Free school supplies: Sarah Knafo gives Bally Bagayoko an economics lesson

On Saturday, August 8, Bally Bagayoko, the LFI mayor of Saint-Denis, and Sarah Knafo, the Reconquête! MEP, clashed sharply on the internet regarding free school supplies. The LFI mayor accused the MEP of inconsistency with her proposals for free parking made during her Parisian campaign. Sarah Knafo responded by clearly distinguishing between a tax reduction and the creation of a new public expenditure.

The exchange stemmed from the policy of free school supplies implemented in Saint-Denis and Pierrefitte-sur-Seine. Bally Bagayoko presented this measure as a concrete way to boost families' purchasing power. He attempted to confront Sarah Knafo with what he considered a contradiction. The MEP, a regular critic of publicly funded free services, had proposed making the first hour of parking free, reinstating free parking for two-wheeled vehicles, and eliminating payment between noon and 14 p.m. "Would free services be acceptable when they come from you, but become a 'communist measure' when they help families?" he asked.

Two incompatible economic logics

Sarah Knafo's response was swift and decisive. "Mr. Bagayoko, you're right to ask me; there are no stupid questions," she began, before elaborating on an economic distinction. According to her, an hour of free parking represents a foregone conclusion regarding revenue from existing infrastructure: "Whether a car parks there or not, the city doesn't spend a single cent more." It would therefore be a reduction in revenue. Conversely, the distribution of school supplies requires the local authority to actually purchase each notebook, pen, or pencil with public funds. "Foregoing to charge" and "paying instead of families," she argues, stem from two radically different logics.

The MEP goes further, challenging the very principle of the measure. According to her, the purchase of school supplies is primarily the responsibility of parents, who already receive the back-to-school allowance. She accuses the left of continually expanding the scope of public action "to the point of replacing families," an approach she describes as "a hallmark of communism."

Sarah Knafo finally emphasizes the true cost of free services. Behind the distributed supplies lie the purchase price, the staff involved, and, in the event of a budget deficit, the cost of the debt. "Your constituents will pay the price," she asserts. She summarizes her position as follows: "Lowering a levy by reducing city spending, as I propose, improves purchasing power. Creating a new expense, financed by debt and taxes, destroys it."

This exchange comes just weeks before the publication of Sarah Knafo's first book, * Le Casse du siècle * (The Heist of the Century ), scheduled for September 2nd by Fayard. The book, already topping the pre-order sales charts a month before its release, specifically tackles public finances, debt, spending, and tax pressure.

In response to this analysis, Bally Bagayoko defends an opposing view: that of a community that mobilizes public funds to directly cover certain household expenses. The clash between the two politicians thus illustrates two difficult-to-reconcile visions of purchasing power and the role of the public sector. One prioritizes collective spending to directly alleviate some of families' bills; the other focuses on reducing taxes and public spending to leave more money for taxpayers. Sarah Knafo concluded the exchange with a final barb: "Don't hesitate to ask if you have any other questions!"