France’s town halls told to remove Palestinian flags flown to mark Macron’s recognition

As French President Emmanuel Macron recognised Palestine statehood earlier this week, dozens of town halls across France hoisted the Palestinian flag in celebration - defying instructions by Mr Macron’s Interior Ministry not to do so.

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By Sept 24, some had taken the flag down after regional authorities initiated legal proceedings. Some mayors said the actions undermined the message of solidarity Mr Macron sought to make with his largely symbolic recognition.

“For me, it’s a complete misunderstanding,” Mr Raphael Adam, Mayor of Nanterre outside Paris, told Reuters. “You can’t have a government asking its representatives to oppose raising a flag at the same time it’s recognising the state.”

The city raised the flag in a ceremony on Sept 22 but a day later, the Nanterre administrative court ruled it should be removed after the city defied an order by the regional representative, known as the prefect, to take it down.