After intense discussions, the bill received the support of a majority of 130 votes against 109 in the first reading, and it is assumed that the Senate will discuss it now.
French deputies voted on Wednesday night, Thursday, on a controversial text obliging municipalities of regions with a population of more than 1,500 to raise the French and European flags in front of their buildings, which is now widely spread.
After intense discussions, the bill received the support of a majority of 130 votes against 109 in the first reading, and it is assumed that the Senate will discuss it now.
Amendments allowed the mitigation of the initial provision by allowing flags to be flown near municipal buildings or on their roofs, in particular by exempting those whose areas have a population of less than 1,500 people for financial reasons.
Portrait of the President of the Republic
The deputies also voted on an amendment that guarantees, this time in all municipalities, the presence of the official image of the President of the Republic, which is currently common.
Two amendments also passed the motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” on their facades and the display of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789 inside.
The bill was presented by deputies of President Emmanuel Macron’s camp and was included on the agenda on Tuesday, on the anniversary of Robert Schumann’s declaration on May 9, 1950, which is considered a founding text for European construction.
But the discussions continued until Wednesday evening in an atmosphere of tension.
exit from the European Union
A year before the European elections, the text’s sponsor, Mathieu Lefevre, stressed the “symbolic importance” of the text, despite its contentious nature.
He said that “those who find it difficult to hide their annoyance in front of the star-studded flag have the same difficulty hiding their dreams of leaving the union (the Frexit)”, targeting the radical left and far right deputies.
Representatives of the Radical Left Party, “Rebellious France” and the communists, saw in this an “attempt to occupy” the presidential camp to turn the page on amending the controversial retirement system, through a procedure that “has no practical benefit.”
And in the National Rally (far-right), MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy launched an attack on the European Union flag, saying that it “does not carry any symbol.”
He said that “there are only three colors before which the French bow: blue, white and red.”
