The son of Malian immigrants, Bally Bagayoko was elected in the first round of the municipal elections in Saint-Denis. He defeated his challenger, Mathieu Hanotin. The arrival of the LFI (La France Insoumise) candidate at the head of this French municipality is not to everyone's liking.
Bally Bagayoko is the target of discrimination and racist remarks. Invited to a Cnews program about the first days of the mayor of Saint-Denis's term, psychologist Jean Doridot made controversial comments that many did not hesitate to label racist.
"Homo sapiens, we are social mammals and belong to the great ape family."
Indeed, the journalist asked Mr. Doridot if the new mayor had been "trying to push the boundaries" since taking office. The psychologist replied: "There's certainly some truth to that. Now, it's important to remember that Homo sapiens are social mammals and belong to the great ape family. And consequently, in every community, in every tribe—our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived in tribes—there is a leader whose role is to establish their authority."
Following these statements, the mayor of Saint-Denis announced he would be filing a complaint against the CNews channel. Invited on France Inter radio this Monday, March 30th, he denounced the lack of support from the highest levels of government.
The least one can say is that Mr. Bagayoko may have spoken too hastily. Indeed, on the same Monday, the French Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nunez, condemned Mr. Doridot's statements.
"This is unacceptable."
“I am very shocked by these remarks (…) We cannot have this kind of outburst. It is unacceptable. There is not a new France and there is not a France that is going to disappear (…) There is a France that integrates, which is a France of national cohesion,” Mr. Nunez said on RTL.
He finds the attacks against the mayor "despicable". "We are here in France. It is the French Republic that recognizes all its children, whatever their origin," stressed the tenant of the Place Beauvau.
It should be noted that the Minister of Culture, Catherine Pégard, also offered her support to Mayor Bagayoko, denouncing the "vile and unacceptable" attacks against him.
Bernardin Patinvoh
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