The starry blue flag was to fly for two days, until the end of the summit on Friday afternoon, said the Elysée.
On December 31, its installation had provoked the anger of several presidential candidates including Marine Le Pen, Eric Zemmour, Valérie Pecresse and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, some denouncing an unpatriotic act, others demanding that a French flag be added above the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The European flag was withdrawn less than two days later, "in accordance with the planned timing" according to the Elysée, while RN candidate Marine Le Pen claimed this withdrawal as a "beautiful patriotic victory".
Emmanuel Macron then denounced "a bad controversy" and said he was "proud" of this "symbol of peace" which, according to him, had been placed under the monument at a time when "there was nothing", c ie no tricolor flag.
Several other monuments, like the Eiffel Tower, remained lit in blue for a week.
Emmanuel Macron welcomes the leaders of the 26 other EU countries late Thursday afternoon for an informal summit intended to lay the foundations for a more sovereign Europe after the shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
© 2022 AFP