Protesters stole 50 official flags and scrawled anti-Emmanuel Macron graffiti around a town where the President of France honoured D-Day heroes from the Special Air Service (SAS) today.
Masked youths went on the rampage in Plumelec, Brittany, hours before the ceremony attended by dozens of military veterans on Wednesday.
"All the flags set to be used in the ceremony were stolen on Tuesday," said a spokesman for the town hall. Confirming 50 were removed in all, he said politically-motivated graffiti was also scrawled on a bus stop, and on nearby walls.
Messages included, "Macron get out of Brittany’", "This is not France!", and "Brittany is not for sale". Describing the theft and vandalism as ‘shocking and deplorable’, the Plumelec spokesman said: "Video surveillance has been viewed and will allow the perpetrators of these unacceptable acts to be identified. Those responsible will be prosecuted and punished, whether they are adults or minors."
As a criminal inquiry was launched, suspects included Brittany patriots who objected to their region being run from Paris.
The spokesmen said at least two suspects were caught on film, but they were both wearing masks and hoodies, so have not been firmly identified.
Mr Macron’s morning visit to Plumelec was notably delayed by at least 40 minutes, as efforts were made to find new flags, some of which were transported from Paris.
In a moving speech, Mr Macron praised the ‘spirit of sacrifice’ of all those who helped liberate France in 1944. He particularly praised Corporal Emile Bouétard, 28 and a Breton who had completed a course at the Parachute Training School in Ringway, Manchester.
His Free French unit was incorporated into 4 SAS in January 1944, and he was part of 3 Squadron when he arrived in the Morbihan department of France.
Their mission was to delay German reinforcement being moved to the Normandy beachhead from Brittany, with the support of the French Resistance.
They landed behind enemy lines at 00.45 on June 6, but found themselves close to an enemy observation post. Members of 3 Squadron were killed or taken prisoner while they were still gathering their equipment.
Describing Cpl. Bouétard as the ‘first French soldier to fall’ on D-Day, President Macron added: ‘I know our country is strong with a bold, valiant youth, ready for the same spirit of sacrifice as its elders.’
While the French often refer to Cpl. Bouétard as the first Allied fatal casualty of D-Day, some consider it was British paratrooper Lieutenant Herbert Brotheridge, who was also 28 when he fell at Ranville, in Normandy, during the assault of what is now known as Pegasus Bridge.
The theft and vandalism at Plumelec came despite a vast security operation across Brittany and Normandy. Other heads of state arriving in the region beyond Mr Macron include King Charles, and American President Joe Biden, who touched down in Paris on Wednesday.