The local elections in Saint-Denis, a city with a population of over 150,000, saw, for the first time, the victory of a far-left candidate representing La France Insoumise (LFI): Bally Bagayoko was elected with just over 50% of the vote.
LFI and its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have made Bagayoko their champion. Through him, Mélenchon is methodically pursuing his promotion of what he calls the “New France,” a new country where ethnic mixing must become the norm—a “creolisation,” in his words, whose benefits are largely imagined, and which is supposed to revitalise an old country in decline.
In using these words, Mélenchon knows exactly what he is doing. He is one of the few people in today’s political class to possess a modicum of education and historical knowledge, though he makes abysmal use of it. ‘New France’ was the name given to French Canada at the time when King Louis XIV dreamed of turning it into a model Catholic colony, populated by ‘Filles du Roy’ and hardy pioneers—the forerunner of today’s Quebec. For Mélenchon, New France has a completely different meaning: it is a France that has been replaced. For him, the Great Replacement is neither a conspiracy theory nor a myth propagated by ‘neo-Nazis’ such as Renaud Camus, but rather a conscious political programme: the old white blood must give way to new arrivals from Africa and the Maghreb, who embody vitality and the future and are endowed with every virtue.
In Saint-Denis, this New France is already on the rise. Seine-Saint-Denis is the leading department in mainland France in terms of its population of immigrant origin. At the foot of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, which has housed the necropolis of the kings of France since Merovingian times, the descendants of the subjects of Their Majesties the Most Christian Kings are becoming increasingly rare. A few months ago, a scandal erupted when female archaeologists in charge of excavations at the foot of the basilica were harassed by ‘locals’ for their attire, deemed inappropriate, and because they were doing ‘men’s work.’ At the time, the local authorities did not report the attackers, so as not to engage in ‘ethnic or religious discrimination’, and merely ‘provided education.’
In Saint-Denis, the Great Replacement is not something to be ashamed of; it is acknowledged and celebrated.
Bagayoko was born in France to Malian parents. He owes his nationality to France’s very—indeed, overly—generous birthright citizenship laws. He has spent his entire political career on the far left and chose to ally himself with the communists to win this election. In the hours following his victory, Bally Bagayoko made headlines with a statement that sparked controversy. For the new mayor, Saint-Denis is “the city of kings (ville des rois) and of the living people.” Some journalists over-interpreted his statement, having understood, in the hubbub of election night, that he was claiming to be the mayor of the “city of black people” (in French, ville des noirs—which sounds similarly to ville des rois.) These were not the words he used, but coming from him, the phrase “city of the living people” following on from “city of kings” is nonetheless laden with meaning. Bagayoko sees himself as the representative of a ‘new France,’ a ‘living’ France, destined to succeed the France of kings, which he regards as dead, without a future and, for him, devoid of all meaning.
Symbolising this shift, Bagayoko’s main opponent in the mayoral election was a socialist. The Left against the Left, one might be tempted to think. But this other Left is that of the dead people. The defeated outgoing mayor , Mathieu Hanotin, is a white man who, although on the Left, is now, too, part of the old world. “We’ve known Bally since we were little. We’re people of colour, we come from working-class neighbourhoods; he’s someone who represents us, I’m proud of him. Hanotin was the complete opposite,” says one of Bagayoko’s voters to the newspaper La Croix.
For reasons that are both ideological and electioneering, Mélenchon puts an obsessive energy into extolling the virtues of this new world. On Wednesday, March 19th, he declared: “In Saint-Denis, the New France is asserting itself.” Piling up historical absurdities, he attributes the design of Gothic cathedrals to Muslim knowledge, before indulging in a classic display of self-hatred: “It was bound to happen one day that someone would stand up on their own two feet, at the other end of the African continent, so that in the end, here, you could be acting all clever, white as you are, ugly as you are,” he exclaimed before an assembly that applauded wildly.
But the reality of this New France, the final frontier of civilisation, is not as rosy as he would have us believe. Bagayoko is the product of local patronage. His election is presented as a landslide victory by the far left, but he was elected with barely over 50% of the vote, with a colossal abstention rate, meaning his supporters represent only 20% of all registered voters. Whilst his fans highlight his main campaign slogans—youth, the future—it is a different agenda that forms the backdrop: support for the Palestinian cause, and voting rights for foreigners.
Since his election, a few incidents occurred that have not been to his credit. For instance, he was filmed giving the middle finger in front of the cameras. But the mainstream press is there to defend him: we are told that it was not a middle finger, but an “uppercut” in reference to his campaign slogan: “One punch, KO.” We would have liked the media to show the same zeal in making such distinctions when Elon Musk was accused of making a ‘Nazi salute.’ Some reports have also highlighted Bagayoko’s murky links to the drug trade: the editor-in-chief of Valeurs Actuelles noted the presence of several drug dealers in the town hall on the evening of the victory. The newly elected mayor refused to address the issue and the journalist was accused of ‘racism’ for raising it.
Speaking of racism: Mélenchon himself has been reported for racism following his remarks about “ugly” white people. It seems the old France will not give way to the new without a fight.
Saint-Denis, ‘City of Kings’, and the Great Replacement: A Case Study
Tombs of the Kings of France in the Basilica of Saint-Denis
By Ninaras – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=48173875
You may also like
War, Pacifism, and the Failure of German Political Leadership
Over decades, Germany’s political elites have systematically undermined the very values that might inspire citizens to feel a stake in their country’s defence.
