Who is the left-wing mayor who protested with students in France

Images of Bally Bagayoko interposing himself between police and protesters during student protests went around the world, confirming the rise of the left-wing mayor of the main city north of Paris — a poor region — as a prominent figure in France.

"Stop! Stop!" shouted the municipal representative of Saint-Denis, in a suit and tie, in front of police officers who were preparing to attack young people — some of them hooded — during the demonstrations that brought more than 250,000 people to the streets of France this week.

Acclaimed by high school students, who have been demanding better study conditions since the end of September, Bagayoko, 53, has received, on the other hand, criticism from the center-right government and the far-right opposition.

Last week, in front of a school in his city, the Frenchman of Malian origin declared that "violence, at a certain point, can be legitimate." Soon after, he stated: "Whenever we can avoid it, it's better."

These statements led to a complaint from City Hall, which considered his attitude "ambiguous", citing viral videos in which young protesters hail him as a "hero" and he appears "dancing" next to a burning trash can.

Bagayoko stated that he was trying to put out the fire and, to those who accuse his ultra-left party, the LFI (Unsubmissive France), of instrumentalizing the mobilization, he replied: "The place of an elected representative" is alongside the students.

International press outlets shared his images with the young protesters, which were also widely shared on social media.

This Thursday, the mayor accompanied students again during new protests in Paris and took photos with many of them. In the symbolic Bastille Square, Bagayoko also urged French President Emmanuel Macron to "apologize" to the families of injured protesters.

A former executive at the Paris public transport company (RATP), the Muslim mayor became famous with his historic victory in March's municipal elections, marred by false rumors and racist comments from the far right.

Some press outlets stated that he had called Saint-Denis the "city of blacks", when, in fact, he spoke of the "city of kings", in reference to the tombs of the sovereigns of France that rest in the Gothic cathedral located in front of the City Hall.

The mayor also quickly attracted the ire of the French government, which criticized him for his constant criticism of security forces and his project to disarm the municipal police.

In the middle of the year, the Public Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation against him over accusations of embezzlement of public funds and hiring a ghost employee from the time he was a councilor — claims that the RATP denied.