Pays de la Loire (Region, France)

Last modified: 2010-11-12 by ivan sache
Keywords: pays de la loire | fleur-de-lis (yellow) | ermine (black) | regional council | heart (red) | lion (white) | map |
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• Administrative data
• Flag of the Region
• Flag of the Regional Council
• Former flags of the Regional Council

See also:

• France
• France: Regions
• Clickable map of France (Regions)

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 km²
Population (1995): 3,139,800 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Nantes

Flag of Region Pays de la Loire

According to Philippe Rault (Les drapeaux bretons de 1188 à nos jours [rau98]), the flag of Region Pays de la Loire, designed in 1976 by the heraldist Hervé Pinoteau, was hoisted on the building of the Regional Council at Nantes in October 1986.
The flag is vertically divided, at hoist the banner of arms of Maine (D'azur semé de fleurs de lis d'or à la bordure cousue de gueules chargée au canton dextre d'un lion d'argent - "Azure semy de lis or a border gules in dexter chief a lion rampant argent"), at fly, the Breton plain ermine, surrounded by 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 aux trois fleurs de lis d'or, à la bordure cousue de gueules - "Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or a border gules") is quite similar to the banner of Maine.

The flag was designed after the insignia of the 33rd Military Territorial Division of Region Pays de la Loire.

Pascal Vagnat, 29 March 1999

Flag of the Regional Council

The flag of the Regional Council is white with the logo adopted in October 2006.
Oddly enough, the logo as shown on the flag does not strictly match the graphic chart. The words "PAYS DE LA LOIRE" should have appeared on a single line instead of two.

Valentin Poposki & Olivier Touzeau, 22 September 2007

Former flags of the Regional Council

Former flags of the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 22 September 2007
Left, 1991-2002
Right, 2002-2006

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

A new logo, still showing the map from the ancient logo, was adopted in 2002 and the flag was changed accordingly.

Olivier Touzeau, Philippe-Pierre Darras & Pascal Vagnat, 22 September 2007