French mayor bans Palestine flag and protests after PSG victory incidents

The mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone, in west-central France, has announced that he was banning the Palestinian flag in the city, calling it a "rallying sign" following the urban "riots" that broke out after Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) victory on Saturday night.

The Parisian football club's win in the Champions League final against Inter Milan was marred by unrest and violence in various cities across the country, which led to more than 550 arrests - including 490 in Paris. 

Hundreds of cars were torched in the capital and fireworks set off, while youths clashed with police, reports said.

"Events of the most extreme gravity took place last night in our city," Mayor Gilles Platret wrote in a statement on Sunday.

"Individuals chose to seize the opportunity to create disorder on a political basis," he said, adding that "one of the riot leaders" was "conspicuously displaying a Palestinian flag as a rallying sign".

New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch

Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters

"The Palestinian flag has become the symbol of the rioters, the rallying sign of Islamist gangs determined to defy republican institutions," the mayor said.

Platret announced a decree banning the Palestinian flag from the town of 45,000 inhabitants as well as its sale in markets starting Monday.

The decree also prohibits "all pro-Palestine demonstrations in Chalon". The mayor justified the move "by a need for security", citing video surveillance footage.

On Monday evening, Platret reiterated his comments on X: "What if we talked a little about what is hiding behind the Palestinian flag? […] Strategies are established, infiltration is planned, interference is at work. Muslim Brotherhood? Islamic Republic of Iran? Or another hostile state?”

“The hypotheses are numerous, even intersecting. But the fact remains: the Palestinian flag has become the catalyst for unrest among the youth of the neighbourhoods with the aim of fracturing the country," he wrote.

Platret's decision sparked an outcry from left-wing political groups and NGOs.

Aline Mathus-Janet, co-president of the local branch of the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, denounced the measure as unjust and "totally illegal".

The only Palestinian flag seller in the city centre also reacted by asking why the Palestinian flag was banned and not the others.

"Perhaps only because these people are dark-skinned and that bothers the right-thinking people [...] the pro-Zemmour crowd, convicted multiple times of incitement to hatred [...] history will judge," he said.

The vendor was referring to Eric Zemmour, president of the far-right Reconquete! party and former candidate in the 2022 presidential election, who has been convicted of incitement to religious hatred against Muslims and incitement to racial hatred, among other offences.

"Selling Palestinian flags had no other purpose than to show my support for a people who has been subjected to genocide, which should be the reflex of every human being worthy of the name," he added.

Late on Monday afternoon, around 250 people came to defy the ban on demonstrations in front of the town hall to protest the municipal decree. Some demonstrators flew the Palestinian flag or displayed its colours on their clothing.

‘Grossly illegal’

The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme and various local politicians have indicated they are considering legal action to have the municipal decree overturned.

Legal experts have challenged the legality of the order and predicted its rapid suspension by the administrative courts.

Nicolas Hervieu, a lawyer specialising in public and European human rights law, denounced the decree as "grossly illegal" and "completely disproportionate".

"The question here is to determine whether displaying or selling a flag can be presented as the cause of the unrest," he told TF1info.

"The answer is clearly no," the lawyer said, adding that flying a flag is protected as a right to freedom of expression.

The situation would be different, he explained, if the flag bore symbols prohibited by law, such as those of the Nazi party.

In July 2014, the courts suspended, due to its "disproportionate nature", an order by the right-wing mayor of the southern city of Nice, Christian Estrosi, prohibiting the "ostentatious use" of foreign flags during the World Cup. The order implicitly targeted Algerian supporters.

Platret, who has been the mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone since 2014, is no stranger to issuing controversial decrees, most of which were overturned by the courts.

He notably banned pork-free menus in school canteens, tried to impose the use of French on construction sites and refused to validate a French-Turkish wedding, before being forced to do so by the courts.

The mayor, a former vice-president of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party who was reportedly tempted to align himself with Zemmour, has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of the "French people" against the "ethnic cleansing" allegedly practised by "Muslim blocs".

middleeasteye.net