List of communal flags in France

This is a list of communal flags in France. Communal flags are rarely used in France as communes usually favor coats of arms. As a result, the info presented in this list also describes coats of arms.

Jeanne d'Arc street (Orléans) were different regional and communal flags are hung
 
Lyon flag at Pont Lafayette bridge
Flag Commune Date Description
  Annecy, Haute-Savoie The flag has a red background with a white cross in the foreground. A white fish from the municipal coat of arms is placed in the canton.
  Arbent, Ain
  Annemasse, Haute-Savoie The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and yellow at the right.
  Bourg-en-Bresse, Ain Banner of arms.
  Clermont-Ferrand, Puy-de-Dôme Banner of arms.
  Cluses, Haute-Savoie Banner of arms.
  Étrembières, Haute-Savoie The flag has a vertical bicolour of green at the left and yellow at the right.
  Grenoble, Isère The flag has a vertical bicolour of red at the left and yellow at the right.
  Le Puy-en-Velay, Haute-Loire The flag has a vertical bicolour of yellow at the left and blue at the right.
  Lyon, Metropolis of Lyon 1320 A field of gules (red color), in which a lion appears rampant (of profile and erect) and of silver (white color). In chief, azure with three fleurs-de-lis Or (A blue division occupying the upper third (this is the "Head of France", granted to all "Bonnes Villes", which shows the heraldry of his former monarchs) with three stylised lily flowers)
The flag was already used on city seals in the Middle Ages and was given to the city as a symbol by Philip V in 1320 after its liberation.[1]
  Montluçon, Allier The flag has a vertical bicolour of yellow at the left and blue at the right.
  Montmélian, Savoie
  Pérouges, Ain Banner of arms.
  Polignac, Haute-Loire The flag consists of six horizontal stripes in the colours white and red.
  Saint-Étienne, Loire The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white field.
  Versonnex, Ain Banner of arms.
 
Former flag of Besançon at the City Hall of Besançon, taken in 1966
Flag Commune Date Description
  Arbois, Jura The flag has a vertical bicolour of black at the left and yellow at the right.
  Arc-sous-Cicon, Doubs The flag has a horizontal tricolour of yellow, black and yellow.
   Besançon, Doubs 1537 The eagle represents the House of Habsburg and the Holy Roman Empire. Two pillars represents the city's connection to Gibraltar and its relation to the Greco-Roman world.[2]

The colours of the former flag are derived from the municipal coat of arms, similar to the Belgian flag.

  Dijon, Côte-d'Or 1391 Gules a chief per pale azure semy de lis or a bordure gobonny argent and gules and bendy of six or and azure a bordure gules.
  Ornans, Doubs The flag has a vertical tricolour of blue, red and yellow. The three colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
 
Brest flag on a boat.
 
Dinan flag on top of the Château de Dinan.
 
Lorient flag on the sailboat l'Hermine
 
Flags of Le Palais, France and Europe on the front of the mayor's office.
 
Saint-Malo flag on the Étoile du Roy.
Flag Commune Date Description
  Bréhand, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Brest, Finistère 15 July 1683 The heraldic flag of Brest: the most commonly used flag in Brest today.
  18th century Flag of Brest used in the 18th century.
  16th century Flag of Brest used in the 16th century.
  15th century Flag of Brest used in the 15th century.
  Cesson-Sévigné, Ille-et-Vilaine The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white field.
  Châteaugiron, Ille-et-Vilaine Banner of arms.
  Concarneau, Finistère Banner of arms.
  Dinan, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Dinard, Ille-et-Vilaine 1998 Created in 1997 by the Société bretonne de Vexillologie, as a reminder that the town's toponymy and history are linked to the legend of the Arthurian Romance.[3]
  Dol-de-Bretagne, Ille-et-Vilaine
  Fougères, Ille-et-Vilaine
  Guerlesquin, Finistère The flag has a vertical tricolour of yellow, red and yellow. The three colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Guingamp, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms. The flag consists of four horizontal stripes in the colours white and blue.
  Hillion, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Landerneau, Finistère Banner of arms.
  Landivisiau, Finistère
  Lannion, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Le Juch, Finistère 1999
  Lorient, Morbihan From this coat of arms was developed a flag used by the Bagad Sonerien An Oriant, among others.
  Mordelles, Ille-et-Vilaine
  Le Palais, Morbihan
  Plédran, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Plérin, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Ploeren, Morbihan
  Ploërmel, Morbihan Banner of arms.
  Port-Louis, Morbihan Banner of arms.
  Rennes, Ille-et-Vilaine The earliest known mention of the flag of Rennes (early 16th century) shows the municipal shield (played argent and sable of six pieces, on a chief argent three ermine spots sable) on a bistre yellow background. More recently, various variants have been used, both by the municipality and by other organizations in Rennes. The drawing opposite is the most common. Some believe that Morvan Marchal drew inspiration from it to create the flag of Brittany. Another design is used by the Bleuñ-Brug of Finistère and seems to have come from the mark of the Cercle Celtique de Rennes. A version featuring the tilted shield has been adopted by the Vern-sur-Seiche bagad.[4]

