Saint-Denis, the largest suburb of the French capital Paris, played host to a major rally against racism on Saturday, in support of the town's newly elected Black mayor.

Bally Bagayoko was elected in the first round of municipal elections on March 15. The 52-year-old was standing for the far-left France Unbowed (LFI) party.

Organizers of the protest said some 20,000 people showed up in front of the Saint-Denis town hall.

Why were people protesting in France against racism?

Bagayoko was targeted almost immediately with racist attacks and fake news stories, including on French national TV.

"We come to state firmly and definitively our visceral attachment to the values of the republic embodied by those who are heirs of immigration," Bagayoko said in front of the protesters, condemning what he said were "failing, sometimes even complicit institutions."

Born in France to parents from Mali, a former French colony, Bagayoko grew up in Saint-Denis, one of the most diverse towns in the country with a large immigrant community.

The protest drew trade unions, civil associations and music bands.

LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon was also present. He spoke to the crowd, denouncing "a sickening wave of racism coming from the political and media elites who, without reservation, without restraint, have displayed their contempt for a part of our people."

Prosecutors to investigate racist comments

The most prominent racist comments were made by a guest on the CNews channel, owned by the ultraconservative Vincent Bollore and commonly referred to as France's Fox News.

Bagayoko has filed a complaint against the network, while Paris prosecutors said they were opening an investigation into possible public insults of a racist nature.

Another investigation is being opened into racist comments made on the social media platform X.

French Prime Minister Sebastian Lecornu has also spoken out against the "normalisation of evil and racism" following the far-right campaign against the elected mayor.

Edited by: Sean Sinico