The Muslim far-left mayor at the forefront of France’s student protests after sweeping into power with promises of disarming the police

DAILYMAIL.COM • 2h ago

By IMOGEN GARFINKEL – SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER 14:38 08 Oct 2026, updated 14:47 08 Oct 2026

As France’s streets vibrate with the anger of hundreds of thousands of student protesters going head-to-head with riot police, one mayor is standing by their side.

Footage of Bally Bagayoko has gone viral showing him crowd surfing atop the shoulders of the young demonstrators, who for more than two weeks have been blocking access to high schools and setting buildings alight.

The mayor of Saint-Denis was elected in March with a large majority for Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s radical left party, La France Insoumise (LFI), with the support of communists, who have had a presence in the working-class Parisian suburb for decades.

Not long after his election, Bagayoko stirred controversy when he announced his intention to disarm the local police, beginning with LBD rubber bullet launchers, whose ammunition stocks he said would not be renewed, according to RFI.

On Tuesday, he was filmed shielding student protesters from officers at a demonstration in Paris, shouting ‘Stop’ with his arms outspread.

Further footage showed him receiving saline solution to his eyes after being exposed to tear gas.

The Paris Police Prefect even reported him to the public prosecutor’s office for ‘incitement to commit a crime’, after he was filmed saying that ‘violence, at a given moment, can be legitimate,’ in front of the Paul-Éluard high school in support of the blockade movement, Le Parisien reported.

But despite his detractors, the Muslim mayor has emerged as a hero of the youth protest movement, at a time when Emmanuel Macron’s government – burdened with a spiralling debt crisis – has never been weaker.

Before he was elected with a large majority, Bagayoko served as a local councillor for 19 years and coached basketball.

On Saturdays and Tuesdays, he still teaches children the sport, according to an interview in El País, even as he leads LFI’s biggest town with a population of 150,000.

In his office at Saint-Denis town hall, a well-known official portrait of Macron leans against the wall on the floor, in what Bagayoko calls a protest against the state’s failure to address social inequalities.

His refusal to hang the picture earned him a letter of ire from the prefect of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, who reprimanded him for violating the ‘republican custom’ of displaying the presidential portrait.

He drapes a Palestinian flag behind his chair, according to Le Monde, in a show of support for the cause that is a powerful driving force of LFI founder Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s election campaigns.

The LFI and Mélenchon have faced accusations of failing to properly condemn the October 7, 2023 attacks by Palestinian terrorist group Hamas on Israel.

Mélenchon has also been accused of antisemitism after a long list of comments, such as when he mocked the pronunciation ‘Epstein’ during a political rally in February in a quip many read as an attempt to emphasise the sexual predator’s Jewishness.

Mélenchon rejected accusations of antisemitism at the time, calling his comments ‘ironic’.

Bagayoko made himself a controversial figure when he announced soon after his election that he would begin a gradual ‘process of disarming’ the police.

‘We will review the entirety of the weapons of the local police. This will be done in consultation with police leadership, staff and city residents, so that we can have a local police that is able to act,’ he told France Télévisions at the time.

The comments drew the anger of the hard-Right, particularly after reports of police officers putting in transfer requests.

In a social media post, Eric Ciotti, the Mayor of Nice, offered to take in any officers who felt ‘threatened’ by Bagayoko’s decision.

The president of the hard-Right National Rally, Jordan Bardella, said that towns run by his party would be ‘sanctuaries for any local police officer who wishes to work on security and be supported and respected’.

Bagayoko denied reports of a ‘wave’ of transfer requests, calling them exaggerated.

Since the student protest movement gripped France, he has been vocal about his opposition to the police using force, telling Reuters on Wednesday: ‘They had decided to charge and effectively go after the students, many of whom had shown no aggressive behaviour whatsoever toward the police officers.’

There have been more than 6,000 arrests and dozens of student injuries since the protests began.

Rights groups and unions accuse the police of using heavy-handed tactics against minors, including the use of batons, tear gas ‌and ⁠non-lethal flashball guns.

Authorities say hundreds of police officers have also been injured, schools have been burned or ransacked, and teachers and members of the public have been attacked.

A father of four, he said that ‘the high school children who were in the street could be my children… it is my responsibility to be at their side’.

Born in France to Malian parents, Bagayoko grew up on a housing estate in Saint-Denis where poverty levels are more than double the national average.

The town – with a young, multi-ethnic population that suffers from higher than average unemployment – was one of the first sites of student protests in late September over overcrowded and unsanitary classrooms, teacher shortages ⁠and unequal opportunities.

In comments to the Guardian, Bagayoko said that as the first mayor from a local French family with a history of immigration from Africa, he had broken a ‘glass ceiling’ in town politics.

Since assuming power, he says he has been the victim of racist stereotypes across TV and social media, including the charge that ‘drug dealers’ voted for him.