A white flag sown with black ermines, with the city's coat of arms in the center, was used on the Rennes City Hall in contemporary times.[5]

  Rostrenen, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Saint-Brieuc, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
  Saint-Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine Saint-Malo's current flag is a blue flag with a white cross (the emblem of war ports under Louis XIV) and a gules franc quartier charged with a white ermine on a gold portcullis. Known as the "corsair flag", this is the flag of ships registered at the Saint-Malo Admiralty (and not the flag of Malouin privateers).[6] In existence since the 18th century, privateers were only required to fly the following flags in the event of an attack: King's flag under the Ancien Régime, or the national tricolor flag from the Revolution onwards.
  Saint-Pol-de-Léon, Finistère Banner of arms. On the first, the lion is that of Léon bearing the bishop's crozier (crosse épiscopale de gueules). The lion refers to the name of Léon, Leo, and the crosier recalls that the town was, before the Revolution, the seat of the bishopric of Léon (now attached to the bishopric of Quimper). It's a lion with horns (no claws, tongue or teeth). The second features the escutcheon of a defended boar (white tusks) with a gold crown around its neck, holding a red tower with three turrets, on a background of Breton ermines.
  Ushant, Finistère Banner of arms.
  Vannes, Morbihan 20th century Banner of arms. There is a notable difference between the coat of arms and the flag: the ermine on the flag is curled and adorned with the floating garter of Brittany, whereas the ermine on the coat of arms is tied with ermine doubled in gold. The red background symbolizes Bro Gwened, whose capital was Vannes.
  Yffiniac, Côtes-d'Armor Banner of arms.
 
Orléans flag at the Joan of Arc statue
Flag Commune Date Description
  Bourges, Cher The flag has a vertical bicolour of green at the left and red at the right.
  Châteauroux, Indre The flag has a vertical tricolour of groen, yellow and red. Green represents meadows, yellow harvests and red vines. The flag was originally that of Berry. It was taken over by the commune of Châteauroux.
  Joué-lès-Tours, Indre-et-Loire The flag features the municipal logo on a white field.
  Orléans, Loiret The flag has a vertical bicolour of yellow at the left and red at the right.
  Tours, Indre-et-Loire Quasi banner of arms.
 
Ajaccio flag with coat of arms at the Ajaccio city hall
Flag Commune Date Description
  Ajaccio, Corse-du-Sud The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and white at the right.
  Bastia, Haute-Corse 2009 The flag features the municipal logo on a white field.
  Calvi, Haute-Corse The flag has a white background with a red cross in the foreground.
  Cargèse, Corse-du-Sud
  Santo-Pietro-di-Venaco, Haute-Corse
 
Flag of Colmar alongside several national and regional flags
Flag Commune Date Description
  Charleville-Mézières, Ardennes The flag has a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow and red. The three colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Colmar, Haut-Rhin Banner of arms.
  Metz, Moselle The flag has a vertical bicolour of white at the left and black at the right. The two colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin 1308 The flag is flamed with twenty red and white pieces, with an armorial canton featuring the Mulhouse Wheel. It was the official flag of the Republic of Mulhouse until Reunion in 1798.
  Reims, Marne The flag is a horizontal bicolour consisting of a blue and white stripe. The colours are derived from the corresponding city coat of arms. In this, white was used as the background colour of the coat of arms and blue for the shield head.
  Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin 1262 The city flag is white and has a diagonal red stripe, a crossbar, across its width. The design is derived from the corresponding city coat of arms, which in turn is derived from old city seals. Possibly the division has to do with the (former) location of Strasbourg on the border between the Roman and Germanic empires. The red crossbar thereby refers to the name "The Road's Town" and the city's strategic location. The colours of the flag were also derived from the flag of Alsace.
  Toul, Meurthe-et-Moselle
 
