Bally Bagayoko, the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis, has called for urgent action against the rise of racist discourse in France after facing a wave of racist abuse following his election victory. The 52-year-old, born in France to Malian parents and a long-time resident of Saint-Denis, was elected with a strong majority representing Jean-Luc Mélenchon's radical left party, La France Insoumise, with support from local communists. After his first-round win last month, guests on the French news channel CNews compared him to apes and tribal chiefs, prompting the Paris prosecutor's office to open an investigation into the broadcast. A separate police inquiry is examining online hate directed at Bagayoko, while town hall staff have reported receiving racist phone calls and a letter claiming he and other Black officials had "escaped from a zoo." Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu condemned the abuse as evidence of the "normalisation of racism and evil" in public life. Thousands are expected to attend an anti-racism rally in Saint-Denis on Saturday in solidarity with Bagayoko, who described the event as a moment for citizens to unite against racism and the growing influence of far-right ideologies. He emphasized that the demonstration was not just about condemnation but about active resistance to prevent such incidents from recurring. Bagayoko, who previously worked as a senior manager at Paris transport operator RATP and served 19 years as a local councillor, said his election broke a "glass ceiling" in local politics, which he believes triggered the backlash. He dismissed false claims circulating online that he referred to Saint-Denis as the "city of Blacks," clarifying he had quoted a poem calling it the "city of kings." Saint-Denis, a diverse and economically disadvantaged suburb of Paris with a young, multi-ethnic population, hosted events during the 2024 Olympics and remains one of the poorest areas in the country. Bagayoko cited systemic underinvestment in education and housing as root causes of inequality and said he is considering limiting certain weapons used by municipal police to build greater public trust.
When Bally Bagayoko says racist tropes are being normalised, he is naming a shift that goes beyond insults—it reveals how far-right narratives are gaining legitimacy in mainstream French discourse. His election, rooted in a working-class, multi-ethnic town long excluded from power, threatens a status quo that responds with dehumanising imagery and false narratives. That a mayor must defend his legitimacy against claims he incited crime or escaped a zoo shows how deeply racism is being weaponised in political resistance. This isn't fringe anger—it's a signal of how high the stakes have become in France's looming battle for national identity.
