Flag of Saint Barthélemy

What the flag means

Article 2 of the 1958 constitution calls the blue, white and red tricolour the national emblem. Jacques-Louis David is credited with the 1794 design, in which blue moved to the hoist.

History

An unofficial white flag bearing the island's coat of arms is also seen. The arms, commissioned in 1977 from a professional heraldist, show three gold fleurs-de-lis on blue, a white Maltese cross on red and three gold crowns on blue. They recall rule by France, the Knights Hospitaller and Sweden. 'Ouanalao', on the arms, is the island's indigenous name.

The heraldist kept the commercial rights to the arms. The island later bought them for 90,000 francs, after she had asked for 500,000.