La Véritable histoire du bus 402

Evry-Ville-Nouvelle was planned out in the mid-sixties to relieve the heavily populated Paris area. Stretching along the River Seine, it is one of those utopian towns created by town-planners and architects, where habitat, work and leisure are mixed together so as to promote social contact and community life. However, recession soon puts a term to ambitions. Certain districts turn into ghettos, catchment areas for a poor and marginalised population with little hope of finding a job or fitting into society. The film explores life in the Pyramides district, following the 402 bus route through the town and other “difficult” districts. Buses passing through their territory are one of the teenagers’ favourite targets. Given the rise of sometimes violent fighting, the local public transport service (the TICE) has organised a prevention network involving the district’s inhabitants. For these mediators, dialogue and prevention are the only arms possible when dealing with youngsters who feel that they live “in the outer zone.”