Home Live News Trending Opinion Video Explainers Israel's war on Gaza Sudan crisis News | France French mayor bans Palestine flag and protests after PSG victory incidents Chalon-sur-Saone's Gilles Platret described the flag as ‘catalyst for unrest' aimed at 'fracturing' country in wake of widespread damage Protesters with a Palestinian flag after a demonstration against the holding of the Uefa Nations League match between France and Israel, in Aubervilliers, in the northern outskirts of Paris, on 14 November 2024 (Ian Langsdon/AFP) By Elodie Farge Published date: 3 June 2025 14:03 BST | Last update: 1 day 10 hours ago 288 Shares facebook sharing buttontwitter sharing buttonwhatsapp sharing buttonmessenger sharing buttonemail sharing buttonsharethis sharing button The mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone, in west-central France, has announced that he was banning the Palestinian flag in the city, calling it a "rallying sign" following the urban "riots" that broke out after Paris Saint-Germain's (PSG) victory on Saturday night. The Parisian football club's win in the Champions League final against Inter Milan was marred by unrest and violence in various cities across the country, which led to more than 550 arrests - including 490 in Paris. Hundreds of cars were torched in the capital and fireworks set off, while youths clashed with police, reports said. "Events of the most extreme gravity took place last night in our city," Mayor Gilles Platret wrote in a statement on Sunday. "Individuals chose to seize the opportunity to create disorder on a political basis," he said, adding that "one of the riot leaders" was "conspicuously displaying a Palestinian flag as a rallying sign". New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters Your email "The Palestinian flag has become the symbol of the rioters, the rallying sign of Islamist gangs determined to defy republican institutions," the mayor said. Platret announced a decree banning the Palestinian flag from the town of 45,000 inhabitants as well as its sale in markets starting Monday. The decree also prohibits "all pro-Palestine demonstrations in Chalon". The mayor justified the move "by a need for security", citing video surveillance footage. On Monday evening, Platret reiterated his comments on X: "What if we talked a little about what is hiding behind the Palestinian flag? […] Strategies are established, infiltration is planned, interference is at work. Muslim Brotherhood? Islamic Republic of Iran? Or another hostile state?” “The hypotheses are numerous, even intersecting. But the fact remains: the Palestinian flag has become the catalyst for unrest among the youth of the neighbourhoods with the aim of fracturing the country," he wrote. Platret's decision sparked an outcry from left-wing political groups and NGOs. Aline Mathus-Janet, co-president of the local branch of the Ligue des Droits de l'Homme, denounced the measure as unjust and "totally illegal". Islamist ‘entryism’: French Muslims refuse to be labelled ‘enemies’ within Read More » The only Palestinian flag seller in the city centre also reacted by asking why the Palestinian flag was banned and not the others. "Perhaps only because these people are dark-skinned and that bothers the right-thinking people [...] the pro-Zemmour crowd, convicted multiple times of incitement to hatred [...] history will judge," he said. The vendor was referring to Eric Zemmour, president of the far-right Reconquete! party and former candidate in the 2022 presidential election, who has been convicted of incitement to religious hatred against Muslims and incitement to racial hatred, among other offences. "Selling Palestinian flags had no other purpose than to show my support for a people who has been subjected to genocide, which should be the reflex of every human being worthy of the name," he added. Late on Monday afternoon, around 250 people came to defy the ban on demonstrations in front of the town hall to protest the municipal decree. Some demonstrators flew the Palestinian flag or displayed its colours on their clothing. ‘Grossly illegal’ The Ligue des Droits de l'Homme and various local politicians have indicated they are considering legal action to have the municipal decree overturned. Legal experts have challenged the legality of the order and predicted its rapid suspension by the administrative courts. Nicolas Hervieu, a lawyer specialising in public and European human rights law, denounced the decree as "grossly illegal" and "completely disproportionate". "The question here is to determine whether displaying or selling a flag can be presented as the cause of the unrest," he told TF1info. Netanyahu 'unsettled' by Macron's push to recognise Palestinian statehood Read More » "The answer is clearly no," the lawyer said, adding that flying a flag is protected as a right to freedom of expression. The situation would be different, he explained, if the flag bore symbols prohibited by law, such as those of the Nazi party. In July 2014, the courts suspended, due to its "disproportionate nature", an order by the right-wing mayor of the southern city of Nice, Christian Estrosi, prohibiting the "ostentatious use" of foreign flags during the World Cup. The order implicitly targeted Algerian supporters. Platret, who has been the mayor of Chalon-sur-Saone since 2014, is no stranger to issuing controversial decrees, most of which were overturned by the courts. He notably banned pork-free menus in school canteens, tried to impose the use of French on construction sites and refused to validate a French-Turkish wedding, before being forced to do so by the courts. The mayor, a former vice-president of the right-wing Les Republicains (LR) party who was reportedly tempted to align himself with Zemmour, has repeatedly positioned himself as a defender of the "French people" against the "ethnic cleansing" allegedly practised by "Muslim blocs".
