India, Oct. 20 -- A man in a grey suit standing between teenage demonstrators and riot police has become one of the most recognisable figures in France's growing protest movement. Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis and a member of the left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) party, drew international attention after a video showed him spreading his arms to protect students during a demonstration in Paris on October 6, 2026.

His intervention turned him into a symbol of resistance for supporters and a controversial political figure for critics, as student anger over school conditions widened into protests against inequality, living costs and public services.

Who is Bally Bagayoko?

Bally Bagayoko is the mayor of Saint-Denis, a diverse, w...