Flags of New Caledonia
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![]() Both flags used by New Caledonia | |
![]() National flag, always used | |
Name | Tricolore |
---|---|
Proportion | 2:3 |
Adopted | 15 February 1794 |
Design | A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and red. |
![]() FLNKS flag, often used | |
Name | Kanak Flag |
Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | 13 July 2010[1] |
Design | A horizontal tricolour of blue, red, and green charged with a yellow disc outlined in black and defaced with a black flèche faîtière. |
Two flags are in use in New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France. Up to 2010, the only flag used to represent New Caledonia was the flag of France, a tricolor featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour. However, in July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a wish to fly the Kanak flag of the independentist movement FLNKS alongside the French tricolor. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial.[1][2] A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the Tricolour.[3]
Overview[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a3/Two_official_flags_of_New_Caledonia_on_same_flagpole.png/220px-Two_official_flags_of_New_Caledonia_on_same_flagpole.png)
In 2008, the government of New Caledonia debated the introduction of an official regional flag and anthem, as required by the Accord de Nouméa. A flag in fairly widespread unofficial use was the flag of the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS), a political party favoring independence for New Caledonia, thus a highly controversial emblem, and the French tricolor would remain the only flag used for the next two years.
In July 2010, the Congress of New Caledonia voted in favour of a non legally binding wish (vœux) to fly the FLNKS flag alongside the French tricolor in the territory.[2][1] On 17 July 2010, French Prime Minister François Fillon took part in a ceremony in Nouméa where the FLNKS flag was hoisted alongside the French tricolor.[4][5] The coexistence with the pro independentist flag proved controversial, with the New Caledonian deputy to the National Assembly Gaël Yanno calling it "akin to rising the Palestinian flag over the Knesset". In the capital city Nouméa, the first rise of the FLNKS flag on the town hall happened without any ceremony, as the mayor refused to participate. The New Caledonian delegation to the Olympic Games used the combined flags for the first time in 2011.[6] According to Philippe Gomès, then President of the Government of New Caledonia, "this flag was imposed on us. Is it representative of all communities? No, it's the flag of the Kanak, the flag of independence. Is it the choice of all? No, it's the choice of a lone man who chose to play along with the independentist".[7] Thus, the debate on finding a permanent official regional flag continued[8] as the adoption of the Kanak flag proved controversial.[4] Some New Caledonians argued for a completely new flag for New Caledonia, which would incorporate designs from both the French tricolor and the Kanak flags.[4] Such new flag would aim to promote a "common destiny" for ethnic Kanaks and ethnic French residents in New Caledonia.[4]
FLNKS political flag[]
The FLNKS flag, first adopted by the party in 1980, is composed of three horizontal stripes of blue (Pantone 286c), red (Pantone 032c) and green (Pantone 347c) charged with a yellow (Pantone 102c) disc of a diameter two-thirds the height of the flag centered at a position of one-third the width of the flag, measured from the hoist side. The disc is outlined in black and defaced with a vertical symbol, also black.
The blue symbolizes both the sky and more importantly the ocean surrounding New Caledonia. The red symbolizes the blood shed by the Kanaks in their struggle for independence, socialism, and unity. The green symbolizes the land itself and by extension the ancestors buried within it. The yellow disc is a representation of the sun and the symbol upon it consists of a flèche faitière, a kind of arrow that adorns the roofs of Kanak houses thrust through tutut shells.[9]
Provincial flags[]
New Caledonia is divided into three provinces, each with its own flag.
Flag of South Province
Flag of North Province
Flag of the Loyalty Islands
Other flags[]
One of the various flags used to represent the New Caledonian team at the Pacific Games, all of which depict a stylized cagou in the center[10]
French tricolour defaced with New Caledonia's emblem
Flag used to represent New Caledonia by FIFA
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c "Nouvelle-Calédonie: Voeu sur le drapeau Kanaky de 2010". www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Voeux n° 1 du treize juillet 2010
- ^ "Roch Wamytan: "descendre le drapeau kanak est un geste ignoble, il ne faut plus parler de destin commun!"". Nouvelle-Calédonie la 1ère.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d Malkin, Bonnie (20 July 2010). "New Caledonia adopts second flag in compromise over French rule". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ "FLNKS flag" (in French). 17 July 2010. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ Biseau, Grégoire. "A Nouméa, Sarkozy et la question du double drapeau". Libération.
- ^ Pignot, Marion (5 June 2012). "Législatives: quand le communautarisme fait gagner des voix en Nouvelle-Calédonie". Slate.fr.
- ^ "La Nouvelle-Calédonie se cherche toujours un drapeau". La Croix. 4 December 2012 – via www.la-croix.com.
- ^ "Front de Libération National Kanak Socialist (Political party, New Caledonia)". 27 April 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
- ^ "@New Caledonia (France): Territorial Olympic and Sports Commitee [sic]".
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flags of New Caledonia. |
- Flags introduced in 2010
- National flags
- New Caledonian culture
- Flags of indigenous peoples