Banlieue is the French word for "outskirts." A banlieue can be rich or poor; Versailles, Le Vésinet, Orsay and Neuilly-sur-Seine are affluent banlieues of Paris, and Clichy-sous-Bois is a poor one. The literal meaning of the word is ban-mile (ban-league), originally a zone surrounding a city where no unauthorized trade was permitted.