[jnbiche]

>banlieue = subburbs.

Yeah, but you have to explain that subburbs are not the same in France as in the U.S. Here, subburbs are generally where educated, middle-class people go to live (although that is changing in some places).

In France, the "banlieu" subburbs are what we would call the "inner-city". Speaking colloquially, the ghetto.

Big difference, and just translating "banlieu" as "subburb" does not explain this.