Calais flag at the Tour du Guet
 
Dunkirk flag at the Belfry of Dunkirk
 
Former Lille flag, taken in 2007
Flag Commune Date Description
  Amiens, Somme Banner of arms.
  Avesnes-sur-Helpe, Nord The flag consists of five horizontal stripes in the colours red and yellow.
  Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais 1670 The town's flag is that of the Boulonnais militia, created in 1670 and divided into several regiments of infantry, cavalry and dragoons, whose sole purpose was to defend the province and the coast. The flag, known as the "flag of the Boulonnais troops", was set by the Duc d'Aumont, Louis-Marie-Augustin d'Aumont, governor of the town and the Boulonnais region. These flags were burned in 1792, along with some communal archives and wooden religious statues.[7] Today, the flag flies atop the belfry and over the entrance to the town hall.
  Bray-Dunes, Nord The flag has a horizontal tricolour of blue, yellow and green.
  Calais, Pas-de-Calais The flag has a light blue background with a white Nordic cross in the foreground.
  Cambrai, Nord The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a yellow field. The gold-coloured flag represents Cambrai's traditional coat of arms: a golden coat of arms featuring a double-headed eagle of the Holy Roman Empire, each of whose heads are haloed in red (gules), as are the beaks and claws, and to which the Cambrésis coat of arms (Or, three azure lion cubs), the Legion of Honour and the Croix de guerre are affixed, all surmounted by a ducal crown.
  Dunkirk, Nord 17th century The flag is silver fess azure, i.e. on a white background are three blue stripes, the lowest stripe being blue. The history of this flag is little known: under Spanish rule, the Dunkirk navy had its own flag. In 1662, when Dunkirk became definitively French, King Louis XIV honored the Dunkirk privateers with a special flag to encourage sea racing. Issued on June 24, 1684, it was white with a blue cross in the center. Over the following century, the Dunkirkers kept two flags: the first blue and white, and the second a red cross on a white background. On December 8, 1817, the Dunkirk flag was replaced by official decree by the Cherbourg flag, which is white with two blue stripes. Over time, the flag was given an extra stripe, and became the one we know today.[8]
  Fort-Mardyck, Nord The flag consists of four horizontal stripes in the colours white and red.
  Lens, Pas-de-Calais The flag has a vertical bicolour of yellow at the left and blue at the right. The two colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Lille, Nord 2013-present The flag of is a white field showing in its left a red stylised representation of a fleur-de-lis (This symbol is the modern logo of Lille derived from the city's coat of arms) with ville de in the centre in grey letters and lille on the right in large red letters. It is a logo flag.
  1987-2013 The former flag is white and displays a red fleur-de-lis in the centre. The fleur-de-lis comes from the former municipal logo.
  1945-1987 Banner of arms.
  1926-1939 Banner of arms, designed by Émile Théodore. Used till World War II
  Malo-les-Bains, Nord
  Mardyck, Nord The flag consists of six horizontal stripes in the colours blue and yellow.
  Montreuil, Pas-de-Calais
  Petite-Synthe, Nord The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and red at the right.
  Rosendaël, Nord The flag consists of six horizontal stripes in the colours red and green.
  Saint-Pol-sur-Mer, Nord The flag consists of six horizontal stripes in the colours white and green.
  Senlis, Oise The flag has a vertical tricolour of red, yellow and red. The three colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Tourcoing, Nord Banner of arms.
 
Paris flag used at the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
Flag Commune Date Description
  Étampes, Essonne Banner of arms.[9]
  Melun, Seine-et-Marne
  Paris 1945 In the center is the coat of arms of Paris. Red is identified with Saint Denis, blue with Saint Martin. The color scheme is traced to the French flag adopted during the French Revolution.[10]
  Vincennes, Val-de-Marne 2007 Created in 2007 to mark the Year of the Château and the reopening of the keep to the public, the flag takes up the elements of the coat of arms. The chief of the coat of arms takes pride of place at the flagstaff, while the silhouette of the keep and the three cannonballs stand out against the red field of the fly. Designed by Olivier Touzeau.
 
