French Polynesia

Porinetia Farani / Territoire de la Polynésie Française et Dépendances / Tahiti

Last modified: 2000-01-07 by santiago dotor
Keywords: polynesia | french polynesia | porinetia farani | tahiti nui | france | raiatea | society islands | canoe | waves | sun rays | catamaran | tree | unidentified flag | south pacific commission |
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by Zeljko Heimer and Mark Sensen respectively

• Description
• Administrative Subdivisions:
  • Austral Islands
  • Leeward Islands
  • Marquesas Islands
  • Tuamotu and Gambier Islands
  • Winward Islands
• Political Parties
• Historical Flags
• Pre-1985 or Mistaken Flag?

See also:

• Clickable map of French Polynesia (historical kingdoms)
• France
• French Colonial Flags
• South Pacific Commission

Red-white-red in approx. 1:2:1 proportions, with an unheraldic round device in the white field. The device has wavy lines for sea, and yellow rays for sun. In the middle, a catamaran.

Zeljko Heimer, 25 November 1995

The French Polynesia flag we are familiar with has a Tahitian war canoe in the middle of it with sun rays behind it, sitting on three or four blue waves. We have never heard about the other blue and white flag. There had been some discussion long ago about incorporating some reference to the Southern cross. But to our knowledge the true Tahitian national flag, is the one with the war canoe on it. Moorea's flag looks somewhat similar to the blue and white one mentioned, but in 1986 it had three alternating stripes of color, green white and green, and in the center of the white section they had five stars arranged like an "x" configuration. The only other Polynesian flag I can remember clearly was the Bora Bora flag. I believe it had five thin stripes alternating red, white, red etc. To conclude we are not familiar with any leaves being on the Tahitian flag...

N.K. Smith, 20 November 1995

The five crosses on the pirogue (a sort of catamaran) are five designed rowers. They are representing the five archipelagi of the territory (Tahiti, Tuamotou, Gambier Is., Tabuai Is. and Clipperton Is.). Before the autonomy of French Polynesia (granted in 1984), the flag was hoisted up under the French tricolour... Now it floats alone ...

Jerome, 28 November 1997

The Polynesian flag should not be flown alone, but only with the French flag (reference: Loi organique No. 96-312, dated 12 April 1996, on the autonomy statute of French Polynesia, article 1).

Armand du Payrat, 1 December 1997

French Polynesia consists of five island groups:

• the Society Islands (including Tahiti and Raiatea);
• the Marquesas Islands (Hiva);
• the Tuamotu Archipelago (including Mangareva, also known as the Îles Gambier);
• the Austral Islands (or Îles Tubuai), and
• Clipperton Island (an atoll 1000 km off the Mexican coast).

Max Stanton, 4 September 1995

The territory is divided in 5 archipels (archipelagos):

1. Îles Australes (Austral Islands), often called Tubuai Islands, including Tubuai, Raivavae, Rimatara and Rurutu. Rapa, totally isolated in the Southeast (and maybe the most isolated French possession with permanent population) is administratively attached to the Austral Islands.
2. Îles Marquises (Marquesas Islands), including the Northwest group (Nuku Hiva, Ua Huka, Ua Pou) and Southeast group (Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Tahuata).
3. Îles Tuamotu et Gambier. Tuamotu includes 84 islands, islets and atolls, about 40 being inhabited (main are Anaa, Aratika, Arutua, Fakahina, Fakarava, Hao, Napuka, Pukapuka, Rangiroa, Raroia, Takapoto, Takaroa, Tatakoto). Gambier includes Mangareva and several atolls (main are Fangataufa and Moruroa).
4. Îles Sous-le-Vent (Leeward Islands), including high islands (Raiatea, Bora-Bora, Huahine, Maupiti, Tahaa) and atolls (Motu One, Maupihaa, Manuae, Tupai).
5. Îles du Vent (Winward Islands) including Tahiti and Moorea, as well as the three islets of Maiao, Mehetia and Tetiaroa.

Ivan Sache, 24 June 1999

In the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart appear:

• "176. Tahiti - Subdivision, French Polynesia." Vertically divided red-white-red, red stripes being thinner than white stripe. The PF flag in FOTW is the same with emblem in the middle. Several historical Tahiti flags had red-white-red divisions

  
  by Ivan Sache

• "177. Tuamotu Islands - Subdivision, French Polynesia." Similar to the historical Tuamotu flag, but with proportion 1:2. That one comes from the Flags of Paradise 1996 chart, companion of the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart, so two releases of the same origin show two different proportions!

Ivan Sache, 17 September 1999

by Santiago Dotor

At the 5th South Pacific Mini-Games homepage there is a page with names and flags of participating nations, the flag they use to represent French Polynesia/Tahiti is new to me.

Jostein Nygård, 16 June 1999

...and the flag representing New Caledonia is not official, and the flag of Wallis and Futuna is the specific flag of Wallis only, and most flags which should be 1:2 are 2:3, and many are inaccurate, etc. I wouldn't credit this site with any vexillological accuracy.

Pierre Gay, 16 June 1999

It looks like something similar to an erroneous flag I saw for French Polynesia. It was the French flag (with proper B-W-R, not the R-W-B shown) with what looks like a tree with two trunks in the middle. It was identified by FOTW as being the flag of French President François Mitterand.

David Kendall, 2 August 1999

That flag for the Territory was an old design (the Tricolore with 2 intwined trees), and was included as an image file in older versions of Corel Draw!. It was replaced by the current flag in 1985.

Robert Lloyd Wheelock, 3 August 1999

Yes, the French reversed flag with central tree show in some CD Enciclopaediae as "Polynesia" (I saw in one in Spanish). It is a strange mistake.

Jaume Ollé, 8 August 1999

That flag still appeared in the last but one release of Corel Draw! (#8) as "oldfchp.cdr" - but there is no new "fchp.cdr"! I have exported it to GIF and recoloured etc. to FOTW standard. It still remains unclear to me, however, whether that flag really was the former French Polynesia flag at all. The ratio also seems strange (216:374).

Santiago Dotor, 15 October 1999