Replacing the national flag at the Arc de Triomphe with the EU flag on the occasion of the union's French presidency has stirred considerable controversy in recent days. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is located beneath the monument, and many are complaining that Emmanuel Macron is dishonouring the memory of soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their country. A well-known left-wing journalist is now defending the government by questioning whether the actual soldier buried there was a French national.

The controversy surrounding the EU flag hoisted under the Triumphal Arch continues to cause a stir in France. Although the flag has since been taken down, many politicians had objected to the national flag being supplanted by the EU one. Marine Le Pen said that the move was an attack on the national identity of France and dishonoured the memory of the soldiers who died for their country.

Remplacer le drapeau français par le seul drapeau européen sous l’Arc de Triomphe est un attentat á l’identité de notre pays, un outrage aux morts pour la Patrie.
J’attaque devant le Conseil d’État cette décision qui ne peut émaner que d’Emmanuel Macron.https://t.co/cH5WXuCpys

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) January 1, 2022

Other politicians have also criticised the step. Republican party presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse, president of the Ile-de-France region surrounding the capital, in a Twitter post called on Emmanuel Macron to raise the French Tricolour alongside the EU flag, saying he owes that to all the fighters who shed their blood for the country.

Présider l’Europe oui, effacer l’identité française non! Je demande solennellement á Emmanuel Macron de rétablir notre drapeau tricolore á côté de celui de l’Europe sous l’arc de Triomphe. Nous le devons á tous nos combattants qui ont versé leur sang pour lui. pic.twitter.com/4tQAGwZKmg

— Valérie Pécresse (@vpecresse) December 31, 2021

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe is now back in the spotlight, after leftist French journalist Jean-Michel Aphatie went public with the theory that it is not at all certain that the unknown soldier was French, as he is unknown.

? Jean-Michel Aphatie : „Le soldat inconnu, on ne sait même pas s’il était Français. Il est inconnu…” ??‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/Bctwq8sN2Q

— Amaury Brelet (@AmauryBrelet) January 3, 2022

However, the weekly Valeurs actuelles points out that Mr Aphatie should have visited the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier before making his remark, as the inscription near the eternal lamp says: “Here lies a French soldier who died for his country.”

The body was chosen for the ceremony held in Verdun on 11 November 1920 from among eight soldiers killed in action in different sectors of the front. The unidentified soldier interred beneath the Arc de Triomphe represents the hundreds of thousands of servicemen who died for France and whose remains could not be returned to their families after the First World War. The article published by Valeurs actuelles points out that the unknown soldier was French, contrary to what Mr Aphatie claims, but adds that the journalist does believe that Emmanuel Macron made a mistake by forgetting to put the French flag next to the EU flag.