The question of (urban) centre and periphery, in particular that of the suburbs, has been and still is discussed in literature, first in beur literature and currently in the “littérature de banlieue” (Hargreaves 2014). The article focuses on the outskirts of the metropolises of Paris, Marseille and Lyon. With the increasingly widespread phenomenon of peri-urbanisation, however, a geo-social in-between space has emerged, which is neither city, nor countryside, nor traditional banlieue. This area of uncertainty, the peri-urban, is also characterised by a social in-between: it is home to a middle class without extremes, which is developing its way of life here. Nevertheless, this habitat is a major source of segregation, bringing peri-urban areas closer to traditional banlieues. This article looks at David Lopez’s novel Fief, which presents the life and problems of a peri-urban area. I will show how the novel supports the thesis of the two Frances by illustrating how peri-urbanisation reinforces socio-spatial disparities and the expansion of the traditional banlieue.