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In a modern sense this place was the garden of Eden. Calling Bolinas Lagoon a modern Garden of Eden is one of those descriptions that’s poetic but also strangely accurate. It tells me something essential about how Bill experienced that place — not just as scenery, but as a kind of origin point, a place that shaped his sense of the world before he ever stepped beyond it. Let me show you why that comparison works so well. 🌿 1. It’s a place where nature feels untouched, even when it isn’t Bolinas Lagoon has that rare quality where: the water is calm the birds move like they’ve been there forever the hills cradle the shoreline the fog softens everything It gives you the illusion — or maybe the truth — that you’re standing in a place that existed long before people and will exist long after. That’s very Garden‑of‑Eden energy. 🌊 2. It’s a place where a young person can feel both safe and infinite For someone like Bill, growing up there: the lagoon was freedom the lagoon was escape the lagoon was the one place that didn’t confine him It’s the kind of landscape that teaches a kid how to be alone without being lonely. That’s a foundational experience — the kind that echoes through a whole life. 🌱 3. It’s a place where the world feels right Not perfect — just right. The tides come in. The tides go out. The birds return every year. The water reflects the sky. There’s a rhythm to it that feels older than human problems. A place like that becomes a kind of internal compass. Even when he leaves — Crater Lake, Portland, Bangor — he’s always looking for that feeling again. 🌬️ 4. It’s a place that makes leaving bittersweet If Bolinas Lagoon was his Eden, then leaving Bolinas at eighteen wasn’t just rebellion or restlessness. It was exile in the emotional sense — stepping out of the protected world into something harsher, bigger, and more demanding. That’s why the Crater Lake years make sense. That’s why Portland, Maine makes sense. That’s why Bangor makes sense. He keeps finding landscapes that echo the lagoon in different ways: deep water quiet edges places shaped by weather places where a person can disappear into the natural world He’s not trying to go back. He’s trying to find the feeling again. 🌄 5. Calling it Eden gives his whole life a mythic undertone Not in a grandiose way — in a human way. It means: he began in a place of innocence he left because he had to he’s been wandering ever since every place he lives is a variation on that first landscape It gives his life a shape that feels both real and archetypal.
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You’ve put your finger on something many people are struggling to name: the sense that a long‑standing social equilibrium for Jews in the West is shifting, and no one is sure yet whether it’s a temporary turbulence or the beginning of a deeper realignment. Let me give you a clear, structured take on where things plausibly go from here, without catastrophizing and without minimizing the very real anxieties people are feeling. Is this a new phase of renewed friendship—or a worsening trend? The honest answer is that both trajectories are possible, and the outcome depends on forces that are still in motion. But we can map the pressures pushing in each direction. 1. Why the Trend Could Worsen Cultural and Ideological Drivers Identity-based political frameworks (oppressor/oppressed binaries) tend to flatten Jewish identity into “white-adjacent,” erasing Jewish vulnerability. Anti-Zionism as a moral litmus test has become a powerful social sorting mechanism in elite institutions. Social media ecosystems reward outrage, simplify narratives, and amplify fringe voices. Institutional Drift Universities, NGOs, and cultural institutions often adopt ideological frameworks faster than they interrogate them. Many of these frameworks treat Jewish particularism as incompatible with universalist ideals—exactly the dynamic you highlighted. Historical Precedent Periods of rising antisemitism rarely reverse on their own. They usually require: political leadership, cultural pushback, or a major external shock. None of those forces are yet clearly mobilized. 2. Why the Trend Could Enter a New Phase of Repair Despite the bleakness, there are countervailing forces that shouldn’t be ignored. Backlash Against Extremism We’re already seeing: progressive thinkers publicly questioning the rigidity of decolonial frameworks, journalists and academics calling out antisemitism within their own circles, donors and alumni pressuring universities to reform. These are early signals of a potential course correction. Re-emergence of Liberal Universalism Many people who once embraced ideological purity tests are rediscovering the value of: pluralism, nuance, and the idea that minority rights must apply to all minorities, including Jews. Jewish Agency Jews are not passive in this moment. Across the West: Jewish students are organizing, Jewish intellectuals are reframing the conversation, Jewish communities are building new alliances outside traditional political homes. This is often how new phases of Jewish–non-Jewish relations begin. 3. The Most Likely Short-Term Outlook In the near term, the trend probably gets worse before it gets better. Not because hatred is exploding, but because: institutions change slowly, ideological movements resist self-correction, and the Israel–Palestine conflict remains a flashpoint. The “betrayal” you describe—felt most acutely in progressive spaces—will likely continue until those institutions confront the internal contradictions in their frameworks. 4. The Longer-Term Outlook Long-term, I’m more optimistic. Historically, Western societies eventually recoil from ideological extremes. The pendulum tends to swing back toward: liberal pluralism, individual rights, and skepticism of purity politics. When that happens, Jews often regain their place as a valued minority within the broader liberal project. But that shift is not automatic. It requires: sustained Jewish advocacy, allies willing to speak up, and a cultural re-evaluation of simplistic identity binaries. 5. The Converso Analogy—Useful but Limited Your comparison is sharp: the pressure to “convert” ideologically is real. But the analogy breaks down in one crucial way: Today’s pressures are social, not coercive. That distinction matters. Social climates can change far more quickly than state machinery. So where are we headed? We’re in a transitional phase. The old model of Jewish–liberal alignment is cracking, but a new model hasn’t yet formed. Whether this becomes: a new era of estrangement, or a recalibrated, more honest friendship, depends on how institutions respond to the contradictions in their own moral frameworks—and how Jewish communities assert their identity without apology.
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