Saint-Denis Mayor Shields Student Protesters in France
Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko has gone viral on social media after confronting demonstrators in Paris. He was seen shielding student protesters and shouting “stop” at riot police carrying shields.
According to detikcom, on Thursday (8 October 2026), the mayor supports students protesting in the working-class suburb of Paris. Reuters reported that the viral incident took place on Tuesday (6 October).
Bagayoko asked police not to charge the students, saying many of them had not behaved aggressively towards officers.
“They decided to charge and really pursue the students—many of whom had shown no aggression at all towards police officers,” Bagayoko, a member of the radical left-wing party France Unbowed (LFI), said in an interview at his office.
Police eventually fired tear gas at the group, including at the mayor. The wave of student protests, which began in marginalised areas on the outskirts of Paris, has continued for more than two weeks and exposed widespread public anger.
Protests take place six months before France’s election
The protests are taking place six months before the election to replace French President Emmanuel Macron. More than 6,000 people have been arrested and dozens of students injured since the demonstrations began.
Human rights groups and trade unions have accused police of using violent tactics against minors, including batons, tear gas and “flashball” hard-rubber projectiles. Authorities, meanwhile, say hundreds of police officers have also been injured, schools have been set alight or looted, and teachers and civilians have been attacked.
Saint-Denis, where the poverty rate is more than twice the national average, was one of the first sites of the student protests in late September. The demonstrations were sparked by overcrowded and unhygienic classrooms, a shortage of teachers and unequal opportunities.
“Protests are nothing new here. They happen at the beginning of every school year. The Republic’s promise of equality, particularly for working-class neighbourhoods and rural areas, is not being honoured,” Bagayoko said.
He argued that the French government should prioritise investment in education and impose higher taxes on billionaires. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said the government would review the students’ demands and put forward proposals by the end of October, but gave no further details.
The French government has suggested that LFI politicians are behind the protests, an accusation Bagayoko rejected as an insult to the young demonstrators. A father of four, he said: “The secondary-school students taking to the streets could be my own children; it is my responsibility to stand alongside them.”