French parliament suspends politician for waving Palestinian flag

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A left-wing politician was suspended from the French parliament for two weeks on Tuesday after he held up a Palestinian flag during a heated debate over whether France should recognize a Palestinian state.

Sebastien Delogu, a politician from the radical left-wing party “La France Insbouw” (LFI) from the southern city of Marseille, stood with the flag during the question time to the government.

Parliament Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet condemned his actions as unacceptable behaviour and politicians voted to suspend him for two weeks and cut his parliamentary salary by half for a period of two months.

Mr Delogu left the House of Commons making the victory sign while inside, right-wing and centrist politicians applauded the sanctions imposed on him.

His suspension came on the day Spain, Ireland and Norway formally recognised Palestinian statehood in a coordinated decision that infuriated Israel.

This means that 145 of the 193 UN member states have now recognized a Palestinian state.

But no member of the Group of Seven industrialized nations – including France, Great Britain and the USA – has done so.

Students protest against the Gaza war at the Sorbonne University in Paris – in pictures

French President Emmanuel Macron said in February that recognizing a Palestinian state was no longer “taboo.”

But Prime Minister Gabriel Attal evaded a question from another LFI MP in the House of Commons on Tuesday about whether France would soon join its European allies.

The recent Gaza war has created tensions in France, the country with the largest Jewish community after Israel and the United States and the largest Muslim community in Europe.

Updated: May 28, 2024, 6:05 p.m.