The French flag flies at half-mast atop presidential Elysee Palace in Paris last week
(Picture: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)French politicians are rebelling against a presidential order to fly their flags at half-mast in honour of the Queen.
They believe that President Emmanuel Macron has overstretched his love for the late Elizabeth II in a country that executed its last Queen more than 200 years ago.
Despite the French Revolution of 1789, Mr Macron wants the British Monarch’s funeral on Monday to be marked by half-mast Tricolours on official buildings across France
But Yann Galut, the mayor of the central city of Bourges, said: “This request seems incredible to me.
“I respect the sorrow of our English friends, but I will not fly the French flag at half-mast over the public buildings of Bourges.”
Mr Galut added: “We are a republican country. Why should I pay tribute to a foreign monarch?”
Patrick Proisy, mayor in the eastern town of Faches-Thumesnil, said: “How could it be logical to put half-mast flags on our schools, which all carry the motto: liberty, equality, fraternity?”
Mr Proisy added: “No concept is further from equality than that of monarchy,” while attacking “the principle that being born in the right family gives you special blood which puts you above others.”
Far-Left MP Alexis Corbiere, of the France Unbowed party, tweeted: “Too much is too much.
“The way almost all French television channels have been turned into a sort of royal celebrity magazine is starting to look grotesque.”
In the past, France has lowered flags in honour of popes, Nelson Mandela, and Russian dictator Joseph Stalin.
On Friday last week, the Élysée Palace and Paris ministries lowered the Tricolour to half-mast on Mr Macron’s orders, while also flying the Union Jack.
Mr Macron has since delivered a series of hugely emotional tributes to Elizabeth II, saying she “represented eternity” and was “The Queen of Hearts”.
