A large European Union flag that was attached to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Friday to mark the start of France’s six-month presidency in the bloc was removed on Sunday after angering right-wing and far-right leaders, Reuters reported.
The newest European Affairs Minister, Clement Bonn, who on Friday said the flag would remain in place for “several days”, said it had been removed as planned.
“It was planned that the flag would go down this Sunday, we did not set an exact time,” Beaune told France Inter radio.
He rejected the idea that the government had backed down after far-right leader Marine Le Pen said on Saturday he would appeal to the French Council of State to remove the EU flag.
“The government was forced to remove the EU flag from the Arc de Triomphe, a beautiful patriotic victory in early 2022,” Le Pen said on Sunday.
“We did not back down, there was no change of plan. France’s destiny is in Europe,” Beaune said.
He said Le Pen and other leaders were wrong to say that the EU flag had replaced the French flag, as the latter was not permanently hung on the Arc de Triomphe.
French President Emanuel Macron, who has not yet announced whether he will run for re-election in April, defeated Le Pen in the second round of 2017 with a percentage of 66% -34%.
Most polls suggest there will be a rematch between the two in the upcoming presidential election, with Macron expected to win again, albeit by a narrow margin.
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Source From: Capital
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