French colonial flags

Some of the colonies, protectorates and mandates of the French Colonial Empire used distinctive colonial flags. These most commonly had a French Tricolour in the canton.

As well as the flags of individual colonies, the governors-general of French colonies flew a square flag with a blue field and the French ensign in the canton. This flag was flown beneath the national ensign. Colonial governors used a rectangular swallow-tailed version of this flag.

Colonial flags with a tricolour canton

The flags with the French flag in the canton, which on many occasions were already existing flags without the tricolour, resembled the British colonial flags, which originated as defacements of the British ensigns, which have the British Union Jack in the canton, and a red, white or blue fly. Naval sources show flags such as those used in the French Mandate of Syria as having the tricolour with unequal stripes, as in the French ensign, but it is likely that these versions of the flags were used at sea, and on land the tricolour had the standard equal stripes.

While for the sake of simplicity French colonial ensign are on this page classified by appearance, this should not be taken to imply common origins or the existence of undefaced ensigns used by the French government unless otherwise noted.

Red field

Blue field

White field

Flag of the Alawite State / Sanjak of Latakia

Green field

Yellow field

Flag of Annam

Multicolour field

Colonial flags with other designs

Modified tricolours

Other designs

Galleries

Historical flags

Flags with French history

Current flags

See also

References

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