Since his election as mayor of Saint-Denis, the second-largest city in the Île-de-France region, Bally Bagayoko—the La France Insoumise mayor of Malian origin—has been constantly in the news and sees himself as a champion of the anti-racist cause. Yet his approach to politics only serves to highlight his racist vision of the ‘new France’ that is being built before our very eyes, with the media’s blessing.
The promises designed to win the votes of his constituents proved short-lived: Bagayoko, elected exclusively “to serve the residents of the town of Saint-Denis” and to be a “mayor close to the people,” as the saying goes, was quick to set himself up as a spokesman for the anti-racist cause. As soon as he was elected, one of his priorities was not to deal with roads or local amenities but to organise a march against racism in Saint-Denis, in response to the attacks he claimed to have been subjected to at the time of his election. A “popular, grassroots rally against racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, discrimination, and hatred of others” was therefore held on the forecourt of Saint-Denis Town Hall on Saturday, April 4th, 2026, where demonstrators were invited to chant “We are France.” Bagayoko enjoyed the overwhelming support of the leading figures in his party, La France Insoumise, but took offence at the silence of other political forces—the leaders of the Socialist Party and the Communist Party having failed to attend—and at the belated, half-hearted encouragement to mobilise sent by the government.
As soon as he was elected, zealous biographers were quick to take to social media or the press to portray Bagayoko as the “first black mayor of France,” or even the first “black person to enter politics in France,” forgetting with blatant bad faith the prestigious cohort of those who preceded him. Among them was Louis Guizot, originally from Saint-Domingue, elected in 1790 to represent a small commune in Provence, Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoirès. It is true that he was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, which does not exactly make for an inclusive narrative. But one could just as easily recall the memory of Félix Eboué, a senior civil servant and member of the Resistance; of Félix Houphouët-Boigny or Léopold Sédar Senghor, both MPs; or even of Gaston Monnerville, a Guyanese who served as president of the Senate and, as such, was the second most senior figure in the state under President de Gaulle.
Bagayoko is popular with the media. He is said to be the “revelation of the local elections.” His profile fits perfectly with the official narrative of enrichment through immigration and social advancement through merit. Interviewed on the M6 channel by the television presenter and political specialist Anne-Sophie Lapix, he was bestowed with what might appear, in the eyes of political correctness, as one of the finest compliments: Bagayoko is said to be the future “French Obama.” The basis for this comparison: “You come from this New France, you are black, you are an elected representative with grassroots experience,” the journalist summarised. Behind this facile praise lies a temptation: that of pushing Bagayoko into the limelight, to the point of making him a potential candidate for the Left in 2027, as a ‘replacement’ for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is seen as increasingly unpalatable.
What a mistake. There are as few similarities between Obama and Bagayoko as there are between Trump and Macron—which says it all. But above all, drawing a parallel between the two men reveals a vision of society that is, ultimately, quite banally racist. The only thing Obama and Bagayoko have in common is their skin colour, and that is about it.
Obama is of mixed race. He is the son of a black Kenyan and a white American of Irish descent. He was born in Hawaii, attended Harvard, and achieved the remarkable feat of presenting himself as the spokesman for America’s oppressed black community, even though he shares not the slightest bit of their painful history stemming from slavery and segregation. Bagayoko is the son of two Malians and owes his French nationality solely to the generosity of French citizenship law.
Fortunately, the comparison with the former U.S. president has been vigorously criticised, even on the Left. Some have rightly dared to denounce the racist bias it implies: “For goodness’ sake, let’s stop bringing up Barack Obama every time a non-white person from Seine-Saint-Denis emerges in the public debate; enough is enough. Do we talk about Marine Tondelier as the new Hillary Clinton? Of course not,” MP Nadège Abomangoli protested on X. But it is not certain that this common sense is universally shared.
The main aim of the rally on April 4th, 2026, was simply to celebrate the skin colour of the election winner and his colleagues, elected in other towns in the Paris suburbs—which is, after all, the very negation of the universalism claimed by the French Republic. On the podium, members of a party that has become notoriously antisemitic, La France Insoumise, welcomed the advent of a ‘new France’ in a department which has seen its Jewish population decline by 80% over the past ten years, for it is true that the Jewish community has become the daily target of attacks and violence from those who make up this ‘new France.’ The willingness of certain media outlets to promote Bagayoko is rather convenient and avoids delving into the reality of racism in this impoverished department of Seine-Saint-Denis, which, sadly, has little left that is French.
Bagayoko in Saint-Denis: A French Obama?
Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko delivers a speech on stage during a rally against racism that he convened, in Saint-Denis, on the outskirts of Paris, on April 4, 2026.
THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
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Since his election as mayor of Saint-Denis, the second-largest city in the Île-de-France region, Bally Bagayoko—the La France Insoumise mayor of Malian origin—has been constantly in the news and sees himself as a champion of the anti-racist cause. Yet his approach to politics only serves to highlight his racist vision of the ‘new France’ that is being built before our very eyes, with the media’s blessing.
The promises designed to win the votes of his constituents proved short-lived: Bagayoko, elected exclusively “to serve the residents of the town of Saint-Denis” and to be a “mayor close to the people,” as the saying goes, was quick to set himself up as a spokesman for the anti-racist cause. As soon as he was elected, one of his priorities was not to deal with roads or local amenities but to organise a march against racism in Saint-Denis, in response to the attacks he claimed to have been subjected to at the time of his election. A “popular, grassroots rally against racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism, discrimination, and hatred of others” was therefore held on the forecourt of Saint-Denis Town Hall on Saturday, April 4th, 2026, where demonstrators were invited to chant “We are France.” Bagayoko enjoyed the overwhelming support of the leading figures in his party, La France Insoumise, but took offence at the silence of other political forces—the leaders of the Socialist Party and the Communist Party having failed to attend—and at the belated, half-hearted encouragement to mobilise sent by the government.
As soon as he was elected, zealous biographers were quick to take to social media or the press to portray Bagayoko as the “first black mayor of France,” or even the first “black person to enter politics in France,” forgetting with blatant bad faith the prestigious cohort of those who preceded him. Among them was Louis Guizot, originally from Saint-Domingue, elected in 1790 to represent a small commune in Provence, Saint-Geniès-de-Malgoirès. It is true that he was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, which does not exactly make for an inclusive narrative. But one could just as easily recall the memory of Félix Eboué, a senior civil servant and member of the Resistance; of Félix Houphouët-Boigny or Léopold Sédar Senghor, both MPs; or even of Gaston Monnerville, a Guyanese who served as president of the Senate and, as such, was the second most senior figure in the state under President de Gaulle.
Bagayoko is popular with the media. He is said to be the “revelation of the local elections.” His profile fits perfectly with the official narrative of enrichment through immigration and social advancement through merit. Interviewed on the M6 channel by the television presenter and political specialist Anne-Sophie Lapix, he was bestowed with what might appear, in the eyes of political correctness, as one of the finest compliments: Bagayoko is said to be the future “French Obama.” The basis for this comparison: “You come from this New France, you are black, you are an elected representative with grassroots experience,” the journalist summarised. Behind this facile praise lies a temptation: that of pushing Bagayoko into the limelight, to the point of making him a potential candidate for the Left in 2027, as a ‘replacement’ for Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is seen as increasingly unpalatable.
What a mistake. There are as few similarities between Obama and Bagayoko as there are between Trump and Macron—which says it all. But above all, drawing a parallel between the two men reveals a vision of society that is, ultimately, quite banally racist. The only thing Obama and Bagayoko have in common is their skin colour, and that is about it.
Obama is of mixed race. He is the son of a black Kenyan and a white American of Irish descent. He was born in Hawaii, attended Harvard, and achieved the remarkable feat of presenting himself as the spokesman for America’s oppressed black community, even though he shares not the slightest bit of their painful history stemming from slavery and segregation. Bagayoko is the son of two Malians and owes his French nationality solely to the generosity of French citizenship law.
Fortunately, the comparison with the former U.S. president has been vigorously criticised, even on the Left. Some have rightly dared to denounce the racist bias it implies: “For goodness’ sake, let’s stop bringing up Barack Obama every time a non-white person from Seine-Saint-Denis emerges in the public debate; enough is enough. Do we talk about Marine Tondelier as the new Hillary Clinton? Of course not,” MP Nadège Abomangoli protested on X. But it is not certain that this common sense is universally shared.
The main aim of the rally on April 4th, 2026, was simply to celebrate the skin colour of the election winner and his colleagues, elected in other towns in the Paris suburbs—which is, after all, the very negation of the universalism claimed by the French Republic. On the podium, members of a party that has become notoriously antisemitic, La France Insoumise, welcomed the advent of a ‘new France’ in a department which has seen its Jewish population decline by 80% over the past ten years, for it is true that the Jewish community has become the daily target of attacks and violence from those who make up this ‘new France.’ The willingness of certain media outlets to promote Bagayoko is rather convenient and avoids delving into the reality of racism in this impoverished department of Seine-Saint-Denis, which, sadly, has little left that is French.
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