Bagayoko filed a criminal complaint against the CNews TV channel, according to RFI, after he accused the programme of broadcasting interviews in which guests drew analogies involving monkeys and tribal chiefs.

Mathilde Panot, leader of the LFI group in the National Assembly, called the remarks ‘crass’ and an example of ‘unapologetic racism’.

The channel has said the remarks were ‘taken out of context’ and ‘deliberately distorted’ and the contributor concerned has denied racist intent.

According to operators on his town hall’s switchboard, they are receiving five or six calls a day with racist questions such as ‘is this the town hall for Arabs and blacks?’.

‘They’re not necessarily anonymous calls – people feel sufficiently emboldened that they don’t even bother to hide their numbers,’ the head of the department, Kelly Kidou, told Franceinfo public radio.

Bagayoko has openly criticised the French government’s 2004 law banning the wearing of religious symbols or clothing in public schools as part of its strict policy of secularism, according to Le Point.

‘Under the guise of secularism, some laws undermine fundamental rights,’ the outlet quotes the mayor as saying.

For the past twenty years, he said these laws have aimed to ‘target the Muslim community. So I don’t support them’.

As the protest movement continues to grip France, Bagayoko has lent his support to the students in his town, arguing the cash-strapped government should prioritise investing in education ⁠and levy heavier taxes on billionaires.

‘Protests are not new here, they happen at every start of the academic year,’ Bagayoko said. ‘The Republican promise (of equality) — in particular for the working-class neighbourhoods, and also rural areas — is not respected.’

But the demands for greater funding come at a time when France is being dubbed the ‘sick man of Europe’ by some experts.

The government is caught between the demonstrators on the streets demanding more funds and ‘bond vigilantes’ in the markets, who punish perceived fiscal irresponsibility by betting against the country’s debt.

France risks being ‘strangled by interest rates’ if it did not clean up its public finances, the head of the French central bank recently told the Financial Times.

Faced with rising borrowing costs, a deficit of 5.4 per cent of GDP and a public debt at its highest level since the 1940s, the government is financially as well as politically paralysed in the face of rising discontent.

But as Macron sinks in popularity six months before the election he is barred from, France’s hard-Left are charting their path to presidency.

After nine years in power, he leaves behind a hollowed-out political centre and weak economy that have opened space for hardline parties such as LFI, whose polarising candidate Mélenchon is making his fourth tilt at the top office.

Meghan steps into the limelight: Duchess leaves Claridge’s wearing £28,000 outfit accompanied by…

Three sisters who drowned at Brighton beach died in suicide pact after visiting place where their…

Prince Harry reveals he ‘slipped into depression’ after Megxit as he opens up in candid interview…

Husband of ‘murdered’ royal GP ‘hit her over head with an axe and strangled her during children’s…

Zara Tindall reveals how her tough-love upbringing with Princess Anne and ‘critical’ Mark Phillips…

Violent ‘traveller burglary squads’ suspected of 50 house break-ins as Met Police accused of failing…

Andrew WINS High Court battle as police admit raids on Sandringham and Windsor were unlawful

Three years after images of their kidnap shocked the world Noa Argamani’s ex-boyfriend describes his…

Earl Spencer criticises Princess Anne for ‘making me feel small’ with withering response to question…

Disabled woman, 87, dies two weeks after forced eviction that sparked mass housing protests and…

Estate agent left with £200,000 court bill after losing battle with millionaire former rally driver…

Coronation Street and Brookside actor Eric Potts faces prison after being found with indecent images…

Jaw-dropping new bodycam shows boy, 6, curse and threaten cops moments after he shot his teacher…

Britain’s new breed of ‘boy racers’ risking YOUR lives for kicks and clicks: MIMI YATES goes…

Toddler Star Hobson’s mother is released from prison six years after she allowed the 16-month-old to…

ROBERT HARDMAN: Hiding behind umbrellas, the ghouls marching for Hamas on the October 7th…

The Muslim far-left mayor at forefront of France’s student protestsComments are subject to our House rules and TermsNewest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}

No one seems to have shared their thoughts on this topic yetLeave a comment so your voice will be heard first.

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{#replies.comments}}{{^isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{#isLast}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/isLast}}{{/replies.comments}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{^replies.totalCount}}{{initials}}{{userAlias}}, United Kingdom, {{formattedDateAndTime}}{{message}}

{{upVotes}}{{downVotes}}{{/replies.totalCount}}{{/isComment}}The opinions and views expressed in the comments section are solely those of the individual users and do not represent or reflect the opinions, views, or positions of MailOnline. MailOnline does not endorse, support, or verify the accuracy of any user-generated content.Terms|Privacy|FeedbackOldest{{#isModerationStatus}}{{moderationStatus}}