The Dutch flag, long seen as a shared national symbol, is increasingly visible at anti-immigration and anti-asylum protests, alongside the older orange-white-blue Prinsenvlag. A recent Amsterdam rally featured flags while some participants shouted racist and antisemitic slogans, reflecting a broader trend at demonstrations and even football matches. Lawmakers and cultural experts say the flag’s meaning now depends heavily on context, and that its politicised use is rising.
Why the debate now
Parties in Parliament are arguing over how online platforms, protest movements, and street actions shape public opinion during a tense political period. In that climate, flag displays have become shorthand for competing views of “who speaks for the nation.” Flag scholars note that some groups now claim the flag as their own, while others try to “reclaim” it as a symbol for everyone.
What the law allows
Private citizens in the Netherlands may display the flag on their own property. Courts have also treated upside-down flag displays, popular during farmers’ protests, as protected political expression, striking down a provincial attempt to remove them as unconstitutional limits on free speech. Municipalities can still act on safety grounds (for example, flags tied to public fixtures), and several have done so during recent asylum-centre protests.
A symbol in flux
Researchers emphasise that a flag is “empty” without context: its meaning comes from how and where it is used. That helps explain why the same red-white-blue can feel unifying at national moments yet divisive at some rallies. Retailers report higher sales as the public display of flags grows, suggesting the debate may persist as long as protests do.
The flag legally belongs to everyone, but in today’s polarised street politics, how it’s used can send very different messages.
