Flag of Wallis and Futuna

Which flag does Wallis and Futuna use?

Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity in the South Pacific, between Fiji and Samoa. By law, its only official flag is the flag of France, which flies at government buildings. The red flag shown on this page is the local flag. It is not recognized by French law, but it is widely used on the islands, including at official events, and is the flag the territory is generally associated with.

What the flag of Wallis and Futuna looks like

The flag has a red field with a ratio of 2:3. In the upper hoist corner is the French tricolor of blue, white and red, set in a canton. On the fly side a white square holds a red saltire (a diagonal cross), which leaves four white triangles around the red lines. The red of the field and the saltire are the same color.

The result is a flag that mixes the French national colors with a local pattern, and it is quite different from the French tricolor and from the flags of its neighbors, such as Fiji and Samoa. For the emoji, see the Wallis and Futuna flag emoji.

Meaning and symbolism

The French canton marks the territory's membership in the French Republic. The red field and the saltire pattern are local in character. There are three traditional kingdoms on the islands, Uvea on Wallis, and Sigave and Alo on Futuna, and the flag is often linked to this local identity within France. No official explanation exists, since the flag has never been defined by law.

History of the flag

Wallis (Uvea) became a French protectorate in 1887, and the Futuna kingdoms followed in 1888. For decades the French tricolor flew over the islands, joined by local banners of the kingdoms. In a 1959 referendum, residents voted overwhelmingly to become a French overseas territory, and the change took effect in 1961. The territory became an overseas collectivity after the constitutional reform of 2003.

The red flag with the French canton is the traditional local flag, and the date often given for it is 1887, the start of the protectorate. It remains an unofficial flag, flown as the local symbol next to the tricolor.