Intellectual property for illustrations

Hello

I'm a bit puzzled to have two vector doodles rejected for "intellectual property". It has to be a misunderstanding but I would like to make sure what it is exactly as I have many other such little doodles in my drawing pads and I don't want to waste too much of either my time or the reviewer's time.

• I'm wondering if an authorization is needed for all drawings?
• Else - I don't think that it can be the French flag as there are hundreds of country flags everywhere?

• Other possibility (thinking it over that is the most likely) - I've titled it "Monsieur le Maire - Madame le Maire" (blue part of the scarf above)- which is the official title of any Mayor in France - that's what it depicts - there are over 36,000 Mayors and more than 100,000 Deputy-Mayors in France so it's very general - and that's the keyword people will search, I know for sure as I have been Deputy Mayor for some years and often needed such illustrations for city bulletins, which are sorely missing and that's why I drew these. I suspect that the reviewer misunderstood "Monsieur le Maire - Madame le Maire" for a name, which it certainly isn't. How can I go about it? Should I write something in an authorization?

The other one is titled "Monsieur le Député - Madame la Députée" (red part of the scarf above), it shows a Member of the French Parliament.

I do not wish to change those titles as it would change the meaning of the picture as that's exactly how those people are called (official title).

Thanks for any ideas!