(ANSA) - PARIS, 01 JAN - The installation of the European flag under the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to celebrate the beginning of the French EU presidency has sparked controversy in France.
Far-right presidential candidates Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour said they were "indignant" at the fact that the French flag was replaced by that of the EU "above the tomb of the unknown soldier".
"The French flag will obviously be reinstalled, it is a symbolic and temporary initiative", replied the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune, branding the discussion as a "sterile controversy".
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