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| The European flag flies under the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate the start of the French presidency of the European Union |
A large European Union flag attached to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris on Friday to mark the start of Franceโs six-month presidency of the bloc was removed on Sunday after it drew outrage from far-right and right-wing leaders.
Junior European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune, who on Friday had said the flag would remain for โseveral daysโ, said it had been taken down as planned.
โIt was scheduled that the flag was to be taken down this Sunday, we hadnโt established an exact timeโ, Beaune told France Inter radio.
He dismissed the idea that the government had given in after far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Saturday said she would appeal to Franceโs Council of State to remove the EU flag.
โThe government has been forced to remove the EU flag from the Arc de Triomphe, a beautiful patriotic victory at the start of 2022โ, Le Pen said on Sunday.
โWe didnโt back down, there was no change of plan โฆI fully assume Franceโs destiny is in Europe,โ Beaune said.
He said Le Pen and other leaders had got it all wrong when they said the EU flag had supplanted the French flag as the latter is not permanently displayed on the Arc de Triomphe.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has yet to say if he will run for re-election in April, defeated Le Pen in a 2017 run-off by 66%-34%.
Most polls show there will be a rematch between the two in the upcoming presidential election, with Macron expected to win again, albeit with a slimmer margin.
REUTERS
