Bombay Durpun - Thousands rally against racism in Paris suburb to defend mayor

Bally Bagayoko, 52, of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party, was elected mayor of Saint-Denis in the first round of municipal elections on March 15.

The Frenchman born to Malian parents and brought up in the neighbourhood was almost immediately targeted by racist disinformation and remarks, some aired on one of the country's most watched news channels.

Demonstrators gathered on the steps of Saint-Denis's town hall, a town of 150,000 is one of France's most diverse, with a large immigrant population. Music bands, trades unions and associations joined the demonstation.

"We come to state firmly and definitively our visceral attachment to the values of the Republic embodied by those who are heirs of immigration," said Bagayoko.

He attacked what he said were "failing, sometimes even complicit institutions".

Also present was LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon. He denounced "a sickening wave of racism coming from the political and media elites who, without reservation, without restraint, have displayed their contempt for a part of our people."

- Government minister absent -

Aurore Berge, the government's minister against discrimination did not attend the event.

"If there is one minister who should have been there, it is her," said Bagayoko when he was asked about her absence -- but he did thank her for having reached out by telephone to express her solidarity.

Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu this week also denounced what he described as the "normalisation of evil and racism" following the campaign against Bagayoko.

Bagayoko has filed a legal complaint against the CNews television channel, often described as France's Fox News, over comments about him made by one guest on the show.

A separate investigation had been opened into the racist abuse the mayor received on the X platform, after the comments broadcast on CNews.

M.T.Johanson--BD