Falaise cross flag flying on top of the Château de Falaise.
Flag Commune Date Description
  Falaise, Calvados Norman flag with Nordic cross, nicknamed Saint-Olaf's Cross, adopted by William the Conqueror's hometown as a reminder of his Scandinavian origins.
  Le Havre, Seine-Maritime The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white field.
  Rouen, Seine-Maritime The flag is derived from the municipal logo. The flag is blue with a vertical red stripe along the hoist, with 'Rouen' written in white letters and a yellow picture near the fly. The picture of the Paschal lamb is from the coat of arms of Rouen.
 
Arcachon flag at the Jetée Thiers
 
Rochefort flag at the Porte du Soleil (Sun Gate)
 
Gimel-les-Cascades flag, taken from the arms of the Lords of Gimel, Corrèze, France
Flag Commune Date Description
  Agen, Lot-et-Garonne
  Arcachon, Gironde 1857 The flag has a vertical tricolour of black, white and yellow. The town of Arcachon regularly uses the flag shown opposite, which was adopted in 1857 when the town was created, while the meaning of the colors has changed over time, these three colors were adopted by the French flag. Black represents darkness, past failures and solitude; white represents the present and the awakening of consciousness, recalling the dawn; yellow represents the light of the future and the city.[11]
  Bayonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques The flag has a horizontal bicolour of red at the top and green at the bottom.
  Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques The flag has a vertical bicolour of red at the left and black at the right.
  Bordeaux, Gironde The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white field. The red and blue shield in the centre contains three fleur-de-lis, a leopard or lion, a white castle and a crescent moon.
  Châtelaillon-Plage, Charente-Maritime The flag has a vertical tricolour of blue, yellow and blue.
  Gimel-les-Cascades, Corrèze Banner of arms.
  Gujan-Mestras, Gironde The flag has a vertical tricolour of blue, green and blue.
  Langon, Gironde Banner of arms.
  Rochefort, Charente-Maritime Opposite, the Rochefort flag flying over the pediment of the town hall and the Porte du Soleil.
 
Toulouse flag at the balcony of Capitole de Toulouse
Flag Commune Date Description
  Aiguefonde, Tarn The flag has a vertical tricolour of green, blue and white.
  Béziers, Hérault The flag is a blue and red bicolor charged with the city's coat of arms. It is used officially by the town council and flies in front of the Arènes and the Palais des Congrès.
  Cahors, Lot The flag has a horizontal bicolour of blue at the top and white at the bottom.
  Foix, Ariège Banner of arms.
  Montpellier, Hérault The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white field. This shows the Virgin Mary holding her son Jesus and seated on a throne. At the top left and right, the capital letters A and M can be seen. These stand for the words Ave Maria. At the bottom of the coat of arms is a white shield with a red circle. This represents the coat of arms of the Guilhem dynasty. Guilhem was a lord who ruled Montpellier between the 11th and 13th centuries.
  Narbonne, Aude The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and red at the right. The two colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Toulouse, Haute-Garonne 1211 The city flag is red and shows a large yellow cross in the centre. This is the Occitan cross and dates back as far as 1211. At the time, it appeared on a seal. The cross was derived from a Latin cross and probably assigned to Raymond VI. Raymond was a leader of the low Crusaders and, according to legend, had the same cross affixed to the shields of his men. In order to attach the cross to a shield, the design had to be modified in a practical sense. Then, gradually, the Occitan cross was created.
 
Flag of Nantes in the Château des ducs de Bretagne.
Flag Commune Date Description
  Angers, Maine-et-Loire
  Donges, Loire-Atlantique Banner of arms.
  L'Île-d'Olonne, Vendée
  Le Longeron, Maine-et-Loire Banner of arms.
  Nantes, Loire-Atlantique White cross of the Kingdom of France on the black cross of Brittany. A ship against a red background on a green and white sea in the canton. These are common heraldic elements that were widely used by knights on their arms.
  Rezé, Loire-Atlantique Banner of arms.
  Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique
 
