French MPs vote to make EU flag compulsory on public buildings
The French parliament has voted in favour of a bill that would make it compulsory to fly the EU flag along with the French flag on town halls in many towns - a practice that has been common but voluntary.
May 9th marked Europe Day - the anniversary of the Schuman declaration that laid the foundations of the European Union - and it was also the day when the French Assemblée nationale voted on a motion by a member of Emmanuel Macron's centrist party to make it compulsory to fly the EU flag on mairie (town hall) buildings in communes with more than 1,500 inhabitants.
Mathieu Lefèvre, a member of Macron's LREM party who represents Val-de-Marne on the outskirts of Paris, said the motion to formalise the flying of the EU flag was about "recalling the values to which we are attached", in the context of Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
The bill was eventually approved, following a long debate that extended into Wednesday evening, by 130 votes to 109 in the first reading and must now be examined by the Senate.
You can hear the team at The Local talking about the flag debate on our Talking France podcast. Download it HERE or listen on the link below
Don't most mairies already fly the EU flag?
For most people the big surprise here is that is wasn't already compulsory, since many mairies and other public buildings like préfectures and government ministries display both.
When French politicians are giving speeches, it's also standard for them to have both the French and EU flags displayed.
The standard set-up for a speech or announcement by a French politician is to have both the French and EU flags displayed in the background, as seen in this TV broadcast by Emmanuel Macron.
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP
So what is the rule?
The only place that the EU flag actually appears in a rule book is in the Code de l'education - stating that schools must fly both the French and EU flags.
For mairies it is voluntary and up to the locally elected officials.
Most mairies display both a French and EU flag on normal days - extra French flags are often added on certain public holidays such as May 8th (VE Day), November 11th (Armistice Day) and July 14th (France's national holiday).
Some mairies also add extra flags to mark certain occasions - for example many mairies fly the LGBTQ rainbow flag during pride month, while some mairies are also currently flying the Ukraine flag to express support and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
This, too, is a choice for locally elected officials.
The flag debate
Although the motion did pass eventually, the idea of making the EU flag compulsory was divisive with even some of the centrist group doubtful about the idea.
Interestingly though, not many MPs spoke out against the idea of the EU flag itself - most complaints were simply that making it a formal rule would be an unnecessary extra piece of admin and a cost burden on small mairies that don't currently fly the EU flag. Hence the amendment - for financial reasons - exempting communes with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants from actually having to do what many of them already do.
That hasn't gone down well with every MP. "The exemption concerns 70 percent of the municipalities of France," Republicain MP Philippe Gosselin said, "it does not make sense ... [in a] one and indivisible Republic".
Another amendment that passed the first reading would mean - if the bill becomes law in its current form - that town halls display an official portrait of the President of the Republic; while others indicate the mairies should display the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité on their facades, or display the declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen inside.
The biggest gripe prior to the debate seemed to be simply that this was a waste of parliamentary time.
Elodie Jacquier-Laforge or the centrist MoDem party said that her party has a strong "attachment to Europe". But she also questioned the usefulness of a text that "does not respond to the concerns of our compatriots".
"Is this really the time? I think that the country is waiting for something else," added her colleague Bruno Millienne on Radio J on Monday, citing the cost of living, health and end-of-life care as the real priorities of the French.
Antoine Léaument of the hard-left La France Insoumise said the text was an attempt by the Macron government to divert attention from the pension crisis. "As you no longer know what text to pass to turn the page, you bury us under texts without consistency and interest," he said.
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May 9th marked Europe Day - the anniversary of the Schuman declaration that laid the foundations of the European Union - and it was also the day when the French Assemblée nationale voted on a motion by a member of Emmanuel Macron's centrist party to make it compulsory to fly the EU flag on mairie (town hall) buildings in communes with more than 1,500 inhabitants.
Mathieu Lefèvre, a member of Macron's LREM party who represents Val-de-Marne on the outskirts of Paris, said the motion to formalise the flying of the EU flag was about "recalling the values to which we are attached", in the context of Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
The bill was eventually approved, following a long debate that extended into Wednesday evening, by 130 votes to 109 in the first reading and must now be examined by the Senate.
You can hear the team at The Local talking about the flag debate on our Talking France podcast. Download it HERE or listen on the link below
Don't most mairies already fly the EU flag?
For most people the big surprise here is that is wasn't already compulsory, since many mairies and other public buildings like préfectures and government ministries display both.
When French politicians are giving speeches, it's also standard for them to have both the French and EU flags displayed.
Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP
So what is the rule?
The only place that the EU flag actually appears in a rule book is in the Code de l'education - stating that schools must fly both the French and EU flags.
For mairies it is voluntary and up to the locally elected officials.
Most mairies display both a French and EU flag on normal days - extra French flags are often added on certain public holidays such as May 8th (VE Day), November 11th (Armistice Day) and July 14th (France's national holiday).
Some mairies also add extra flags to mark certain occasions - for example many mairies fly the LGBTQ rainbow flag during pride month, while some mairies are also currently flying the Ukraine flag to express support and solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
This, too, is a choice for locally elected officials.
The flag debate
Although the motion did pass eventually, the idea of making the EU flag compulsory was divisive with even some of the centrist group doubtful about the idea.
Interestingly though, not many MPs spoke out against the idea of the EU flag itself - most complaints were simply that making it a formal rule would be an unnecessary extra piece of admin and a cost burden on small mairies that don't currently fly the EU flag. Hence the amendment - for financial reasons - exempting communes with fewer than 1,500 inhabitants from actually having to do what many of them already do.
That hasn't gone down well with every MP. "The exemption concerns 70 percent of the municipalities of France," Republicain MP Philippe Gosselin said, "it does not make sense ... [in a] one and indivisible Republic".
Another amendment that passed the first reading would mean - if the bill becomes law in its current form - that town halls display an official portrait of the President of the Republic; while others indicate the mairies should display the motto Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité on their facades, or display the declaration of the Rights of Man and of the citizen inside.
The biggest gripe prior to the debate seemed to be simply that this was a waste of parliamentary time.
Elodie Jacquier-Laforge or the centrist MoDem party said that her party has a strong "attachment to Europe". But she also questioned the usefulness of a text that "does not respond to the concerns of our compatriots".
"Is this really the time? I think that the country is waiting for something else," added her colleague Bruno Millienne on Radio J on Monday, citing the cost of living, health and end-of-life care as the real priorities of the French.
Antoine Léaument of the hard-left La France Insoumise said the text was an attempt by the Macron government to divert attention from the pension crisis. "As you no longer know what text to pass to turn the page, you bury us under texts without consistency and interest," he said.
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