France, May 1 -- Born in France to Malian parents, Bagayoko of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party - which the government has designated "far-left" - is now mayor of the second largest town in the Ile-de-France region after Paris. Shortly after being elected, he was the subject of racism, notably on the CNews television channel, on which a guest compared him to a primate. Bagayoko has filed an official complaint against the broadcaster. His town hall has also received racist phone calls.

RFI: You've been subjected to racist attacks, including on CNews. Did these surprise you?

BB: These attacks are utterly intolerable. And I'm unfortunately not the only one to have experienced them, so I want to express my full solidarity with all t...