Marseille flag (on the right side) in the Cathedral of Saint Mary Major
 
The Saint-François tower ('tour Saint-François') in Nice on the French Riviera. The flag of Nice flies on the top of this clock tower, formerly bell tower of a Franciscan monastery.
Flag Commune Date Description
  Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône The flag used by the town is composed of two stripes: one red and the other yellow, the colours of Provence.[12] According to some sources, a red and yellow quartered flag also existed.[13]
  Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes
  Arles, Bouches-du-Rhône The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and yellow at the right. The two colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms.
  Cagnes-sur-Mer, Alpes-Maritimes The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and red at the right.
   Cannes, Alpes-Maritimes The flag shows the municipal coat of arms on a white or blue field.
  Fréjus, Var The commune has a flag, used for events such as the bravade, which features the colors of the coat of arms, two vertical stripes, red on the staff side and white on the outside.
  Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône 13th century The city flag is white and displays a light blue cross across its entire surface. The flag is widely used in France for boats and buildings. The cross is a reference to the flags of the crusaders, while azure is the colour of the city. Attested since the 11th century, it is one of the oldest French and European flags. The first preserved representation of Marseille's coat of arms dates from the end of the 11th century.[14][15]
   Nice, Alpes-Maritimes 14th century Flag of the County of Nice (1108–1176) The flag is white with three blue wavy lines at the bottom. Above are elements of the city coat of arms: a red eagle posing on three green hills. The eagle is an imperial emblem and a reference to the House of Savoy, which ruled over the land around Nice. This land (and territorial honour) is represented by the three hills, although they are not geographically correct.
  Saint-Raphaël, Var The flag has a vertical bicolour of blue at the left and yellow at the right. The two colours are taken from the municipal coat of arms. The old logo had these background colors, which the new one no longer has.
  Saint-Tropez, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur The commune's flag features the colors of the privateers, with three red, white and red stripes, placed either vertically or horizontally.
  Toulon, Var The flag has a blue background with a yellow cross in the foreground.
  Vedène, Vaucluse
 
Saint Pierre and Miquelon flag at Vannes
Flag Commune Date Description
   Cayenne, French Guiana The flag features the municipal logo on a white field.

Banner of arms.

  Miquelon-Langlade, Saint Pierre and Miquelon Banner of arms.
  Saint-Denis, Réunion
  Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon 1982 The flag is blue with a yellow ship, said to be Grande Hermine, which brought Jacques Cartier to Saint Pierre on 15 June 1536. Three square fields placed along the hoist recall the origin of most inhabitants of the islands, from top to bottom, Basques, Bretons, and Normans.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Lyon Coat of Arms and Flag". Isolated Traveller. Retrieved October 12, 2018.
  2. ^ Walter, Hélène; Barçon, Jean-Claude. Vesontio Besançon. Presses Universitaires de Lyon.
  3. ^ Marius Mallet (1986). Dinard: son histoire. Husson Publicite Impression. p. 44..
  4. ^ Divi Kervella, Mikael Bodlore-Penlaez, Guide des drapeaux bretons et celtes, Fouenant, Éditions Yoran Embanner, 2008, p. 118, ISBN 978-2-916579-12-2.
  5. ^ Drapeaux de Rennes
  6. ^ Georges Seigneur; Henri-Georges Gaignard (1992). Connaître Saint-Malo. Fernand Lanore. p. 43..
  7. ^ Marcel Fournet - Cygne et tourteaux : les emblèmes de Boulogne-sur-Mer.
  8. ^ "Histoire de Dunkerque : l'hôtel de ville". depuydt.erich.free.fr. Retrieved 18 June 2010..
  9. ^ Drapeau d'Étampes sur le site emblemes.fr Consulté le 27/07/2008.
  10. ^ "Le Drapeau français" (in French). Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  11. ^ Sélim Niederhoffer (29 August 2016). "ARCACHON ELUE CAPITALE DU DÉVELOPPEMENT PERSONNEL 2016!". Selim Niederhoffer (in French). Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Drapeaux d'Aix-en-Provence". Emblemes.free.fr..
  13. ^ "Le drapeau écartelé d'Aix en Provence"..
  14. ^ "Drapeaux, armoiries et emblèmes de la ville de Marseille" (in French). Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  15. ^ "Drapeau, armoiries, logo, identité de Marseille". Armoiries de Marseille (in French). 8 August 2015. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
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