GARÇONS MANQUÉS

15-year-old Imane lives in "Les Boquets", a tower block in the Parisian suburb of Montfermeil, the place where the riots started in October 2005. She is often to be found kicking about with her friends on the football pitch in the middle of the housing estate, somewhere that sits right at the heart of the community. In the future Imane wants to become a police officer in order to challenge the commonly held belief that Arabs are always up to no good. In the meantime football is her outlet. "Without football I wouldn't be doing well", she explains, "When you're playing football you run around and can let off steam. I can't do that at home." On this estate it is hard to be a girl and to gain respect so Imane and her friend Sephora are proud to be considered 'garçons manqués' – tomboys. Playing football gives them recognition as well as a way to vent their aggression. That is until the disputes between the youth and the police are reignited, then Imane is once again aware of her identity and full of resentment: "They have weapons, we have stones!"