Divisions in France due to the raising of the Palestinian flag on several municipal buildings.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

Arab Gulf - Follow-ups: Several French municipalities intend to raise the Palestinian flag today, Monday, in celebration of Paris' recognition of the State of Palestine, despite the opposition of the Minister of Interior and initial judicial rulings that forbade doing so. The issue of recognizing the State of Palestine, which is essentially a symbolic step, is causing division in society and within the political class in France, which, along with Saudi Arabia, will chair a summit dedicated to discussing the two-state solution, on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the United Nations. Hours before the summit, the Eiffel Tower in Paris lit up in white on Sunday evening, displaying the flags of Palestine and Israel, separated by a dove symbolizing peace, on a screen. In recent months, President Emmanuel Macron has made significant efforts in this direction. Simultaneously with the summit, the First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, called for the Palestinian flag to "fly" over all municipalities on September 22, demanding that the French President "approve" this initiative. In contrast, the outgoing Minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau (The Republicans party, right-wing), asked municipalities not to raise the Palestinian flag. In a cable seen by Agence France-Presse, he said that "the principle of neutrality of public service prohibits such flag decoration," calling on governors to resort to administrative justice against the decisions of mayors who will not back down from this. Mayors in the Paris region, in particular, intend to raise the Palestinian flag above their municipal buildings on Monday, despite initial judicial rulings against it. In Malakoff, the communist mayor, Jacqueline Belhomme, decided not to remove the Palestinian flag "before Tuesday," ignoring a court order issued by an administrative court based on an appeal filed by the region's governor. The latter has again resorted to the court, demanding this time the imposition of a financial penalty until the flag is removed. Matt Hanotin, the socialist mayor of Saint-Denis near Paris, told Agence France-Presse: "This is not a long-term militant act, but a choice" taken at a time when Emmanuel Macron will formalize France's recognition of a Palestinian state. Karim Bouamrane, the mayor of the neighboring Saint-Ouen (from the Socialist Party), will do the same, but he will also raise the Israeli flag. His socialist counterparts, Arnaud Delalandre in Lille, and Johanna Rolland in Nantes, will adhere to these instructions regarding the Palestinian flag. However, this issue is causing division within the left itself, as the municipality of Créteil, located in the southeast of Paris, will not follow the example of other municipalities dominated by the left. The mayor, Laurent Cathala (Socialist Party), pointed out that "his first responsibility must be to maintain social cohesion within the municipality." In Marseille, the second largest city in France, the mayor, Benoît Payan, who leads a left-wing majority, pledged to take a "strong action" on Monday, without specifying what it is, but it is certain that it will not include raising the Palestinian flag. In the southwest of the country, the communist mayor of a small town with a population of 3,000 removed the Palestinian flag on Saturday, after raising it on Friday, following the governor's referral of the matter to the administrative court. Elected officials and representatives of The Republicans and the National Rally strongly condemned this move at the municipal level, describing it as a maneuver. The President of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region (southeast), Renaud Muselier, who belongs to Macron's Renaissance party, announced that he would raise about 20 French flags in response to what he described as "political calculations."