French mayor caught in viral video clash says student protesters 'could be my children'

Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of Saint-Denis, a French town on the northern outskirts of Paris, was captured in a viral video shielding students during a protest in Paris on Tuesday (Oct 6). The footage shows him standing face-to-face with police, intervening on behalf of the young protesters and urging them to remain peaceful. Bagayoko, who represents the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI), stated in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that he has been supporting the students in his working-class Parisian suburb.

He told reporters that the police had decided to charge at the students, who had not shown any aggressive behavior towards the officers. In response, the police fired tear gas at the group, including the mayor. Bagayoko, a father of four, emphasized that the high school students involved could be his own children and that he has a responsibility to stand by them.