Is flag burning illegal in France?
Criminal offense
Desecrating the national flag in public places is a criminal offense.
France is one of 55 countries classified “Criminal offense” for flag desecration — 82% of the 67 with data. (Also searched as flag burning.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Flag desecration
- Last checked
- 17 September 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Switzerland
- Criminal offense Desecrating national emblems installed by public authority is a crime in Switzerland.
- Belgium
- Legal / protected speech Flag desecration is not illegal in Belgium.
- Netherlands
- Legal / protected speech There are no laws banning flag desecration, which is protected under freedom of expression.
- Germany
- Criminal offense Reviling or damaging the national or state flags in public is a criminal offense.
- Austria
- Criminal offense Desecration of national and international symbols is illegal in Austria.
- Italy
- Criminal offense Desecration of Italian or foreign national flags is prohibited by law and punishable by fines or imprisonment.
Other laws in France
- Blasphemy Laws
- No blasphemy law
- Holocaust Denial
- Criminal offense
- Conversion Therapy
- Banned
Every law in France → · Where is burning the flag illegal? →
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.