San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama voiced public support for student-led protests across France, exchanging messages on social media with Saint-Denis mayor Bally Bagayoko after addressing the demonstrations in a press conference.
Victor Wembanyama and Bally Bagayoko Exchange Public Messages on X
The exchange began when Bally Bagayoko, a prominent local official involved in the demonstrations, published a message on X praising the 22-year-old basketball player for taking a public stance. “Thank you Victor Wembanyama. Artists, athletes, influencers: your visibility is a responsibility. Youth is rising, give it an echo!” the mayor wrote.
Wembanyama replied directly to the post, writing, “De rien Bally t’es un bon wlh,” using an abbreviation for the Arabic term wallah. The interaction drew more than one million views within its first hour online. Le Parisien reported that the exchange highlights the rare willingness of prominent French athletes, alongside judoka Teddy Riner, to comment publicly on the ongoing student movement.
Press Conference Comments Following Spurs Practice
Speaking to reporters late at night following the San Antonio Spurs’ first preseason game ahead of the NBA season, Wembanyama elaborated on his position regarding the high school protests. The Le Chesnay native stated that while he has managed to distance himself from such hardships, he recognizes the deep-seated nature of the issues.
“These are situations I’ve been fortunate to extract myself from,” Wembanyama said in his post-game press conference. “These are problems I am lucky not to live through, or no longer live through. But they are realities, systemic inequalities, and such profound problems.”
The second-year NBA standout noted that his own background informed his perspective on the unrest. Having attended high school in Nanterre—a location he described as a stronghold for student blockades during his time as a student—he emphasized that the cause remains close to his heart because he was a high school student himself “not so long ago.”
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