Guadeloupe (Overseas Department and Region, France)

Last modified: 2007-09-29 by ivan sache
Keywords: guadeloupe | america | france | sugar cane | fleur-de-lis: 3 (yellow) | sun (yellow) | pointe-a-pitre |
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French national flag - Image by Željko Heimer, 7 May 2005

• Administrative data
• Status of the flag
• Unofficial flags used locally

See also:

• Guadeloupe: Index of all related pages
• France
• France: Overseas entities
• France: Departments

Administrative data

Code: 971
Area: 1,780 km²
Population (1990): 386,987 inhabitants

Préfecture: Basse-Terre
Sous-préfectures: Pointe-à-Pitre, Marigot
Subdivisions: 3 arrondissements, 43 cantons, 34 municipalities.

Status of the flag

The only official flag in Guadeloupe is the French national flag.

Ivan Sache, 18 February 2005

Unofficial flags used locally

Unofficial flags of Guadeloupe - Left, with black field - Image by Pierre Gay, 13 June 1999; right, with red field - Image by Pierre Gay & António Martins, 1 October 2006

The banner of the arms of Pointe-à-Pitre, the island's main city, is seldom used to represent the whole island. The flag has a black or red field (see below) with a yellow sun and a green sugar cane, and a blue stripe with yellow fleurs-de-lis on the top.

Pascal Vagnat & António Martins, 12 January 1998

An islander confirmed that the arms are used only a black field and only for tourism purpose.

Pierre Gay, 13 June 1999

I was in Guadeloupe last year and inquired about these flags. I had seen versions with a red field and with a black field. No flags of that design were on sale at local souvenir shops, but iron-on (or sew-on) patches were available, all with the red field.

Al Kirsch, 19 January 2001

The Gendarmerie of Guadeloupe uses as its coat of arms (worn on the uniform) the red version of the unofficial flag.

Jérôme Sterkers, 27 September 2006