The flag of French Polynesia was adopted in 1984. Two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half; a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern; the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors.
All vessels registered in French Polynesia have to fly the French flag, even for the small ships sailing between the islands, as there is no official French Polynesian civil or state ensign.
Read more about Flag Of French Polynesia: Flags of Component Archipelagos
Famous quotes containing the words flag and/or french:
“Our flag is red, white and blue, but our nation is a rainbow—red, yellow, brown, black and white—and we’re all precious in God’s sight.”
—Jesse Jackson (b. 1941)
“This has been illustrated copiously each day with photographs taken by the author, reproduced by means of cuts such as only French newspaper-engravers can make, presumably etched on pieces of bread.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)