French deputies were on May 9 due to vote on a controversial bill to force all local government buildings to fly the EU flag.
The proposal, which is under fire both from opposition parties and within the governing majority, was rejected at committee stage but was re-tabled by French President Emanuel Macron to coincide with ‘Europe Day’ celebrations.
There is today no legislation on flags at public offices in France. The draft bill would define precise rules for flying both the French tricolour and an accompanying European Union flag.
Macron ally Mathieu Lefèvre, the proposal’s chief proponent in the French assembly, says the obligatory flying of flags has a “symbolic meaning” that will “reinforce a Republican custom”.
It is important for Frenchmen and women to remember “the values to which we are attached”.
Also on May 9, President Macron posted a pro-EU message on Twitter. The EU “has protected us from crises. And it will enable us to create jobs, security and order in a world full of dangers” he wrote. “While it has sometimes been criticized for being slow or detached, Europe acted swiftly and strongly, in a show of solidarity. And in the decade to come, our Europe will enable us to face the challenges of the future.
Françaises, Français,
Européennes, Européens,C’est la journée de l’Europe.
L’Europe nous a protégés des crises. Elle va aussi nous permettre de créer des emplois, de la sécurité, de l’ordre dans un monde de périls.
Regardons comment.… pic.twitter.com/OLLPueYHvb
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 9, 2023
Supporters such as Raphaël Glucksmann, a French MEP from the Socialists and Democrats group, said the European flag was a symbol of freedom. “It is waved by Ukrainians when they fight for their freedom and by Georgians when they demonstrate to safe their democracy.”
Opposition parties from the Left such as La France Insoumise (LFI), as well as the Right, including Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National (RN), have teamed up with MoDem, a centrists party which is allied with Macron’s Renaissance group. They abstained during the committee vote, though Renaissance hopes they will not do so again in plenary.
LFI said the obligation is “useless” and “contrary to municipal autonomy.” RN said it found the proposal “unnecessary”, adding there are “more urgent matters at hand”. Eric Ciotti of Les Républicains, a right-wing party, said he liked the idea of an obligatory French flag but wants the European flag to be optional since the French constitution only mentions the tricolour.
The strongest opposition came from Florian Philippot, a former Le Pen ally, and founder of The Patriots, a party that has no legislative representation. He cut up the EU flag in protest.
Devant le siège des institutions de l’UE à Paris, pour la #journeedelEurope et le jour où les macronistes veulent imposer le drapeau UE sur nos mairies, on a découpé le torchon bleu à étoiles, illégal et illégitime !
Notre drapeau = 🇫🇷 ! #Frexit
Vidéo !⤵️ pic.twitter.com/WpW0zEWeSj— Florian Philippot (@f_philippot) May 9, 2023
