Bally Bagayoko, the newly elected mayor of Saint-Denis, has called for urgent action against racism and the rise of far-right ideology in France after becoming the target of a barrage of racist insults. The 52-year-old radical left mayor, who won a decisive first-round victory last month, said racist views have become easier to express and are increasingly trivialised in French society.
The abuse against Bagayoko included references to apes and tribal chiefs on a debate show on CNews, the most-watched news channel in France. The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the comments, alongside a separate police inquiry into online hate. Racist phone calls have also been made to Saint-Denis town hall staff, and a file of racist letters, including one sent to several Black elected officials claiming they had escaped from a zoo, is being compiled for police.
Thousands are expected to attend an anti-racism rally in support of Bagayoko on Saturday. The prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, described the abuse as the 'normalisation of racism and evil' in France. Bagayoko said the demonstration aims to bring together citizens against racism and the far right, urging action to prevent such incidents from recurring.
Bagayoko, born in France to Malian parents and raised on a housing estate in Saint-Denis, said his election as the first mayor from a local family with African immigrant heritage broke a 'glass ceiling' in town politics. He argued that successive governments under President Emmanuel Macron have failed to address economic inequality, which he said drives divisions and allows the far right to gain support. 'The far right – and racist ideology – lodges itself where there are austerity politics,' he said.
Saint-Denis, a diverse, deindustrialised town north of Paris that hosted parts of the 2024 Olympics, remains one of the poorest areas in France, with high unemployment and a young, multi-ethnic population facing discrimination. With the far-right National Rally polling strongly ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Bagayoko stressed the need to tackle inequality to stem the rise of far-right ideas.
