The Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes requests the removal of the Israeli flag from Nice town hall

Having taken up his post a month ago, Mr. Hottiaux sent a letter to Mr. Estrosi on Monday and is preparing a circular for all mayors in the department, expressing his opposition to any foreign flag, whatever it may be, in town halls.

The Israeli flag has been flying over the pediment of Nice town hall since the October 7, 2023, attacks in Israel, and Mr. Estrosi has pledged to keep it there as long as there are Hamas hostages in Gaza.

"I have made commitments to the people of Nice," Mr. Estrosi responded in the evening. "I will continue to dedicate my energy to fighting all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism until the end."

He recalled that several appeals had already been filed with the administrative court to demand this withdrawal.

So far, the court has only issued one decision, rejecting at the end of May 2024 "for lack of urgency" an interim relief application filed by three anonymous citizens of Nice.

Since late 2023, almost weekly pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been held in Nice, with the town hall as a rallying point, where the Israeli flag hoisted on the pediment of the town hall has been a source of tension. Demonstrators have repeatedly demanded that the Palestinian flag be allowed to fly in the city.

In the Paris region, the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture requested on Friday, already in the name of the principle of neutrality of public services, the removal of the Palestinian flag raised on the forecourt of Gennevilliers town hall.

The mayor of the commune, Patrice Leclerc (PCF), denounced on his X account a "double standard", expressing surprise at not having received a request for removal during a similar display with the Ukrainian flag in February 2022, and at the silence of the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture for 18 months on the case of Nice.