Ménard Slams Bally Bagayoko Over French Anthem Comments

Robert Ménard, the center-right mayor of Béziers, delivered a sharp rebuke to Bally Bagayoko during an appearance on Points de vue, a program broadcast by Le Figaro, according to Valeurs Actuelles. The controversy stems from recent remarks by Bagayoko, the far-left mayor of Saint-Denis-Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and member of La France Insoumise, who suggested that booing La Marseillaise constitutes a legitimate form of popular protest when France dishonors itself through its international actions.

Ménard did not mince words in his response. He characterized Bagayoko’s statement as calculated cynicism and une vraie saloperie, roughly translated as a genuine piece of filth. The Béziers mayor accused his far-left counterpart of weaponizing national symbols as instruments of political division rather than merely describing a phenomenon observed in sports stadiums.

The controversy erupted after Bagayoko attempted to explain the booing of the French national anthem by claiming it represented a form of popular response when citizens disapprove of government actions. He further elaborated that the children of those present in major stadiums are citizens both of France and of their countries of origin, a formulation critics view as introducing the concept of dual allegiance into national discourse.

For Ménard, this represents the crux of the problem. He sees behind the social or international arguments a deliberate political strategy by La France Insoumise aimed at courting specific electoral constituencies by confining them within their supposed origins. The Béziers mayor accused the far-left party of defining people by their ethnic backgrounds and attempting to gain political favor through such rhetoric.

Ménard charged that La France Insoumise believes it can define Black and Arab citizens by what they are, thinking that by saying certain things they will flatter them. He characterized this as identity-based clientelism that transforms real or manufactured anger into electoral fuel. According to Ménard, Bagayoko is not simply understanding the booing of the national anthem but rendering it politically acceptable through the lens of electoral sociology.

Faced with widespread outrage, Bagayoko attempted damage control by claiming that explaining is not the same as approving and calling for an end to what he termed instrumentalization. He insisted his remarks constituted analysis and reflection rather than incitement, arguing that those who sometimes boo La Marseillaise can still be full French citizens attached to Republican values while opposing certain state decisions. This defense failed to convince his critics.

The reaction from the right was swift and forceful. Jordan Bardella accused Bagayoko of justifying an offense against the national anthem and cited it as further evidence of the electoral cynicism practiced by La France Insoumise. Among Les Républicains, Othman Nasrou denounced the remarks as another step in what he characterized as the hatred of France harbored by the far-left party. Even Socialist politician François Kalfon issued a red card to the Saint-Denis mayor, criticizing him for succumbing to permanent provocation.

Ménard pushed his accusation further still. For the Béziers mayor, the Bagayoko affair reveals something deeper than merely attitudes toward La Marseillaise. He believes it exposes a political method that pits segments of the French population against common symbols. By framing the booing as a legitimate response, Bagayoko allegedly transforms the national anthem from a unifying emblem into a symbol of an oppressive state rather than that of a national community.

Despite the widespread criticism from across the political spectrum, as Valeurs Actuelles reports, Bagayoko has continued to denounce what he characterizes as bad faith from his adversaries. The controversy has sparked broader questions about national identity and the manipulation of cultural symbols for political gain in contemporary France.

With information from Valeurs Actuelles