The mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, has become directly involved in protests by high school students in France, standing up for them during clashes with police.
Bagayoko, the mayor of the Paris suburb and a member of the left-wing LFI party, was seen standing between police officers and young protesters, urging law enforcement to stop intervening.
In an interview with CNN journalist Saskya Vandoorne, he said police officers were equipped with shields, helmets and tear gas and had intervened after several containers were set on fire nearby. Bagayoko said he decided to step in to prevent the students from being injured.
“We were clearly confronted with law enforcement, and I intervened to prevent them from hurting the students,” he told CNN.
Student protests in France have continued for several weeks and have spread to numerous cities. The students are calling for more teachers, smaller class sizes and greater investment in public education, while protesting poor conditions in schools and staff shortages.
Bagayoko said that the protesting students “could have been his own children” and that he considers it his responsibility to stand by them.
Meanwhile, clashes between protesters and police have resulted in dozens of incidents, arrests and the use of tear gas. The French government has promised to consider the students’ demands.
