PARIS (Reuters) – The European Union flag displayed under the Arc de Triomphe Paris to mark the start of the French presidency of the European Union was withdrawn on Sunday, but the government refused any hasty withdrawal after criticism of opposition politicians.
Several right-wing and far-right candidates in the April presidential election had denounced this initiative by asserting that the European flag had replaced the French flag, Marine Le Pen announcing her intention to lodge an appeal in the Council of State and a rfr-suspension.
The former president of the National Rally (RN) greeted Sunday “a beautiful patriotic victory”.
The Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clment Beaune, for his part regretted attacks by “junk patriots” and refuted that the withdrawal of the EU flag had been advanced.
“It was expected that the flag will be withdrawn on Sunday, there is no operational time,” he said on France Inter. “There has been no backsliding, no change and all the illuminations that have been announced, that have been planned, will also continue.”
“I fully assume that the fate of France is in Europe, that temporarily and symbolically, I said yesterday, the European flag flies”, he added, recalling that the French flag was not deployed under the Arc de Triomphe that the occasion of large ceremonies.
The withdrawal of the flag was not, however, enough to put an end to the criticisms aimed at Emmanuel Macron and his European policy, less than three and a half months of the first round of the presidential election.
The deputy Les Rpublicains (LR) Eric Ciotti, support of Valrie Pcresse in the Elyse race, thus estimated on LCI that “Emmanuel Macron does not like France”, denouncing a “president of the French Republic more globalist than French “and” dracin “.
France has been running the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union since Saturday until June 30. Several major monuments, including the Eiffel Tower, were illuminated on Saturday in the colors of the EU.
(Written by Marc Angrand)