On the occasion of Europe Day, the Renaissance party, which supports Emmanuel Macron, proposed a bill to make it compulsory to fly the European flag alongside the French flag. As of last night, May 10th, the bill has become law. The new law also makes the display of Macron’s portrait compulsory in all city halls.
Until now, there has been no French law governing the display of flags on public buildings—consequently, neither the French flag, nor a fortiori, the European flag, has been compulsory. Only schools and colleges—public or private under contract with the state—have been required to display the French flag on their facades.
The text of the bill, presented by the MP Aurore Bergé, leader of the Renaissance parliamentary group, states that flying both the French flag and the European flag will be mandatory—yet with the national colours taking “pride of place.”
Criticism of the bill came from all sides. The Rassemblement National described the initiative as “aberrant” and certainly not a priority given the current issues of inflation and insecurity. For Les Républicains, the requirement should only apply to the tricolour flag. The left-wing party La France Insoumise, for other reasons, is also opposed to mandating the general presence of the European flag on the front of town halls. Already in 2017, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of La France Insoumise, pointed out the Christian origins of the European flag—representing, according to some of its founders, the Marian crown—and took offence at its invasive presence on the grounds of the National Assembly: “This is the French Republic, not the Virgin Mary,” he exclaimed.
Regardless of political colour, the presence of the European flag in public spaces in France is quick to arouse controversy. In January 2022, many deputies from both the governmental and national Right were critical of the display of the European flag under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, replacing the national flag at the time when France took over the rotating presidency of the European Union. Politicians such as Marine Le Pen and Éric Zemmour, but also Valérie Pécresse, criticised this symbolic attack on French sovereignty, and the contempt shown towards the fighters who died for France. Under fire from critics, the EU flag remained in place for only 48 hours before being removed on the orders of the government.
The Renaissance deputies’ bill has reopened the debate, especially since the European flag with the twelve stars, although commonly used, does not really have a legal existence at the European Union level. The Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe made it the official flag of the European Union, but it was rejected by France and the Netherlands and the treaty never took effect. Its successor, the Treaty of Lisbon, simply mentions in an annexed declaration the ‘attachment’ of the member countries to the star-spangled flag as “a symbol of the common belonging of the citizens to the European Union,” in the same way as the Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s ninth symphony.
Attachment to the European flag is a dividing line between the different French political formations in the run-up to the 2024 European elections. On the Left, La France Insoumise MEP Manon Aubry recently explained that the flag was standing for a “democratic forfeit.” For this reason—among others—MEP Raphaël Glucksmann, from the socialist-inspired party Place Publique, refuses a possible joint list with La France Insoumise: he prefers to see the flag as a “symbol of freedom.”
