French mayor refuses to restore upside-down Macron portrait

A dispute has emerged in Saint-Denis after local authorities refused to remove an upside-down portrait of French President Emmanuel Macron displayed inside the city hall.

According to BFM, Seine-Saint-Denis prefect Julien Charles sent a letter to the city’s mayor, Bally Bagayoko, asking him to reconsider the decision.

The prefect said that while displaying the French president’s portrait is not legally mandatory, it remains part of republican tradition and represents institutional unity. He argued that displaying the portrait upside down contradicts accepted norms of public respect toward state institutions.

Bagayoko, a member of La France Insoumise, rejected the request and said the display would remain unchanged.

“The portrait will remain in its place until the state fulfils its obligations under the Republican Pact, particularly toward the residents of our territory,” the mayor said.

The controversy began in April when journalists noticed Macron’s portrait had been turned upside down and placed in a corner inside the mayor’s office.

In an interview broadcast Monday on LCI, Bagayoko described the act as a “symbolic gesture” and said he would not restore the portrait “until the Republic eliminates inequality.”

By Tamilla Hasanova