Saint-D enis –Ever since the election of Bally Bagayoko as mayor of the French capital’s largest suburb, the city hall in Saint-Denis has been targeted with racist phone calls.
“Hello? Is it true you have to wear a headscarf to go to school?” one caller asked.
“Is this the town of Blacks and Arabs?” said another.
In a third instance, someone stayed silent, playing a song by Amadou and Mariam, a Malian musical duo.
The five switchboard operators at Saint-Denis town hall say they have had similar messages several times a day since Bagayoko, who was born in France to Malian parents, was elected mayor of the working-class town in mid-March.
“We’ve reached a new level in the openly racist remarks made by callers who take advantage of the anonymity of calls to let loose,” Kelly Kidou, head of the town hall’s reception service, told AFP.
France, a former colonial power that is home to nearly 70 million people, has long sought to be colour blind, and racial discrimination is meant to be a taboo.
At the same time, people of immigrant origin — especially those who are not white — have long been underrepresented in French politics at local level.
That glass ceiling was cracked last month when around 10 people of African descent were elected or re-elected mayor in France.
But their victories have also cast a spotlight on what some observers say is the country’s deep‑seated racism.
Bagayoko, a member of the hard-left France Unbowed party, became the target of a far‑right hate campaign as soon as he became the mayor of Saint‑Denis.
Disinformation first spread on X claiming Bagayoko had called Saint-Denis — a suburb often dubbed “the city of kings” after monarchs buried in its cathedral — the “city of blacks”.
– ‘Colonial contempt’ –
The 52-year-old elected official had in fact told a television presenter on the night of his victory that it was “the city of kings — and of the living people”.
A new controversy soon followed, with a debate on CNews — a television channel often described as France’s version of Fox News — focusing last week on the first days of the new mayor’s term.
The host asked if Bagayoko was “trying to push the limits”. A guest expert replied invoking images of apes and tribal chiefs.
Several hard-left and left-wing officials as well as anti-racist organisations reported the remarks to the French regulator for audiovisual and digital media.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu on Tuesday threw his weight behind the mayor, speaking out against the “normalisation of evil and racism.”
Observers say the political changes do not sit well with some in France, where the popular far-right party of Marine Le Pen is hoping to win power in a presidential election next year.
Le Monde condemned “xenophobic attacks” on several recently elected mayors from immigrant backgrounds.
“That France should be surprised that mayors in the suburbs have names with North African and West African-sounding roots is sad and worrying,” the daily said in an editorial.
“A part of the country is in full regression, giving weight to those who condemn the enduring legacy of colonial contempt and racism.”
Fabien Roussel, leader of France’s Communist Party, said there was “deep-seated discrimination against people of the Muslim faith, Arabs and Black people who are stigmatised in an almost systemic manner, including in certain media outlets.”
– ‘Shockingly violent’ –
Some in Saint-Denis, which is home to around 150,000 people, say they have had felt a deep unease since the election of Bagayoko and the attacks against him.
“Everyone’s talking about it in the bookshop,” a shop assistant told AFP, referring to the mayor as “Bally”.
Just a few metres from the Saint-Denis Basilica, the shop’s window showcases African authors and books on immigration, as well as cultural and religious differences.
“Ultimately, it’s creating a sense of solidarity and a kind of esprit de corps in the town that wouldn’t necessarily have been as strong without this wave of attacks,” said the 35-year-old.
Mohammed Ouaddane, head of the Franco-Moroccan Association of Saint-Denis, is furious.
“We’re being belittled,” said the 62-year-old, sporting greying dreadlocks.
“They’re treating people like children, humiliating them. It’s shockingly violent. Basically, they’re telling them: you’ve elected a monkey!”
He said activists have for years fought for a “pluralistic France.”
“Saint-Denis is a testing ground for this pluralism and for this France that is currently being rebuilt in a different way.”
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Source: AFP
