France, July 26 -- A year ago, Paris was buzzing with the excitement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. While little infrastructure was built for the occasion, the neighbourhoods where new facilities did spring up -such as Porte de la Chapelle, in northern Paris-have been transformed.

At the northernmost point of Paris, the Porte de la Chapelle neighbourhood is separated from theSeine-Saint-Denis department only by the city's ring road - the peripherique.

Perpendicular to this runs the rue de la Chapelle - "a major thoroughfare, as wide as the Champs-Elysees," says Jean-Michel Metayer, a local resident.

But any comparison with "the most beautiful avenue in the world" ends there, in a neighbourhood known for its poverty.

Rue de la Ch...