Far-Left Saint-Denis Mayor Attacks French National Anthem

Bally Bagayoko, elected under the France Unbowed banner, told the newspaper L’Opinion that whistling during the Marseillaise when France dishonors itself through its international actions can constitute a valid expression of popular discontent, according to Valeurs Actuelles.

The mayor’s position goes beyond sporting events. For Bagayoko, the national anthem has become a receptacle for anger directed at the French state. In his view, children of immigrant backgrounds define themselves not solely by their administrative nationality but also through family history and geopolitical identity. The anthem, intended to unite, thus becomes a site of confrontation rather than cohesion.

A Pattern of Symbolic Rejection

Since taking office, Bagayoko has accumulated a series of provocative gestures. The most notable was his refusal to hang a portrait of President Emmanuel Macron in his mayoral office. At the time, he claimed the move denounced a Republic incapable of addressing inequality. The prefect of Seine-Saint-Denis reminded him of republican tradition, while acknowledging no strict legal requirement forces mayors to display the presidential portrait.

This latest declaration strikes at a more sensitive nerve. The Marseillaise is not merely an official portrait that can be turned to the wall. It is the national anthem, sung at ceremonies, commemorations, matches, and moments of collective unity. French law provides for sanctions in cases of public insult to the national anthem or flag during events organized or regulated by public authorities.

Bagayoko insists on a political rather than legal interpretation. His statement aligns with the central strategy of France Unbowed: challenging republican symbols when deemed monopolized by power, while claiming to reinvest them in the name of another France—popular, antiracist, and postcolonial. In Saint-Denis, home to the basilica of French kings and the Stade de France, this confrontation takes on theatrical dimensions.

Invoking Popular Insurrection

The interview contained further provocations. When asked about a potential National Rally victory in the 2027 presidential election, the far-left mayor stated that popular insurrection remains possible, though he claimed not to desire it. He referenced potential resistance and forms of self-organization should the right win power. The rhetoric positions Saint-Denis at the center of national political warfare.

Elected in the first round last March, Bagayoko has emerged as one of the most closely watched figures in the France Unbowed constellation. His profile interests Jean-Luc Mélenchon: a mayor of a large working-class city, drawn from the local left, rooted in Seine-Saint-Denis, he embodies the “new France” that France Unbowed intends to place at the heart of its presidential strategy.

The mayor’s rhetoric represents the latest escalation in far-left attempts to delegitimize national symbols and institutions. By endorsing the booing of the Marseillaise as legitimate political protest, Bagayoko moves beyond symbolic refusal into active encouragement of public disrespect for French identity markers.

With information from Valeurs Actuelles