Overview

• France’s Interior Ministry instructed regional representatives to oppose Palestinian flags on town halls, citing public-service neutrality and the risk of importing a foreign conflict.
• Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau said only the French tricolor should appear on town halls, calling the facade of a mairie not a billboard.
• Socialist leader Olivier Faure urged municipalities to participate on Monday, with mayors in Saint-Denis and Nantes among those saying they will raise the Palestinian flag.
• The ministry told officials to refer any mayoral decisions on such displays to administrative courts, setting up likely legal challenges.
• Some local leaders propose alternate gestures, with Saint-Ouen’s mayor planning to fly both Israeli and Palestinian flags, and a June court ruling in Nice removing Israeli flags providing a precedent.