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Pays de la Loire (Region, France)

Flag or Region Pays de la Loire - Image by Philippe-Pierre Darras, 20 June 2003

Administrative data
Flag of the Region
Flag of the Regional Council

See also:

Administrative data

Departments: Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe, Vendée
Bordering Regions: Basse-Normandie, Bretagne, Centre, Poitou-Charentes
Traditional provinces: Brittany, Anjou, Poitou, Maine

Area: 32,082 km²Population (1995): 3,139,800 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Nantes

Flag of the Region Pays de la Loire

The Region Pays de la Loire is a geographical, historical and political patchwork, which includes the Breton County of Nantes (department of Loire-Atlantique), Lower Poitou (department of Vendée), and the traditional provinces of Maine (departments of Mayenne and Sarthe) and Anjou (department of Maine-et-Loire).
The region includes 1/5th of the historical Breton territory and 1/4th of the Breton population (the rattachement of the department of Loire-Atlantique to the Region Bretagne region is a permanent political and popular revendication in the area).
Only two of the five departements (Loire-Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire) are water by the river Loire.

In 1976, the heraldist Hervé Pinoteau designed the Regional flag, which was hoisted on the building of the General Council in Nantes in October 1986.
The flag is vertically divided. The banner of arms of Maine (D'azur fleurdeliseée d'or, à la bordure de gueules, cantonnée d'un lion d'argent ) is shown at hoist. The Breton plain ermine is shown at fly, with a wavy border symbolizing river Loire. In the middle are placed the two interlaced hearts of Vendée. Anjou is not represented but its banner of arms (D'azur à trois fleurs de lys d'or, à la bordure de gueules) is quite similar to the banner of Maine.

Source: Les drapeaux bretons de 1188 à nos jours [rau98]

The flag was drawn on the basis of the insignia of the 33rd Military Territorial Division of Region Pays de la Loire.

Pascal Vagnat, 29 March 1999

Flag of the Regional Council

Flag of the Regional Council of Pays de Loire - Image by Philippe-Pierre Darras, 6 July 2000

The logotyped flag of the Regional Council shows a stylized map of the region. Blue and green stand for the ocean and the inland, respectively. The map pointing westwards and upwards should give the impression of dynamism.

Philippe-Pierre Darras, 18 January 1999

Created in 1974 by the Atelier Graphique Hypercut, the logo was modernized in 1985 and slightly modified in 1991.
The flags which are flying (1999) in front of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire are banners of arms of the Regions. The logotyped flag is used inside the building.

Pascal Vagnat, 29 March 1999