French Socialist leader Olivier Faure attends a flag raising ceremony of the Palestinian flag outside Saint-Denis town hall, near Paris, on September 22, 2025. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
Almost two dozen town halls in France were on Monday, September 22, flying the Palestinian flag from their entrances in defiance of an Interior Ministry warning not to do so ahead of the recognition of a Palestinian state by Emmanuel Macron. The French president is due to recognize a Palestinian state in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, following up on a pledge he made in the summer that angered Israel.
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Macron's slow shift toward recognizing the State of Palestine
However, outgoing interior minister Bruno Retailleau, who is also leader of the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party, has last week issued a circular ordering prefects – the top local state-appointed officials – to oppose the flying of the flags. "The principle of neutrality in public service prohibits such displays," the Interior Ministry said, adding that any decisions by mayors to fly the Palestinian flag should be referred to courts.