First Genocide Trial Against ISIS Terrorist Opens In France
The existence of ISIS sleeper cells and other jihadist groups remains a major national security threat that European governments must no longer ignore.
Berlin’s Day of Intimidation
The last thing Berlin needs is a day against Islamophobia—what it does need is better politicians.
The local elections in Saint-Denis, a city with a population of over 150,000, saw, for the first time, the victory of a far-left candidate representing La France Insoumise (LFI): Bally Bagayoko was elected with just over 50% of the vote.
LFI and its leader, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have made Bagayoko their champion. Through him, Mélenchon is methodically pursuing his promotion of what he calls the “New France,” a new country where ethnic mixing must become the norm—a “creolisation,” in his words, whose benefits are largely imagined, and which is supposed to revitalise an old country in decline.
In using these words, Mélenchon knows exactly what he is doing. He is one of the few people in today’s political class to possess a modicum of education and historical knowledge, though he makes abysmal use of it. ‘New France’ was the name given to French Canada at the time when King Louis XIV dreamed of turning it into a model Catholic colony, populated by ‘Filles du Roy’ and hardy pioneers—the forerunner of today’s Quebec. For Mélenchon, New France has a completely different meaning: it is a France that has been replaced. For him, the Great Replacement is neither a conspiracy theory nor a myth propagated by ‘neo-Nazis’ such as Renaud Camus, but rather a conscious political programme: the old white blood must give way to new arrivals from Africa and the Maghreb, who embody vitality and the future and are endowed with every virtue.
In Saint-Denis, this New France is already on the rise. Seine-Saint-Denis is the leading department in mainland France in terms of its population of immigrant origin. At the foot of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, which has housed the necropolis of the kings of France since Merovingian times, the descendants of the subjects of Their Majesties the Most Christian Kings are becoming increasingly rare. A few months ago, a scandal erupted when female archaeologists in charge of excavations at the foot of the basilica were harassed by ‘locals’ for their attire, deemed inappropriate, and because they were doing ‘men’s work.’ At the time, the local authorities did not report the attackers, so as not to engage in ‘ethnic or religious discrimination’, and merely ‘provided education.’
In Saint-Denis, the Great Replacement is not something to be ashamed of; it is acknowledged and celebrated.
Bagayoko was born in France to Malian parents. He owes his nationality to France’s very—indeed, overly—generous birthright citizenship laws. He has spent his entire political career on the far left and chose to ally himself with the communists to win this election. In the hours following his victory, Bally Bagayoko made headlines with a statement that sparked controversy. For the new mayor, Saint-Denis is “the city of kings (ville des rois) and of the living people.” Some journalists over-interpreted his statement, having understood, in the hubbub of election night, that he was claiming to be the mayor of the “city of black people” (in French, ville des noirs—which sounds similarly to ville des rois.) These were not the words he used, but coming from him, the phrase “city of the living people” following on from “city of kings” is nonetheless laden with meaning. Bagayoko sees himself as the representative of a ‘new France,’ a ‘living’ France, destined to succeed the France of kings, which he regards as dead, without a future and, for him, devoid of all meaning.
Symbolising this shift, Bagayoko’s main opponent in the mayoral election was a socialist. The Left against the Left, one might be tempted to think. But this other Left is that of the dead people. The defeated outgoing mayor , Mathieu Hanotin, is a white man who, although on the Left, is now, too, part of the old world. “We’ve known Bally since we were little. We’re people of colour, we come from working-class neighbourhoods; he’s someone who represents us, I’m proud of him. Hanotin was the complete opposite,” says one of Bagayoko’s voters to the newspaper La Croix.
For reasons that are both ideological and electioneering, Mélenchon puts an obsessive energy into extolling the virtues of this new world. On Wednesday, March 19th, he declared: “In Saint-Denis, the New France is asserting itself.” Piling up historical absurdities, he attributes the design of Gothic cathedrals to Muslim knowledge, before indulging in a classic display of self-hatred: “It was bound to happen one day that someone would stand up on their own two feet, at the other end of the African continent, so that in the end, here, you could be acting all clever, white as you are, ugly as you are,” he exclaimed before an assembly that applauded wildly.
But the reality of this New France, the final frontier of civilisation, is not as rosy as he would have us believe. Bagayoko is the product of local patronage. His election is presented as a landslide victory by the far left, but he was elected with barely over 50% of the vote, with a colossal abstention rate, meaning his supporters represent only 20% of all registered voters. Whilst his fans highlight his main campaign slogans—youth, the future—it is a different agenda that forms the backdrop: support for the Palestinian cause, and voting rights for foreigners.
Since his election, a few incidents occurred that have not been to his credit. For instance, he was filmed giving the middle finger in front of the cameras. But the mainstream press is there to defend him: we are told that it was not a middle finger, but an “uppercut” in reference to his campaign slogan: “One punch, KO.” We would have liked the media to show the same zeal in making such distinctions when Elon Musk was accused of making a ‘Nazi salute.’ Some reports have also highlighted Bagayoko’s murky links to the drug trade: the editor-in-chief of Valeurs Actuelles noted the presence of several drug dealers in the town hall on the evening of the victory. The newly elected mayor refused to address the issue and the journalist was accused of ‘racism’ for raising it.
Speaking of racism: Mélenchon himself has been reported for racism following his remarks about “ugly” white people. It seems the old France will not give way to the new without a fight.
Our community starts with you
READ NEXT
During Lent, Fasts of Crescent and Cross Are Not the Same
Berlin’s Day of Intimidation
A Defeat for Suicide Campaigners Is a Victory for the Vulnerable