“I have been forced, by a court decision, to remove the Israeli flags from the town hall. I naturally respect and comply with my country’s judicial decision, but I refuse to equate an Islamist terrorist movement with a humanitarian gesture”, says Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi.

Following a decision by Nice’s administrative court, Israeli flags have been removed from the city’s town hall.

In response, Nice mayor Christian Estrosi announced that the flags have been replaced by faces of hostages detained by Hamas in Gaza and of two French hostages in Iran.

The announcement follows a decision by the administrative court, which, after several appeals, ordered the town hall to remove the flags within five days, citing the principle of ‘’neutrality’’ of public services.

The mayor had chosen to display the Israeli flags since the murderous attacks of October 7, 2023. A gesture he considered “humanitarian”, while opponents of this decision accused him of supporting the Israeli government.

“I have been forced, by a court decision, to remove the Israeli flags from the town hall. I naturally respect and comply with my country’s judicial decision, but I refuse to equate an Islamist terrorist movement with a humanitarian gesture”, he wrote on X.

”Since October 7, LFI (the extreme-left party in France) has been multiplying its anti-Semitic allusions and turning the Israeli flag into a symbol to be torn down,” he said.

Earlier this month, the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes region asked the mayor to remove the Israeli flag and  expressed his opposition to any foreign flag, whatever it may be, in town halls “in the name of the principle of neutrality in public service.’’

Estrosi said that he had ‘’made commitments to the people of Nice. I will continue to devote my energy to fighting all forms of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.’’