William Julié comments on the instructions issued by the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, aimed at prohibiting mayors of French municipalities from flying the Palestinian flag on the forecourt of their town halls on the day scheduled for France’s recognition of the State of Palestine.
He points out that, according to case law, flags may be displayed on public buildings as long as they do not express a political or religious opinion, in accordance with the principle of state neutrality.
Until now, the display of the Ukrainian flag on the front of several town halls has been authorised, as it was considered an expression of support for the Ukrainian people, while the administrative courts ordered the removal of Israeli flags, as their continued display was considered too long to be limited to expressing the French state’s solidarity with Israeli hostages.
With regard to Palestine, the display of Palestinian flags in front of town halls has been considered by judges as an expression of a political position with regard to an international conflict, but France’s recognition of the State of Palestine could change this line of jurisprudence, since the Palestinian flag would then no longer be an expression of a political opinion, but of the official position of the French State.