A cultural, unofficial flag that combines fleurs-de-lis, ermine and the two hearts of the Vendée. A heraldist designed it in 1976 and it was hoisted in 1986.
Every fact about the flag, each with what it means.
Normal flagFIAV symbol: the form of the flag.
CivilFIAV symbol: who may fly the flag.YesIt carries the coat of arms on the cloth.The flag in the words of vexillology and heraldry.
It is a flag divided vertically into two halves. The left one is blue with gold fleurs-de-lis and a red line around it; the right one is white, filled with black ermine spots, with a blue line. In the centre two red hearts are intertwined with a crown.
Each element and how many of the 1,390 flags in the catalogue carry it. In yellow, the rarest.
Every date in its story, at a glance.
In 1976 the heraldist Hervé Pinoteau (an expert on coats of arms) designed a flag inspired…
It was hoisted for the first time at the regional council building, in Nantes, in October 1986
The regional council has, and for its events uses another flag: a white logo on a blue ground,…
How it was born, how it has changed and what it means.
The flag of Pays de la Loire is a “cultural” flag: no law approved it, but it has been used for decades. It is divided into two halves and mixes symbols of various historic territories that today form the region, around the city of Nantes.
The region is an administrative creation that brings together very different historic territories, so it had no common symbol. In 1976 the heraldist Hervé Pinoteau (an expert on coats of arms) designed a flag inspired by the badge of a military unit of the area, the 33rd Territorial Military Division. It was hoisted for the first time at the regional council building, in Nantes, in October 1986.
The design has not changed. The regional council has, and for its events uses another flag: a white logo on a blue ground, since September 2022. Before that it had several, all with logos bearing a map of the region.
The flag uses three symbols from the territories of the region:
Left half, fleurs-de-lis on blue
it is the banner of arms of Maine, with a red border and a small white lion in the upper corner. That of Anjou is almost identical, which is why it was not drawn.
Right half, black ermine on white
it is the ermine of Brittany. The region includes the Nantes area, which was Breton.
Wavy blue border
it represents the Loire river, which gives the region its name.
Two intertwined red hearts
it is the emblem of the Vendée, a department of the region.
It was designed from the badge of the 33rd Territorial Military Division, the French army unit in the area.
Hervé Pinoteau designed it in 1976, but it was not hoisted at the regional council of Nantes until October 1986.
In 1999, the flags flying in front of the regional council were banners of arms, and the logo bearing the map of the region was used only inside the building.
Test what you have read about the flag of Pays de la Loire.
Sources consulted:
Flag image: Patricia.fidi, original author: Hervé Pinoteau in 1976., Wikimedia Commons · CC0.
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