“Shame”: Bally Bagayoko attacked after abstaining in a vote against excision

The LFI mayor of Saint-Denis is in difficulty after abstaining during the vote on a text aimed at combating female sexual mutilation, in a department where a study estimates the proportion of women aged 18 to 44 who are victims at 7.1%. The case dates back to the municipal council of September 24: the opposition group “Socialists, Ecologists and Citizens” had submitted a wish for the protection of girls and women against excision and for the adoption of the comprehensive law against sexist and sexual violence. The municipal majority, including Bally Bagayoko, abstained, but the wish was nevertheless adopted, with 8 votes in favor and 44 abstentions.

The vote also gave rise to a mix-up. According to the reports, the mayor of Saint-Denis first announced that the wish was not adopted even though he had not yet called for the votes in favor. Questioned by the elected socialist Katy Bontinck, he finally proceeded to count them, which made it possible to note the adoption of the text.

This vote remained discreet until L'Infiltré, taken up by Valeurs Actuelles, mentioned the abstention of the mayor of Saint-Denis in a publication at the beginning of October. This controversial information was then relayed by Charlotte Rocher, LR district councilor for the 15th arrondissement of Paris, who published a concise message on the X network: “Shame. »

Many right-wing personalities then expressed strong criticism of Bally Bagayoko, already at the center of the news for his very visible presence in the angry movement of high school and university students in recent days. Faced with the controversy, the mayor of Saint-Denis defended himself in a message published on X, then in a press release on behalf of his municipal majority. The text denounces “fabricated political controversies” and affirms a total determination to fight against excision.

The mayor explains that his majority approved the part of the wish devoted to excision and that she said so during the meeting, recalling the extent of the phenomenon in Saint-Denis. He explains his refusal to vote in favor of this wish by the mention, in the same text, of support for the comprehensive bill on sexual violence, largely amended in committee in the National Assembly the week of the council and called for to be further amended, including by the right and the RN: his majority could therefore not, according to him, affirm what the final content would be, nor therefore support the vote for this law by a wish.