Overview

• Emmanuel Macron is due to announce France’s recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN on September 22, in coordination with several Western partners.
• Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau instructed prefects to block Palestinian flag displays on public buildings and to refer defiant mayors to administrative courts under the public-service neutrality doctrine.
• The Cergy-Pontoise administrative court ordered Malakoff to remove a Palestinian flag and suspended Bezons’ planned display, while Mauléon-Licharre took down its flag after a prefect’s referral.
• Some municipalities have resisted the ministry’s guidance, though others complied, and prior rulings cite Conseil d’État jurisprudence from 2005 barring political or ideological symbols on public buildings.
• An Elabe poll shows 53% support France’s recognition of a Palestinian state, but 71% oppose raising the Palestinian flag on town halls as authorities prepare reinforced protection of sensitive sites, notably Jewish schools.