Inside a car at sunset with two people in the front seats, the driver and a passenger. The sunlight shines through the windshield, illuminating the interior and creating silhouettes of their heads.
Two young people sitting close together on a bus, with one looking at the other and a view of trees outside the window.
Two young men in black Nike t-shirts and shorts standing next to a snack or soda vending machine at night. One is holding a phone to his ear, the other has his head tilted down.
Close-up of a young man with curly black hair and a light beard, smiling slightly in a dimly lit setting with warm yellow light.
Person pouring a clear drink from a small bottle into a plastic water bottle. The person is wearing a dark watch and a gray Nike T-shirt.
A person's hand holding a small red flashlight, illuminating part of a dark room.
A young man with dark, curly hair partially visible, wearing a white T-shirt with black and green stripes, looking at the camera with a slight smile, against a dark background with some glare or light reflection.
Three young men practicing Tai Chi on a rocky beach at sunset, with trees and the water in the background.
People swimming and playing in a river with a rocky shore, surrounded by green trees and foliage.
Two shirtless young men standing outdoors at dusk, one holding a lit matchstick, the other holding small sticks, with a background of blurred greenery and trees.
A person kissing a white t-shirt with red text on it, holding a pair of colorful sunglasses, with a background of green trees outside a vehicle.
Close-up of a young man's face, showing his eyes, nose, beard, and part of his black shirt and black cap with a beige brim, against a black background.
Nighttime view of a stadium with seating and structural elements illuminated with orange lighting, and a dark sky in the background.
Two young men stand facing each other in a parking lot at night, illuminated by streetlights. One wears a black cap and a black sports shirt, and the other wears a white shirt with black and orange shorts, carrying a black backpack.
A person in hockey gear stands on top of an elevated surface in a room with electrical panels and boxes on the wall.
A man in a black T-shirt walking on a dark indoor track with a tennis racket in hand.
A group of people walking on a dirt trail through a dense green forest with tall trees and lush foliage.
Silhouette of a person with curly hair sitting inside a vehicle, looking out the window at what appears to be a body of water or a foggy landscape.
A sports field at sunset with a purple and pink sky. There are two people standing near the fence in the foreground, facing each other, with trees, a water tower, and power lines in the background.
Two men walking along a fenced pathway at night, with bright yellow streetlights creating streaks of light in the dark background.
Two young men standing close together outdoors, one with his arm around the other's shoulder, both wearing casual white t-shirts, in front of parked cars under a partly cloudy sky at dusk.
People standing and talking in a parking lot during sunset, with Burger King signs and cars around.
People sitting in a row, holding cheese curls and a lighter, engaged in conversation or waiting, with a gray carpeted floor in the background.
Close-up side profile of a person looking at a smartphone in the dark, illuminated by the screen.
A person with short hair is sitting in a dark room, holding a lit cigarette or joint near their mouth, with visible smoke and a glow from the lighter. The person's face is illuminated by the light from the lighter and their eyes are closed or looking down.
In France, certain experiences cut across youth regardless of background: 80.6% of 17-year-olds have already consumed alcohol, and more than a third have experienced an episode of binge drinking. Around 30% have tried cannabis. Contrary to stereotypes, these behaviors are not limited to disadvantaged neighborhoods. Among children of immigrants, alcohol-related problems even increase across generations, revealing a more diffuse tension: that of finding one’s place in a society in which one sometimes feels invisible. It is within this context that I spent a week in Noé, a small, quiet town in southwest France. It suffers neither from a glaring lack of resources nor from a stigmatized image. There, I followed Ilias and his friends, teenagers and young adults whose families, mostly from immigrant backgrounds, have managed to build stable lives. These young people are neither marginalized nor “troubled” in the strict sense. Yet, over the days, a feeling settles in: a form of quiet weariness, a freedom that goes in circles. During this week of vacation, I watched them live outdoors: driving around, smoking, hanging out, talking, and sometimes drinking gestures that seem trivial at first glance but that reveal a blurred relationship to time and to oneself. Ordinary gestures, yet ones that also express a need to breathe, to create a space of one’s own, in a world where social and economic pressure weighs on shoulders early. Here, it is less visible than in big cities, but it exists diffusely. What I wanted to show through this series are universal moments, captured in the looseness of vacation time. A youth that, between family heritage and contemporary realities, navigates an in-between space, neither lost nor fully assured, searching for its own rhythm.
Inside a car at sunset with two people in the front seats, the driver and a passenger. The sunlight shines through the windshield, illuminating the interior and creating silhouettes of their heads.
Two young people sitting close together on a bus, with one looking at the other and a view of trees outside the window.
Two young men in black Nike t-shirts and shorts standing next to a snack or soda vending machine at night. One is holding a phone to his ear, the other has his head tilted down.
Close-up of a young man with curly black hair and a light beard, smiling slightly in a dimly lit setting with warm yellow light.
Person pouring a clear drink from a small bottle into a plastic water bottle. The person is wearing a dark watch and a gray Nike T-shirt.
A person's hand holding a small red flashlight, illuminating part of a dark room.
A young man with dark, curly hair partially visible, wearing a white T-shirt with black and green stripes, looking at the camera with a slight smile, against a dark background with some glare or light reflection.
Three young men practicing Tai Chi on a rocky beach at sunset, with trees and the water in the background.
People swimming and playing in a river with a rocky shore, surrounded by green trees and foliage.
Two shirtless young men standing outdoors at dusk, one holding a lit matchstick, the other holding small sticks, with a background of blurred greenery and trees.
A person kissing a white t-shirt with red text on it, holding a pair of colorful sunglasses, with a background of green trees outside a vehicle.
Close-up of a young man's face, showing his eyes, nose, beard, and part of his black shirt and black cap with a beige brim, against a black background.
Nighttime view of a stadium with seating and structural elements illuminated with orange lighting, and a dark sky in the background.
Two young men stand facing each other in a parking lot at night, illuminated by streetlights. One wears a black cap and a black sports shirt, and the other wears a white shirt with black and orange shorts, carrying a black backpack.
A person in hockey gear stands on top of an elevated surface in a room with electrical panels and boxes on the wall.
A man in a black T-shirt walking on a dark indoor track with a tennis racket in hand.
A group of people walking on a dirt trail through a dense green forest with tall trees and lush foliage.
Silhouette of a person with curly hair sitting inside a vehicle, looking out the window at what appears to be a body of water or a foggy landscape.
A sports field at sunset with a purple and pink sky. There are two people standing near the fence in the foreground, facing each other, with trees, a water tower, and power lines in the background.
Two men walking along a fenced pathway at night, with bright yellow streetlights creating streaks of light in the dark background.
Two young men standing close together outdoors, one with his arm around the other's shoulder, both wearing casual white t-shirts, in front of parked cars under a partly cloudy sky at dusk.
People standing and talking in a parking lot during sunset, with Burger King signs and cars around.
People sitting in a row, holding cheese curls and a lighter, engaged in conversation or waiting, with a gray carpeted floor in the background.
Close-up side profile of a person looking at a smartphone in the dark, illuminated by the screen.
A person with short hair is sitting in a dark room, holding a lit cigarette or joint near their mouth, with visible smoke and a glow from the lighter. The person's face is illuminated by the light from the lighter and their eyes are closed or looking down.