He added: “There is no dissolution of national identity in European identity, any more than our local identities fade behind our national identity.”
In Carcassonne in southern France, National Rally Mayor Christophe Barthès on Sunday filmed himself removing the EU flag from the balcony of the town hall and posted it on his X account. “Out with European flags at town hall! In with French flags,” he wrote.
Bryan Masson, the newly elected mayor of Cagnes-sur-Mer, also in southern France, posted a photo of his office displaying a dozen French flags but no EU flag. And Carla Muti, mayor of Canohès, also posted a video of herself taking down an EU flag.
Removing or replacing EU flags has become an established procedure among Euroskeptic leaders. When Poland’s right-wing Prime Minister Beata Szydło took office in 2015, she removed the EU flag from the backdrop of her government’s press room.