The European flag which flew under the Arc de Triomphe since Friday December 31st for the start of the French presidency of the EU, was withdrawn during the night from Saturday to Sunday, “according to schedule”, assured the Elysee to franceinfo. “The European flag was scheduled to be installed on December 31 and January 1 to mark the symbolic kickoff of the French presidency of the European Union. It was withdrawn on schedule.”, specified the Palace.
>> French Presidency of the EU: the absence of the tricolor under the Arc de Triomphe makes the right and the far right leap
“The flag was scheduled to be withdrawn on Sunday”, specified the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, in the program “Political questions” on franceinfo.
Secretary of State @CBeaune : “I am very proud that the European flag flew for a few days [sous l’Arc de Triomphe], until this morning. “#PolQuestions pic.twitter.com/ryayFX9clr
– France Inter (@franceinter) January 2, 2022
However, no “precise time” was not planned. As for the return of the French flag, the executive did not provide a date but recalled that it did not float permanently under the Arc de Triomphe anyway.
The installation of the European flag alone, not accompanied by the French flag, had made the far right and part of the right leap. The candidate of the National Rally (RN) in the presidential election, Marine Le Pen, announced on Saturday that she would deposit “in the next few days” an appeal to the Council of State to challenge the decision to fly the EU flag under the Arc de Triomphe, accompanied by a request “suspension, in summary”.
On Sunday, after the flag was withdrawn, Marine Le Pen greeted “a beautiful patriotic victory”, considering that “the government was forced to withdraw the flag of the European Union from the Arc de Triomphe”. The other far-right candidate, Eric Zemmour, but also LR candidate Valérie Pécresse, had also criticized the installation of the EU flag, less than 100 days before the presidential election.