On CNews and elsewhere, racism is no longer hidden, it delegitimizes the Republic.

BERTRAND GUAY / AFP

Olivier Faure denounces the racism targeting Bally Bagayoko since his election as mayor of Saint-Denis, he calls on Arcom to react.

It is necessary to stop talking about a “slip of the tongue”. What was said on CNews about the mayor of Saint-Denis, Bally Bagayoko, is neither an oversight nor a slip of the tongue. It is a deliberate racist statement. Comparing a Republic elected official to a “monkey”, evoking a “primitive tribe”, invoking a colonial imaginary during a broadcast: this is not an accident, it is a staged scenario. And this staging has a political function: legitimizing through a racist discourse.

Bally Bagayoko is not criticized for his decisions. He is being attacked based on his skin color. One may disagree with the policies of the mayor of Saint-Denis, but it cannot be expressed through racist remarks that are punishable by law. But there is more: through him, it is his election that is being contested, as if he could not, by nature, be legitimate to hold this position, as if universal suffrage itself could be questioned. The message is clear: some French citizens are deemed less legitimate than others to hold responsibilities.

It is not just one man being targeted. It is a republican promise that is under attack. And the most worrying aspect may be elsewhere: on the set, these remarks have not triggered any reaction— neither contradiction, nor reprimand, nor call to order. No clear apology afterwards; worse, a tendency to downplay, to dilute racism within the mechanics of “controversies”. This silence validates. It authorizes. It installs the idea that these words can be spoken without consequences. It legitimizes racism.

Because we must face the facts: this is not the first time. CNews has already been sanctioned multiple times for discriminatory remarks, without seeming to change its practices. When the same causes produce the same effects, it is no longer an accident, it is a pattern. Racism is no longer hidden: it exposes itself, spreads, settles, constantly testing the limits of what can be said without real consequences.

The danger lies here. Through repetition, the unacceptable becomes ordinary; through trivialization, the boundary recedes. A society does not shift in a day: it gets used to it. It will not be enough to say that we are “shocked”. It must be clear: what happened was racism, and it carries responsibilities. All elected officials, all democrats must stand together, without ambiguity.

But we must also draw consequences from it. Arcom cannot remain a spectator. When such remarks are made on air, without contradiction, then played down, it is not an isolated mistake, but a serious breach of the obligations that regulate broadcasting. Without significant sanctions, these sequences will repeat. And through repetition, it is not just one person being targeted: it is the boundary of acceptability being erased.

Yes, racist outbursts are multiplying. Yes, they are becoming entrenched in the public debate. So they must be named for what they are and refuse to get accustomed to them. Because racism is never a detail. And every time it progresses, the Republic retreats— and democracy weakens.