Ahead of statehood recognition, France warns its mayors against flying Palestinian flag

France’s interior ministry has ordered prefects to oppose the display of Palestinian flags on town halls and other public buildings next week, when Paris is set to formally recognize a Palestinian state.

“The principle of neutrality in public service prohibits such displays,” the interior ministry says in a telegram, a copy of which has been seen by AFP.

Any decisions by mayors to fly the Palestinian flag should be referred to courts, the ministry says.

Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza is a hot-button issue in France, and several French mayors have already announced their intention to display the Palestinian flag on their town halls next week.

On Monday, France is set to formally recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly.

The warning comes after Socialist leader Olivier Faure called for the Palestinian flag to be flown on town halls on Monday, when Jewish worshipers also celebrate the Rosh Hashanah holiday, the Jewish New Year.

However, the telegram says any such display would amount to “taking sides in an international conflict.”

“It is therefore appropriate,” the telegram says, “to ask mayors who display such flags on their public buildings to cease doing so and, in the event of refusal or non-compliance,” to refer those mayors’ decisions to administrative courts.