PARIS, France — Almost two dozen town halls in France were flying the Palestinian flag from their entrances on Monday in defiance of an interior ministry warning not to do so ahead of the recognition of a Palestinian state by President Emmanuel Macron.

The French president was due to recognize a Palestinian state in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, following up on a pledge he made in the summer that angered Israel.

However, hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau, who is also leader of the right-wing Republicans Party, issued a circular last week ordering prefects — the top local state-appointed officials — to oppose the flying of the flags.

“The principle of neutrality in public service prohibits such displays,” the interior ministry said, adding that any decisions by mayors to fly the Palestinian flag should be referred to courts.

But the Socialist Party (PS) mayor of Nantes, Johanna Rolland, said on X: “This evening, the president will announce at the UN the recognition of the State of Palestine. Nantes is supporting this historic decision by the French Republic by raising the Palestinian flag for the day.”

The flag was already flying in front of her town hall in Nantes, one of the major cities in western France, an AFP correspondent reported.

The vast Paris suburb of Saine-Saint-Denis also raised the Palestinian flag at a ceremony attended by PS leader Olivier Faure, who has bitterly opposed Retailleau’s order and said he has written to Macron asking the president to rescind it.

“It is a sign of solidarity with this decision” to recognize a Palestinian state, he told BFMTV.

The town halls of at least half a dozen Paris suburbs run by left-wing parties also hoisted the flag.

In total, 21 town halls across the country were flying it, the interior ministry said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot appeared wary of being drawn into the debate on what he described as a “historic day for peace.”

“I do not want… it to be used for political polemics, to divide us at a time when, more than ever, we need to be united to be strong,” he told TF1 television.

Both the Israeli and Palestinian flags, as well as peace images of a dove and olive branch, were projected late on Sunday onto the Eiffel Tower, which was illuminated in celebration of the recognition of the Palestinian state.

“Paris reaffirms its commitment to peace, which more than ever requires a two-state solution,” Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote on Bluesky.