French Polynesia Flag

The red bands reflect traditional Polynesian color usage seen throughout Pacific cultures, while white stands for purity and balance. The emblem—a stylized orange sun rising above a blue-and-white wave pattern and a Polynesian canoe with five crew—symbolizes the sea, sun’s life-giving presence, and the five archipelagos (Society, Tuamotu, Gambier, Marquesas, Austral) working in unity.

Introduced in 1984 as the official territorial flag, it coincided with rising autonomy within the French Republic. Its design drew inspiration from an earlier red-white-red flag of Tahiti, but added the emblem to assert local distinctiveness. The flag continues to be used by both local government and civic organizations, and its design remained intact even after French Polynesia’s status changed to an overseas country in 2004.

Three horizontal stripes in red–white–red proportion (1:2:1). The central white stripe bears a disc emblem: top half a stylized orange sun; bottom half blue-and-white wave pattern carrying a red Polynesian canoe with five crew, each crew member signifying one of the island groups. Official color palette: red Pantone 185C, white, sun orange, and ocean blue. Proportion 2:3.

The French Polynesia flag is flown alongside the French national flag; it may not replace it. It appears at government buildings, schools, and during official events and cultural festivals. No special laws regulate its use beyond general French protocols, but local custom reserves it for civil and territorial functions.