Bally Bagayoko, the mayor of a working-class suburb near Paris, has been a regular presence at student demonstrations, prompting both applause and condemnation.

In opening arguments, prosecutors said that Sheng Thao “put her power up for sale.” One lawyer for the defendants called the bribery scheme “pure fiction.”

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Mayor Karen Bass and her former ally, the City Council member Nithya Raman, attacked each other’s records on Tuesday night in the last televised debate before the election.

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Two Democratic candidates choose opposite tacks on public safety and policing, seeking to corral undecided voters.

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