France’s regional and overseas flags
Metropolitan regions that mostly never had flags, a few old provinces that very much do, and overseas territories from the Caribbean to the Pacific.
24 flags6 sourcesFlag images: Flagpedia and Wikimedia Commons · creditsSuggest a correction
France is a centralised country, and its regions have no official flags in law. Most of the thirteen metropolitan regions, several of them merged in 2016, use logos instead, so the flags here are the ones flown in practice, often built from the arms of the old provinces.
Overseas it’s the same rule with more exceptions: the overseas departments officially fly the tricolour, while the Pacific collectivities have flags of their own.
Old provinces
Brittany
The Gwenn-ha-du (1923): nine stripes for Brittany’s old dioceses, under a canton of ermine.
Corsica
A Moor’s head with its bandana pushed up, adopted by Pasquale Paoli’s independent Corsica in the 1760s.
Normandy
Two gold leopards on red, the arms of the medieval dukes of Normandy.
Occitania
Joins the gold cross of the counts of Toulouse with the red and gold stripes of Roussillon.
Modern regions
Mostly made up of historic arms put side by side after the regions were drawn.
Île-de-France
Three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, recalling that the region belonged to the old royal domain of the kings of France. It has no official standing; the regional council flies its logo on white.
Hauts-de-France
One of several proposed designs; the region itself uses a logo.
Grand Est
One of several proposed designs, joining Alsace, Lorraine and Champagne.
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Quartered arms of the two merged regions, adopted by the region in 2017: the lilies and stripes of the Valois dukes of Burgundy, and the crowned gold lion of Franche-Comté.
Centre-Val de Loire
Unofficial, little known and not in use: the lilies and label of the Orléanais inside the red and white border of Touraine. The region mostly uses its logo.
Pays de la Loire
A cultural flag; the region’s official one is a logo spelling out its name.
Nouvelle-Aquitaine
The red lion of the old dukes of Gascony and Guyenne, beside blue waves for Aquitania, Latin for “land of waters”.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Four old provinces in quarters: the red banner of Auvergne, the white cross of Savoy, the lion of Lyon and the dolphin of the Dauphiné.
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
In use since 1999, though never formally adopted, and drawn from the arms of the old provinces: the red and gold stripes of Provence, the dolphin of the Dauphiné and the eagle of Nice.
The Americas
French Guiana
Officially the tricolour; a green and yellow flag with a red star is widely flown.
On the globe →
Saint Barthélemy
Its arms mix French fleurs-de-lis, a Maltese cross and three Swedish crowns: all three countries once owned it.
On the globe →
Saint Martin
Officially the tricolour; Saint Martin has never had an official flag of its own, though a competition to choose one was launched in August 2026.
On the globe →
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Jacques Cartier’s ship, with Basque, Breton and Norman flags for the settlers’ homelands.
On the globe →
The Indian Ocean
Réunion
Officially the tricolour; the unofficial Lo Mahavéli shows a volcano sending out rays.
On the globe →
The Pacific
New Caledonia
The Kanak flag has flown beside the tricolour as an official flag since 2010.
On the globe →
On the globe
FranceMore flags
- Argentina’s province flags
- Australia’s state and territory flags
- Belgium’s regional and provincial flags
- Brazil’s state flags
- Canada’s provincial and territorial flags
- Flags of autonomous regions and islands
- Flags of disputed territories
- Flags of former countries
- Flags of international organizations
- Flags of the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies
- Flags of the Dutch Caribbean
- Flags of the world
- Germany’s state flags
- Ireland’s province flags
- Italy’s regional flags
- Japan’s prefectural flags
- Liberia’s county flags
- Mexico’s state flags
- Russia’s regional flags
- Spain’s regional flags
- Switzerland’s canton flags
- The Netherlands’ province flags
- U.S. state flags
Sources
- [1]Brittany (Traditional province, France) · Flags of the World
- [2]Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (Region, France) · Flags of the World
- [3]Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (Région, France) · Flags of the World
- [4]Martinique (Territorial Collectivity, France) · Flags of the World
- [5]Saint-Martin (Overseas Collectivity, France) · Flags of the World
- [6]New Caledonia (Sui Generis Collectivity, France) · Flags of the World
Map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas. See credits.