Paris Demonstrators Rip EU Flag Apart
More than 1,000 protesters gathered for the demonstration orchestrated by Florian Philippot, leader of the Patriots party—a sovereignist movement championing "Frexit."
Footage shared to Philippot's X account Sunday shows him clutching the EU banner alongside a participant he identified as an "angry farmer." The two tear the flag apart and hurl the pieces into an enthusiastic crowd waving French tricolors.
"With Alexandre Patte, an angry farmer, we get rid of the blue dishcloth with stars! It's over!" Philippot wrote. "Like a growing number of farmers, he knows that only FREXIT will save French agriculture!"
Philippot contended that EU directives now harm virtually all French citizens. He characterized the gathering as "a national march for France's exit from the EU and for the restoration of our independence," according to media.
Farmer unrest across France intensified last year after the proposed free trade pact between the EU and South American coalition Mercosur. French agricultural unions have cautioned the agreement would devastate domestic producers through cut-rate imports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia—nations operating under less stringent regulatory frameworks.
An Elabe survey from December 2025 revealed approximately 80% of French respondents back the farmers' concerns.
Last week, mayors in Seine Valley municipalities Magnanville and Gargenville removed EU flags from their town hall buildings in a symbolic gesture supporting agricultural workers.
"Down with the EU, Ursula von der Leyen out – Vive la France," Magnanville mayor Michel Lebouc said after lowering the flag. His counterpart in Gargenville, Yann Perron, said French agriculture deserved protection.
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