The French Interior Ministry has instructed mayors not to raise the Palestinian flag on public buildings on September 22, the date on which France is expected to officially recognize the State of Palestine, French daily Le Figaro reported.

According to a telegram reviewed by AFP, the ministry stressed that “the principle of public service neutrality prohibits such displays.” It asked mayors to oppose any such initiatives and to refer related decisions to the administrative court.

The warning followed a call by Olivier Faure, First Secretary of the Socialist Party, who urged municipalities to raise the Palestinian flag on town halls to mark the French recognition.

The move highlights the political sensitivity surrounding France’s decision, with authorities seeking to limit local expressions of solidarity that might be viewed as contradicting the state’s neutrality.

France expects Israeli backlash

This also comes as Paris prepares for potential Israeli reprisals after President Emmanuel Macron announced that France, alongside several other countries, will recognize Palestinian statehood during the UN General Assembly on Monday.

According to two European officials and a source familiar with Israeli government deliberations who spoke to Politico, "Israel" is weighing several responses. Options reportedly under discussion include accelerating annexation plans in the West Bank, closing France’s historic consulate in occupied al-Quds, and encroaching on French-owned sites such as the Sanctuary of the Eleona, a Christian pilgrimage complex on the Mount of Olives.

Israeli police entered the Eleona compound last year, sparking a diplomatic dispute between Paris and Tel Aviv. Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told French radio earlier this month that shuttering the French diplomatic outpost in occupied al-Quds, which predates the establishment of the Israeli regime in 1948, “was on the table of the prime minister.”

A source cited by Israeli media said the question was not if, but how forcefully, the Israeli occupation would retaliate, underscoring that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government aims to resist international pressure on Palestinian matters.

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