Bally Bagayoko, La France insoumise (LFI) mayor of Saint-Denis Pierrefitte (Seine-Saint-Denis), thanked Emmanuel Macron for his support – which he found late – in the face of the racist attacks of which he was the target, during a meeting, Tuesday April 14, during which he gave him a letter denouncing the inadequacies of the State.
The councilor declared to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that, during this first meeting in Saint-Denis, the President of the Republic had “wanted to be reassuring” towards him, affirming “that he of course condemned racist acts and that he was intransigent on this issue”. Since his victory in the first round, the elected official of Malian origin has in fact been the target of controversial remarks on the CNews channel and numerous racist comments.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation for “public insult due to origin, ethnicity, nation, race or religion”, the day after the new mayor filed a complaint. Emmanuel Macron went to Saint-Denis on Tuesday evening to attend, “like every year” specifies his entourage, the concert of students from the educational houses of the Legion of Honor, boarding schools intended for the descendants of those decorated with this order of which he is the grand master.
The exchange between the two men took place during the president’s Republican welcome, in the presence of various local elected officials, before the start of the concert, said Emmanuel Macron’s entourage. It was a “cordial and republican exchange”, “there was a handshake”, “it lasted a very short time”, according to the same source. Bally Bagayoko announced that he had taken the opportunity to give him “a “Stop racism” T-shirt, which echoes the rally held at the beginning of April” in Saint-Denis, where several thousand people had gathered at his call.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In Saint-Denis, thousands of people gathered against racism and in support of Bally Bagayoko
He also gave him a four-page letter in which he expressed “regret that this support [présidentiel] could not express himself publicly, nor at the time when these attacks were the most virulent.
“It’s insufficient”
In this letter, he also alerted the Head of State to the major difficulties affecting his municipality, in particular due to underfunding from the State. “What I observe is that it is insufficient,” summarized Bally Bagayoko to AFP. Wanting to be uncompromising, the LFI elected official pleaded the cause of his town of 150,000 inhabitants “which suffers from the social and territorial inequalities that state services have allowed to flourish for too many years. »
Also read the meeting | Article reserved for our subscribers Bally Bagayoko, the new mayor of Saint-Denis, wants to make the racist attacks he suffers a “support element to build things”
In this letter, consulted by AFP, he also deplores the first provisional school map measures for the start of the 2026 school year, a reduction in resources which he considers “difficult to be compatible with the national ambitions for educational success and the fight against educational inequalities”. Bally Bagayoko also denounces the “significant dysfunctions” at the sub-prefecture of Saint-Denis, where the long delays in obtaining and renewing residence permits have “very serious” consequences for users, such as “loss of employment, difficulties in accessing housing. »
“Contrary to the fake news circulating,” reprimands the mayor, he affirmed that the municipal police force and that the video protection system would be maintained, while criticizing the national police force “structurally insufficient” to meet the needs of his municipality.
He also said he was “at the disposal” of the government “to move forward very concretely”, wanting to bring people together: to “try to make a connection between the suburbs and Paris”, he declared Tuesday evening to AFP, a Republican march against racism is planned for May 3 in the capital, following on from the April 4 rally in Saint-Denis.
Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers Racism: nearly one in two French people believe they have been a victim, according to a study carried out for Licra
In his mail and in person on Tuesday evening, Bally Bagayoko invited Emmanuel Macron to join this demonstration. The Dyonisian elected official did not fail to note the absence of members of the government on the square in front of his town hall during this first gathering.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
