Far-Left Mayor Bagayoko Calls for Censorship of Marine Le Pen's National Rally

The far-left mayor of the multicultural Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, has argued that so-called “far-right” politicians such as those from Marine Le Pen’s National Rally should be banned from speaking in public over their supposed racist rhetoric. In the wake of the apparent schizophrenia shooting in Trappes last week, which, prior to any thorough investigation, was instantly branded by the local Muslim mayor as being a product of Islamophobia and racism, the left has attempted to seize on the issue and to promote the censorship of their political rivals. Appearing on broadcaster LCI, Saint-Denis Mayor Bally Bagayoko said that Le Pen’s National Rally party should face “sanction” over the shooting in Trappes, which left one dead and five injured. “I’m in favour of saying that those who make racist remarks all day long shouldn’t be given airtime,” Bagayoko said, according to La Journale du Dimanche, adding that RN politicians should be censored “from the moment they make racist remarks.” When pressed on if his own far-left La France Insoumise (LFI/France in Rebellion) party — led by radical socialist Jean-Luc Mélenchon — would mandate such censorship if given power, he said that in “Act 1” they will fight the National Rally at the box, and that “Act 2” would see “all those who participate in spreading hatred will be heavily punished, including in the media.” The leftist Mayor also shared and agreed with a statement from the National Union of Journalists, which claimed that “verbal violence” and racism are “festering” within French broadcast media, thereby “endangering” journalists and citizens of the republic. “By paving the way for the far right, we bear a clear responsibility. It is therefore time to ensure that democratic debate takes place with respect for the individual—without trivializing the lethal ideology of an anti-republican party, and, above all, without treating racism as just one opinion among others,” the media union claimed. The demands for censoring anti-mass migration parties such as the National Rally came amid media reports that the Trappes shooter was inspired by racism and antipathy towards Muslims, as initial media reports and left-wing politicians claimed. However, Olivier Christen, of the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT); said on Tuesday that while the suspect does not contest the facts of the case, he denies the “racist nature of his crimes”. Christen also noted that “no leaflets from a political party were found in his vehicle”. This contradicts a report on Monday from the left-liberal establishment Le Monde newspaper, which claimed that there was National Rally promotional material found in the suspect’s car. “No leaflets from a political party were found in his vehicle,” he said. In contrast to this apparent fictitious connection, the Paris police prefect, Patrice Faure, has referred Mayor Bagayoko to court for allegedly inciting the recent wave of youth riots across the country. The Malain-heritage Muslim mayor has been one of the most prominent supporters of the protests and has been accused of justifying the violence seen by saying that it is “a possible understandable or legitimate response to the actions of law enforcement.” He denied that he was inciting violence. Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: kzindulka@breitbart.com