Controversy Over European Union Flag at the Arc de Triomphe
The removal of the flag at the Arc de Triomphe stirs debate between claims of patriotic ownership and hostility towards the EU.
CNRS research fellow at Sciences Po’s Center for Political Research (Cevipof), Gilles Ivaldi is a specialist in radical right-wing movements and populist phenomena in Europe. In early 2025, he published an article in the Licra magazine (International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism) titled “The RN, the far right, and Europe.” This article highlighted how the far-right parties in Europe, including the RN in France, traditionally oppose European integration, but the Frexit proposal and the euro exit from Marine Le Pen’s 2017 presidential campaign were abandoned for electoral realism.
On January 1, 2022, when a huge EU flag was displayed at the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the French presidency, Marine Le Pen saw it as a “true attack on our nation’s identity.” Two years later, during the launch of the 2024 European elections campaign, the EU flag was conspicuously absent from Jordan Bardella’s meeting. This move was part of Christophe Barthelemy’s initiative to replace the EU flag with a second French flag at the Carcassonne City Hall, triggering various reactions from different political figures and media outlets.
“Populism Shows That the RN Has Not Changed”
The decision to remove the EU flag and replace it with the French flag in Carcassonne was highly criticized by political commentators, including the Democrats group in the European Parliament, as a populist move perpetuated by the RN. This action has sparked a national debate on the significance of the EU flag and the message it conveys.
Ruling Fact Check:
According to the French Constitution, the tricolor flag is the national emblem, and while there is no specific law mandating the display of flags at city halls, it is a common practice for public buildings to display the French flag. The flag of the European Union is required to be displayed on European Day (May 9) but was replaced by the French flag in Carcassonne as part of a controversial symbolic gesture.
