The flag of Réunion is the

flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

of the department of

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island o ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The region uses the

flag of France The national flag of France (french: link=no, drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the ''Tricolour'' (), although the flag of Irela ...

, the

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

of the country. Although the

decentralization Decentralization or decentralisation is the process by which the activities of an organization, particularly those regarding planning and decision making, are distributed or delegated away from a central, authoritative location or group. Conce ...

of France installed a number of flags of the metropolitan regions, Réunion does not have a separate official flag. However, the

Regional Council of Réunion The Regional Council of Réunion consists of 45 members. Organization and composition Regional assembly Presidency Since 2 July 2021, the President of the Regional Council of Réunion has been Huguette Bello Huguette Bello (born 24 A ...

does have a flag.

Other flags

Lö Mahavéli

The Vexillological Association of Réunion selected a flag in 2003. It depicts the volcano of la Fournaise, bedecked by gold sunbeams. It was designed in 1974 by Guy Pignolet with help of Jean Finck and Didier Finck who called it ''Lö Mahavéli'' but it really started to be promoted once the association chose it in 2003. It does not have official recognition but since 2014, it is flying outside or on top of many public buildings, like at the town halls of Saint-Denis and Saint-Philippe, after several city councils have taken the decision to do so. The flag is included in many versions of

emoji An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from typed conv ...

Regional council flag

The Regional Council of Réunion uses a flag depicting a stylized representation of the island with the text "Region Reunion". Variants also exist which add the words and "Valorisons nos atouts" (Let's value our strengths) in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and five coloured squares to represent equality and diversity.

Independentist flag

Independentists and nationalists of Réunion also have their flag (green, yellow, red), created in 1986. Green symbolizes the marronage, yellow symbolizes the working class and red symbolizes the period of slavery and indentured labour imposed by the French, struck by a yellow star with five points. File:Proposed flag of Réunion (Nationalist movement).svg, Flag used by Réunion nationalists File:Flag of Réunion (APDR proposal).svg, Proposed flag of Réunion by the Association for the Flag of Réunion (APDR) File:Proposed flag of Réunion (VAR).svg, Lö Mahavéli File:CR-Reunion-Drapeau.jpg, Flag of Réunion regional council, the EU and France

Background

is an island in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, east of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

and 175 kilometres (109 mi) southwest of

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It ...

. It accounts for one of the

regions of France France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collec ...

. As of 2014, it had a population of 844,994. The island has been an overseas region of France since 1946.

References

Article at Flags of the World

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reunion, Flag of Flags of Overseas France

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...