Urban acrobats get kick out of Parisian suburbs

PARIS, March 21: Raimundo Querido sprinted up three flights of stairs, scaled a wall as tall as himself, and somersaulted off a roof into a flower bed.

The scene did not take place during last year's riots in Paris' poor suburbs, when youths angry about racism and unemployment set thousands of cars ablaze and police chased them through a concrete maze of high-rise buildings.

It's just what Querido, 25, does on a Sunday afternoon.

''Most people see the suburbs and say 'How ugly -- concrete, concrete, concrete'. I look at it and think: 'Great! You can climb up here, jump off there','' says Querido, who wears a suit and a tie for his day-time job in a bank.

Querido is an ''urban acrobat'' who spends all his free time on Parkour -- ''the art of moving'' which was made popular by Frenchman David Belle some 15 years ago and has become a widely practised extreme sport in urban settings worldwide.

Inspired by athletes from prehistoric hunters to gymnasts to martial arts experts, the idea of Parkour is to get from A to B as fast as you can, using just your physical strength and dexterity to overcome obstacles.

Querido and his group Adrenaline have made commercials, starred at cinema openings and company events and featured in rap videos: their stunts include jumping off supermarket roofs or scampering down the side of a deep shipping container, before sprinting up the other wall in Spiderman-like fashion.

The four men clad in tracksuits and hooded sweaters say their example proves you can succeed even when you come from poor neighbourhoods outside Paris where unemployment is often three to four times higher than in the rest of France.

CHASING A YOGHURT POT Querido, who moved to France from Cape Verde when he was 12, says his family on the islands off West Africa's coast recently saw him in a commercial where Adrenaline were chasing a pot of yoghurt over cliffs and rocks, filmed in the Chilean mountains.

''People there told me that they saw me on TV and cried,'' he said. ''There's nothing greater than to know that people are looking at you and feel encouraged by it.'' Adrenaline member Daniel Girondeaud says he is proud he now makes some money from Parkour, but says he does not want the sport to be so closely linked to the image of rough suburbs.

All the Adrenaline members live in Gennevilliers, a suburb northwest of Paris where grey high-rise buildings dominate the skyline and where cars were set ablaze during last year's riots.

''We come from a very difficult neighbourhood. One of the hottest in the Paris region,'' says Girondeaud, who is also 25.

''But we could just as well be from a posh place in Paris. This sport is a return to the roots. You use your muscles, no other means, just your body. It's fun. It's to feel free.'' Youth workers say Adrenaline may encourage other youngsters from poor neighbourhoods. ''They can constitute an example,'' said Raymond Debord, a social worker in Gennevilliers. ''They can even be an example for people who are not interested in this particular discipline -- in the sense that these are young people who are able to take care of themselves and do their own thing.'' Debord said that in Gennevilliers many youngsters lacked the courage to be more mobile in their social lives or aspirations.

''Adrenaline do this perfectly. They are autonomous, take initiative and go out to different places and meet people.'' TEACH THE YOUNG Girondeaud, Querido and the other two Adrenaline members can perform synchronised somersaults off three-metre (10 feet) high walls to land on a concrete parking lot, or sprint up a vertical wall as if defying gravity.

As Querido does a backward somersault from a narrow roof in the La Defense business district on Paris' northern edge, a small group of teenage boys watch his every move before also attempting to jump down into the four-metre (13 feet) void.

''We like seeing the younger ones get better,'' Girondeaud's brother Stephane says, pointing to 17-year-old Guillaume jumping over a trash can.

''We showed them some things. Now they set up their own group and they are successful. It's the future generation,'' he said.

''We might have some pride in saying we changed them a little bit -- that instead of setting fire to cars, they are out here.'' Parkour has gained popularity through several films in France and free-running acrobats can also be seen jumping down walls in many music videos.

The sport was brought to the attention of the British public in 2002 with a BBC trailer, in which David Belle jumped across London rooftops to catch his favourite BBC programme at home.

Police officers at the business district outside Paris tolerate the young men's stunt moves on Sunday afternoons, although the sport is not allowed on private property.

''We talk to the police. We have no interest in Parkour being seen as a 'flee the police''' sport,'' Daniel Girondeaud says, adding his group was urging younger free-runners not to jump off cars or climb onto private balconies.

Adrenaline do not make enough to live off their performances although that would be their dream.

Querido says his banking job provides a safety net.

''We can't do this until we're 60. I could be in a wheelchair one day. That's what I tell the younger ones who want to give up school and turn professional (in the sport),'' he says.

Turning to Guillaume, he smiles: ''Hey, Guillaume, you know you have to work hard at school!'' Guillaume grins and jumps off a wall.

REUTERS