PARIS: The Goutte d'Or used to be such a typical neighbourhood here that it prompted Emile Zola, one of France's most famous writers, to use it as the setting for a novel.

Yet, over the past few decades, this part of the French capital has seen a sea change: Most of its current residents are immigrants and, each Friday, its cobblestoned streets are blocked by thousands of Muslim worshippers praying in the open air.

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