Flag of Réunion

What the flag of Réunion looks like

The flag used for Réunion is the national flag of France. It has three vertical bands of equal width: blue at the hoist, white in the middle and red at the fly. The proportions are 2:3. It flies on town halls, schools and other public buildings across the island, along with the flag of the European Union, since Réunion is one of the outermost regions of the EU.

The Réunion flag emoji shows the same design as the flag of France. Similar flags are used for other French overseas areas, such as Saint-Martin.

Meaning of the colors

Blue and red are the traditional colors of the city of Paris, and white was the color of the French monarchy. The tricolor joined them as a symbol of the union of the people and the Crown during the Revolution. Later, blue came to be read as liberty, white as equality and red as fraternity, the motto of the Republic, though none of these meanings is official.

History of the flag on Réunion

Réunion was uninhabited when Europeans first visited it. France claimed the island in the 17th century, and it was known for a time as Île Bourbon. The tricolor was adopted by the Revolution as the national flag in 1794, and has flown over the island for most of the period since, with the exception of the years of monarchy and empire, when other flags were used. Under the Revolution the island was renamed Réunion, and the name was restored for good in 1848.

In 1946 the island became a French overseas department, which gave it the same legal status as departments in mainland France. In 1982 it also became a region. It is a department and region at once, with a population of close to 900,000.

Unofficial flags of Réunion

Because the French flag is the only legally recognized flag, local designs have no official status. Several have been proposed or used by cultural groups and sports fans, often built around the island's identity, its volcano, Piton de la Fournaise, and the blending of African, Indian, Chinese and European communities. The island's Latin motto, Florebo quocumque ferar ("I will flourish wherever I am carried"), appears on its regional coat of arms but not on a flag.