Last weekend, I took the Eurostar over the Paris and spent a couple of days. First of all, I had a lovely time taking in the major tourist spots. The Notre Dame was amazing. Louvre unbelievable. Musee d’Orsay sublime. And the food, of course, was wonderful.

Mostly, however, I did what I love to do in any new city: I eschewed transport and just wandered the streets.

On Saturday afternoon, I was wandering along the river on the Left Bank, when I passed this government building:

You’ll notice the French national flag flapping away on the left. But it was the flag on the right that struck me. It’s the EU flag, and I can’t say that I recall seeing one anywhere before outside of Brussels.

After seeing this, I started paying attention, and during a walk around a neighborhood full of government buildings that same evening, I noticed that nearly all French official buildings fly the EU flag.

First of all, I wonder if other EU nations do the same. I can say with certainty that the UK does not.

But more broadly, this practice struck me as a huge symbolic gesture of fealty to the EU. It suggests that the French have surrender the primacy of their own nation and given over their sovereignty to Brussels.

Now, I realize that I am probably overreacting. After all, it’s just a flag. But still… To me, it sends a powerful message.

What do you think?