Fodé Sylla (born 23 January 1963 in

Thiès Thiès (; ar, ثيس, Ṯyass; Noon: ''Chess'') is the third largest city in Senegal with a population officially estimated at 320,000 in 2005. It lies east of Dakar on the N2 road and at the junction of railway lines to Dakar, Bamako and St-L ...

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

) is a French politician who was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

(MEP) for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1999 to 2004.

Early life

He spent his youth in

Sablé-sur-Sarthe Sablé-sur-Sarthe (, literally ''Sablé on Sarthe''), commonly referred to as Sablé, is a commune in the Sarthe department, in the Pays de la Loire region, western France. It is about 50 km northeast of Angers. Population Geography The Va ...

, a French rural commune, the first one inside

metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

that ever had a Black mayor,

Raphaël Élizé Raphael was an Italian Renaissance painter. Raphael or Raphaël may also refer to: Music *Raphael (band), a Japanese rock band active 1997–2001 * ''Raphael'' (opera), an 1894 opera by Anton Arensky * Raphael (musician), American musician and c ...

, in 1929–1940. He has a BA in History and a M.A in Political Science and wrote several books, e.g. ''Qui a peur de Malcolm X ?'' (Who is afraid of Malcolm X ?) and ''Préférence nationale : un Apartheid à la française'' (National preference, a French apartheid).

SOS Racism

He was the second president of the French anti-racist organisation

SOS Racisme SOS Rascime () is a movement of NGOs which describe themselves as anti-racist. The oldest chapter of SOS Racisme was founded in 1984 in France, and it has counterparts in several other European countries or regions. Its Norwegian branch, which ...

between 1992 and 1999.

Political career

Although close to the French Socialist Party as a president of its near-affiliated organisation SOS Racism, he was selected as a non-party candidate by the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

for the 1999 European Elections. After his mandate, in 2006, he joined the center-left

Radical Party of the Left The Radical Party of the Left (french: Parti radical de gauche, PRG) is a social-liberal political party in France. A party in the Radical tradition, since 1972 the PRG was a close ally of the major party of the centre-left in France, the Socia ...

under which label he unsuccessfully candidated for the 2007 legislative elections.« Le choix de présenter ou non un candidat à la présidentielle divise le PRG »
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', 20 October 2006

References

1963 births Living people People from Thiès French people of Senegalese descent Senegalese emigrants to France French Communist Party MEPs MEPs for France 1999–2004 Black French politicians {{France-MEP-stub