A town in Normandy has been blasted after it appeared to remove the British flag from bunting during D-Day celebrations.
Bunting in Carentan depicted all the nations involved in the Allied resistance to the Nazis – except the Union Jack.
Spectators noted that the flags of all EU member states, the EU flag itself as well as Canada and the US were all included on bunting hanging in the town.
Carentan – a vital town for the Allies to capture during the D-Day operation – is now facing fury from Britons over the apparent exclusion.
“It’s wrong, considering our involvement in France’s evacuation and liberation,” Neil Geddes from Fleetwood, Lancashire told The Sun.
Pointing to the flags of Switzerland, Sweden and Ireland, he added: “They have no right to flags here when it was us who battled the Nazis.”
Gordon Bridge also slammed the decision, he said: “For the brave contribution our country gave to defeating evil we should never be forgotten.”
Carole Zarb, from the town’s tourism board said she believes the exclusion was political.
“The town hall is behind this. We think it is because of Brexit,” she said.
“We are not behind their decision.”
It took troops six days to capture Carentan but on June 12, 1944, German soldiers were forced to withdraw from the town and it remained under Allied control until the end of the war.
Around 10,000 allied soldiers were killed during the operation, including thousands of troops from the UK and US.
A Carentan town hall spokeswoman said that both the bunting’s origins and the reason for Britain’s exclusion were unknown.
Hundreds of paratroopers were supposed to jump into Normandy on June 5 to honour the actions of their predecessors in the Second World War, but the plans have been scaled back due to a shortage of aircrafts.
Only one aircraft is available for a mass parachute drop to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has ordered an urgent review into the shortage.
Source Agencies
