Saint Martin
The French tricolore is the official national flag used in the Collectivity of Saint Martin. There are said to be several unofficial flags as well.
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Saint Barthélemy
The flag of Saint Barthélemy is the French tricolor. This is because Saint Barthélemy is a self-governing overseas collectivity of France. An unofficial flag of Saint Barthélemy consisting of the island’s coat of arms centered on a white field is also used on the island.
The coat of arms of Saint-Barthélemy is a shield divided into three horizontal stripes (parted per fess), three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, above a white Maltese cross on red, over three gold crowns on blue, and “Ouanalao” is what the indigenous people called the island. On top of the shield is a mural crown.
The fleurs-de-lis, Maltese Cross, and gold crowns are heraldic reminders of the island’s history as a colony ruled by first the Kingdom of France, then the Knights Hospitaller and in turn the Kingdom of Sweden.
Réunion
The Vexillological Association of Réunion selected a flag in 2003. It depicts the volcano of 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 on top of many public buildings after several city councils have taken the decision to do so.
New Caledonia
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. A majority of Neo-Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the Tricolour.
Mayotte
The official flag of Mayotte is the French tricolor. The unofficial local flag consists of a white field with the archipelago’s coat of arms below an inscription “MAYOTTE” in red capitals. It consists of a shield with a cloud design, a sideways crescent and flowers in blue and red segments. The supporters of the shield are seahorses. The motto, placed in a grey ribbon, reads “RA HACHIRI” – We are vigilant in Shimaore (Comorian).
Martinique
The unofficial “snake flag” (drapeau aux serpents) features a white cross on a blue field with a white snake in each quarter. These are fer-de-lance vipers (Bothrops lanceolatus, French trigonocéphale) native to Martinique. It was used by the French military on their buildings and/or uniforms. Members of the National Gendarmerie bore the coat-of-arms version of the flag. It stood next to the French flag on some public buildings of the island—such as the prefecture and the police station of Fort-de-France.
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe has no flag with official status other than the French national flag.
A locally used unofficial flag, based on the coat of arms of Guadeloupe’s capital Basse-Terre has a black or red field with a yellow sun and a green sugar cane, and a blue stripe with yellow fleurs-de-lis on the top.
French Southern and Antarctic Lands
The French Southern and Antarctic Lands have formed a territoire d’outre-mer (an overseas territory) of France since 1955. Formerly, they were administered from Paris by an administrateur supérieur assisted by a secretary-general; since December 2004, however, their administrator has been a préfet, currently Cécile Pozzo di Borgo, with headquarters in Saint-Pierre on Réunion Island.
French Polynesia
Two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a 0.43m diameter 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.
French Guiana
On 29 January 2010, the general council (departmental council) of the overseas department of French Guiana unilaterally adopted a flag for the department of French Guiana. This was not recognized by the superior regional council. Both councils were disbanded in late 2015 and replaced by the French Guiana Assembly within the framework of the new Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana. Moreover, only the French flag is officially recognized by the French constitution as the national flag. The green and yellow flag is still used by the French Guiana national football team.