Black and son of immigrants: who is the mayor of one of the largest cities in the Paris region, a target of racism

Bally Bagayoko Reproduction/Instagram At 52 years old, Bally Bagayoko, from the radical left party França Insubmissa (LFI), is the new mayor of Saint-Denis, a city of 150,000 inhabitants north of Paris and with a large immigrant population. Elected in the first round, he was the target of racist attacks on the CNews TV channel, owned by billionaire and ultra-conservative businessman Vincent Bolloré. Bagayoko filed a complaint against the TV network and called for a large anti-racist mobilization for next Saturday (4), at 2pm, on the steps of the city hall. ✅ Follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp See the videos that are trending on g1 On his Instagram account, he announced that it will be a “meeting of citizens to demonstrate our strong opposition to racism, discrimination and hatred of others, against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, the extreme right and xenophobia” (see below). Initial plugin text Son of Malian parents, Bagayoko grew up in Saint-Denis – the most populous city in Île-de-France after Paris – and has suffered, since his election, a few weeks ago, from racist attacks and the spread of fake news. He was also involved in a controversy when he presented, as one of his proposals, the progressive disarmament of the municipal police. As a result, the mayor was accused of wanting to get rid of municipal administration employees who would not align with his policies. The CNews presenter then asked a guest psychologist if the mayor was “trying to cross the line”. The answer was: “There is certainly some truth to this. Now, it is important to remember that Homo sapiens is a social mammal and belongs to the great ape family. Consequently, in every community, in every tribe – our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in tribes – there is a leader whose role is to establish his authority”, said the psychologist. In light of the dialogue, the leader of the France Insubmissa parliamentary group, Mathilde Panot, denounced what she called “brazen and shameless racism”. A communist senator branded the channel a “den of racism”, while a Green Party deputy called it “trash news”. The head of the anti-racist organization SOS Racismo also condemned the episode, saying it was an “attack with clear racist connotations”. A second controversy arose on Saturday (28), following statements by essayist Michel Onfray, who accused Bagayoko of “macho” behavior for asking for “loyalty” after his election. In a statement released on Monday, CNews – the main news channel in terms of audience share (3% of the total) – stated that it “formally denies that any racist comments were made” in its programming. The broadcaster, regularly criticized by Arcom – the independent authority that regulates audiovisual in France – mentions excerpts “truncated and removed from their context”, practices that, according to it, “contribute to an instrumentalization for controversial purposes”. MRAP (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between Peoples) announced on Monday that it would also file a complaint against CNews, warning of “the worrying normalization of a discourse that reactivates deeply rooted racist patterns”. Arcom, also contacted by MRAP and SOS Racismo, reported that it would “investigate the complaints presented”. Support from the French government After being the target of racist statements, Bally Bagayoko received, this Monday (30), the support of the French government. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez told RTL radio: “I consider these attacks despicable (…). We are in France, it is the French Republic that recognizes all its children, regardless of their origin,” he said, insisting that this type of attack is unacceptable. The Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, classified the statements as “vile and unacceptable attacks”. With agencies See more: ICE says 14 immigrants will die in US detention centers in 2026 How Houthis’ participation could redefine the war in Iran Nepal: rapper is the new prime minister, elected after Gen Z protests

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