As Saint Pierre and Miquelon is a French Overseas Collectivity, the official flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is the same flag that is used in France. However, there is unofficial flag of Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The unofficial flag has a yellow ship sailing on a blue background with lives of waves under the ship on the righthand side. On the left side of the flag, there are three squares holding designs that symbolize the Basques, Bretons, and Normans. The middle part has a black ermine on a white background, while the bottom part has two stylized lions on a red background.
The unofficial flag has three heraldic bands on the left which represent the three early waves of immigrants who settled on the island. The first flag of red, green, and white represents the Basques.The county of Brittany is represented by a white banner background with black arrowheads, while Normandy is represented by the golden lions emblazoned on the red field. The blue background color symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean, and the yellow ship represents the Grande Hermine which is the vessel used by Jacques Cartier in 1536 when he discovered the island.
The unofficial flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon was designed in 1982, by Andre Paturel, a local businessman. It was based on the collectivity's coat of arms. Not much is known about why and how he came up with the idea or if he worked with any other parties. The coat of arms was designed by Léon Joner.
Ever since the discovery and settlement on the island, the National flag of France, also known as the Tricolor, has always been used as the official flag. The flag has three colors: blue, white and red, arranged in vertical stripes of equal dimensions. Officially this is the flag that is hoist on all national buildings and flown on ships. The tricolor design was derived from the cockades, which were circular emblems displayed on hats that were worn by the militia during the French Revolution.
This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018
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