This Black Muslim mayor shielded French student protesters from police tear gas:

This Black Muslim mayor shielded French student protesters from police tear gas: So police teargassed him. Bally Bagayoko is the left-wing mayor of Saint-Denis, a suburb of Paris where he also grew up. It's a predominantly working-class neighbourhood, with a large immigrant population. A child of Malian immigrants, Bagayoko is the first Black and Muslim Mayor of a city its size. And since mass student protests erupted across France against chronic underinvestment in education - SEPT. 29, 2026 he's been on the frontlines in Saint-Denis. BALLY BAGAYOKO Mayor, Saint-Denis I have seen high school students forming a human chain specifically to prevent other students from being confronted [by the police]. I have seen teachers do it. I have seen elected officials do it, too. And unfortunately, it doesn't get much attention. But if even more of us - parents and all adults - came out to stand in solidarity with the students, the mobilization would go more smoothly, and perhaps the state would pay more attention to this movement - one that is respectable, justified, and legitimate. On Oct. 6, police teargassed him while he was guarding student protesters - with images of the wounded mayor going viral. Since his election in 2025, Bagayoko has faced racist abuse from France's right-wing. But he has vowed to tackle inequality in Saint-Denis and beyond, and called out government cuts to public spending. APRIL 4, 2026 We will always look the far-right in the eye, we will always look racism in the eye because we are not afraid. We are the France that resists. We are the France that demands dignity. We are the France that demands legality. Resistance, resistance!