A number of mayors in France are refusing a government order to fly the national flag at half-mast to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Mayors in France are now embroiled in a row with their central government over the flying of the French flag after the country’s Prime Minister, Elizabeth Bourne, ordered all authorities in the country to fly the tricolour at half-mast next Monday to mark the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
However, while many authorities appear content to follow the directive, some mayors in the country have refused the command, with left-wing officials in particular vowing to rebel against the order.
According to a report by Franceinfo, Socialist Party mayor Yann Galut and La France Insoumise mayor Patrick Proisy have both refused the order, while The Times reports that Patrice Leclerc, a Communist Party mayor for the Parisian suburb Gennevilliers, has also declared that he will ignore the directive.
“[T]his request seems incredible to me,” remarked Galut online, saying that while he respects “the pain of our English friends”, he would not lower the French flag to honour the death of the country’s monarch.
Proisy meanwhile said that while it was not his intention to “insult anyone”, and that he “salute[s]” recent speeches made by international leaders in praise of the late ruler, the lowering of the French flag for the monarch would fly in the face of the values of the Republic.
“How do you want to be logical by putting flags at half mast on our schools where the motto is inscribed: ‘Liberty, Equality, Fraternity’?” he asked. “No concept is further from “equality” than that of monarchy.”
The mayor went on to complain that the country did not extend the same honour to former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, whom the French politician credited with helping bring down the Berlin wall.
In response to the significant political rebellion against the nationwide order, Mayor Philippe Laurent, who serves as deputy head of the French mayors’ association, warned that officials who end up refusing to see the flag lowered were risking falling foul of the law, and could be suspended from their positions as a result.
However, even Laurent admitted that he found the directive somewhat strange, with the politician expressing sympathy for those wishing to resist the order.
“I can understand that mayors are a little concerned,” The Times reports the mayor as saying.
“I don’t remember doing this on the death of any European leader,” he continued. “Sometimes symbols become more important than the underlying substance.”
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