France is divided into eighteen administrative regions, of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France, while the other five are overseas regions.
Réunion, officially Department of Réunion, is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately 679 km (422 mi) east of the island of Madagascar and 175 km (109 mi) southwest of the island of Mauritius. As of January 2024, it had a population of 885,700. Its capital and largest city is Saint-Denis.
The overseas departments and regions of France are departments of the French Republic which are outside the continental Europe situated portion of France, known as "metropolitan France". The distant parts have exactly the same status as mainland France's regions and departments. The French Constitution provides that, in general, French laws and regulations apply to French overseas regions the same as in metropolitan France, but can be adapted as needed to suit the region's particular needs. Hence, the local administrations of French overseas regions cannot themselves pass new laws. On occasion referendums are undertaken to re-assess the sentiment in local status.
The national flag of Algeria consists of two equal vertical bars, green and white, charged in the center with a red star and crescent, a symbol of Islam as the nation's prominent faith. The flag was adopted on 3 July 1962. A similar version was used by the Algerian government in exile from 1958 to 1962. The Western blazon is per pale vert and argent; a crescent and star gules.
The flag of Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, is called the Gwenn-ha-du, which means white and black, in Breton. The flag was designed in 1923 by Morvan Marchal. It is also unofficially used in the department of Loire-Atlantique, although this now belongs to the Pays de la Loire and not to the region of Brittany, as the territory of Loire-Atlantique is historically part of the province of Brittany. Nantes, its prefecture, was once one of the two capital cities of Brittany.
Yann Fouéré, also known as Seàn Mauger was a Breton nationalist and a European federalist. His French birth certificate names him as Jean Adolphe Fouéré, a French name, as the French Third Republic did not allow Breton names.
Some of the colonies, protectorates and mandates of the French Colonial Empire used distinctive colonial flags. These most commonly had a French Tricolour in the canton.
The Kroaz Du is a flag of Brittany, used as an emblem of the independent duchy in the late Middle Ages. In the Breton language, kroaz means cross and du means black.
The flag of Martinique consists of a red triangle at the hoist, with two horizontal bands, the upper green and the lower black. It was adopted on 2 February 2023. The flag of France, its parent country, is also flown with official standing due to Martinique's status as a French overseas department/region. The assembly of Martinique flies a flag with the collectivity's logo on it to represent the government.
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 tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue, 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 independence movement FLNKS alongside the French Tricolour. The wish, legally non-binding, proved controversial. A majority of New Caledonian communes, but not all, now fly both flags, the rest flying only the French Tricolour.
The Patriote flag was used by the Patriote movement in Lower Canada between 1832 and 1838.
.bzh is an approved Internet generic top-level domain intended for Brittany and the Breton culture and languages. On 10 May 2013, ICANN approved the creation of this domain. On 27 February 2014, ICANN signed a Registry Agreement with the applicant.
The University of Reunion Island is a French university in the Academy of Réunion. It is the first and only European university in the Indian Ocean. Established in 1982, it has grown steadily over the years in terms of student population, geographical sites occupied, courses offered and partnerships forged with local, national, and international institutions. The school's ambition is to be the reference university in Indianoceania.
Réunion National Park is a National Park of France located on the island of Réunion, an overseas department in the western Indian Ocean. Established on 5 March 2007, the park protects the endemic ecosystems of Les Hauts, Réunion's mountainous interior, and covers around 42% of the island. Notable endemic species include the Réunion cuckooshrike and the Reunion Island day gecko.
The coat of arms of Réunion represents the island and overseas departement of Réunion. This coat of arms was created by Émile Merwart in 1925 on the occasion of a colonial exhibition that was to be held in Petite-Île.
Overseas France consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that remained a part of the French state under various statuses after decolonization. Some, but not all, are part of the European Union.
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is a region in southeast-central France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions; it resulted from the merger of Auvergne and Rhône-Alpes. The new region came into effect on 1 January 2016, after the regional elections in December 2015.
