The blue flag was raised in place of the French one at New Years Eve to mark France’s turn in the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), which he will occupy for the next six months.
The Arch, which honors those who died in the First World War, and other emblematic places such as the Eiffel Tower and the Pantheon they will also light up with blue lights during the week.
But Macron’s right-wing rivals for the spring presidential elections criticized the removal of the tricolor, calling it an affront to France’s heritage and its veterans.
“Preside over Europe yes, erase French identity no!” He tweeted Valerie Pécresse, the conservative candidate who, according to polls, could be the main opponent of Macron in the elections.
Pécresse urged him to restore the French flag: “We owe it to our soldiers who shed their blood for it.”
The far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, which even threatened to appeal to the Council of State, France’s highest court in administrative matters, described the withdrawal of the EU flag as a “great patriotic victory”, stating on Twitter that a “massive mobilization” he had forced Macron to back down.
But an official in the French presidency said on Sunday that the withdrawal of the flag before dawn was “in line with the planned schedule”, insisting that, unlike the blue lights of the monuments, it should only be at the Arch during two days.
The French Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, on Saturday accused the right of “desperately following the sterile polemics of the extreme right”.
The Presidential official, who asked not to be named, could not say when the huge French flag will fly under the Arch again, but pointed out that it was not a permanent fixture on the monument.
Source From: Ambito
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