thinks she looks common." While Suzanne can dismiss a fantasy girl, it was hard for me not to, especially since the trio lives together, and Suzanne leaves for extended periods to complete the viola concerto and, previously, be with her lover. More interesting than the current sexual affairs are the deviations into factual history of musicians' love lives. The way a performer (almost always a male) relates to a woman gives a sense of the complexities in syncopation, musically and sexually. For example, Hector Berlioz was driven crazy by the juxtaposition of one woman and his symphony: "The Fantastique swelled from his obsession with the Irish actress Harriet Smithson.... Once Liszt, Mendelssohn, and Chopin searched the suburbs of Paris for their love-struck friend, convinced that he might kill himself over a woman he had never met and to whom he wrote frightening letters...." Musical history that relates the reader to a genre he or she might have never been part of and only experienced second-hand appears sporadically. Blackwell's impeccable timing of these passages prevents the reader from experiencing the distraught or pain of a sad stock character, and we instead gather our own feelings using the empirical reality of relationships. When performance is described, however, it can seem too easy a description. In one instance, Suzanne and her professional quartet are rehearsing. We are told "[p]laying chamber music involves an intimacy between people that is no weaker than...

Ages and stages questionnaires: Feasibility of postal surveys for child follow-up

Background The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), completed by parents and caregivers, has been shown to be an accurate tool for screening children who need further developmental assessment. Aims To assess the feasibility of using the French Canadian translation of the ASQ in an epidemiological cohort of children from the French general population. Study design Follow-up study by postal questionnaire at 12 and 36 months, using the ASQ. Subjects: 339 French families recruited at the birth of their child in 2006 in two hospitals in the Paris suburbs. Outcome measure Response rates and French ASQ results at 12 and 36 months. The ASQ was scored as indicated in the manual. Results A high response rate of 79% was observed at the children's 1st and 3rd birthdays. Parents were enthusiastic about participating; half of them wrote comments on the questionnaires, most of them positive. Low scores at the 12-month assessment were associated with birth characteristics such as prematurity and transfer to the neonatology unit after birth, whereas at 36 months they tended to be associated with both birth and family socio-demographic characteristics. Conclusions Use of the French ASQ in a research cohort appears feasible as response rates were high. Moreover, known links between child development measured by ASQ and birth and social characteristics were observed. However, further French studies are needed to understand differences observed in 12-month ASQ gross motor scores compared with US norms. For research purposes, further analysis of the ASQ in innovative, quantitative approaches, is needed.