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France: Standards of Ministers

Prime Minister (Prime Minister)
- At sea
- On cars and planes
Minister of Armed forces (Ministre des Armées)
- At sea
- On cars and planes
Minister (or Junior Minister) for Overseas Departments and Territories

See also:

Prime Minister (Premier Ministre)

At sea

Prime Minister's flag at sea - Image by Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

According to Album des Pavillons [pay00], the Prime Minister's flag at sea is a square French Tricolore.

Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

On cars and planes

A new regulation was published in 2024: Instruction n° 849/ARM/SGA/DMCA/SHD/DHS/DSD relative à la symbolique militaire dans les armées et la gendarmerie nationale du 10 avril 2024.
Source: Official bulletin of the Ministry of Defense. This new regulation gives specifics about rank flags used on cars or in planes
According to the new regulation, these pennants (rank flags) are attached to the left front wing by a 45cm-high removable pole, topped with an 8cm-high golden spearhead, they are 35 x 40cm in size and in the national colors. The obverse and reverse bear the same motifs. The aircraft pennants are identical, but are only displayed during taxiing or when stationary. They are not used on rotary-wing aircraft.

The Prime minister has a pennant without fringe, with in its white part the emblem of a lictor's fasces with an axe above it (25 cm high), embroidered in gold and with a golden fringe of 3 cm.
Tricolor cravat with golden fringe (braids of 3 cm) fixed under the finial.
Nota: the Prime minister's emblem has the lictor's fasces alone, without the oak and laurel branches and the central shield of the presidential emblem.

Corentin Chamboredon & Olivier Touzeau 12 May & 14 July 2025

The Decision on Car Flags, 2 September 1963, stated that the Prime Minister was entitled to have a car pennant, and had a tricolor cravat with gold fringes. The pennant of the Prime Minister was bordered around its entire perimeter by a 2.4 cm wide gold braid.

Olivier Touzeau, 29 August 2025

Minister of Armed forces (Ministre des Armées)

At sea

Minister of Armed forces' flag at sea - Image by Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

As in Britain, the Defence Forces of France have been brought under a single Minister, known as the Ministre des Armées (1947-2017 Ministre de la Défense). A flag for this Ministry was introduced in 1963, consisting of a square version of the national flag for use at sea (30:33:37) with in the middle of the white stripe a golden emblem representing Armée de Terre (Army), Marine Nationale (Navy) and Armée de l'Air (Air Force) in the centre in gold.

Sources

Barraclough and Crampton (1981) c2b81], p.116.
Album des Pavillons [pay00]

Santiago Dotor & Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

On cars and planes

Minister of Armed forces' emblem
(left) current design, (right) design published in the annex to Décision relative aux fanions de voiture, 2 September 1963
Images transmitted to Olivier Touzeau by the Service historique de la Défense

A new regulation was published in 2024: Instruction n° 849/ARM/SGA/DMCA/SHD/DHS/DSD relative à la symbolique militaire dans les armées et la gendarmerie nationale du 10 avril 2024.
Source: Official bulletin of the Ministry of Armed Forces. This new regulation gives specifics about rank flags used on cars or in planes
According to the new regulation, these pennants (rank flags) are attached to the left front wing by a 45cm-high removable pole, topped with an 8cm-high golden spearhead, they are 35 x 40cm in size and in the national colors. The obverse and reverse bear the same motifs. The aircraft pennants are identical, but are only displayed during taxiing or when stationary. They are not used on rotary-wing aircraft.

Minister of Armed Forces has a pennant without fringe, with in its white part the emblem of the French defense staff (certified G825), 10 cm large, embroidered in gold and with a golden fringe of 2,4 cm.
Tricolor cravat with golden fringe (braids of 3 cm) fixed under the finial.

Corentin Chamboredon & Olivier Touzeau 12 May & 14 July 2025

The Decision on Car Flags, 2 September 1963, stated that the Minister of the Armed Forces was entitled to have a car pennant, and had a tricolor cravat with gold fringes. The pennant of the Minister of the Armed Forces was bordered around its entire perimeter by a 1.6 cm gold braid. In the white portion of the pennant, the symbol of the Armed Forces, adopted in the annex to Décision relative aux fanions de voiture, 2 September 1963, was embroidered in gold.

Olivier Touzeau, 29 August 2025

Minister (or Junior Secretary) for Overseas Departments and Territories

Overseas Minister's flag at sea - Images by Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001

According to Album des Pavillons [pay00], the flag at sea of the Minister/Junior Secretary of State for Overseas Departments and Territories is a blue square flag with the Tricolore flag in canton. It was derived from the flag used by Governor-Generals in the former colonial Empire.
The car flag is similar but in ratio 7:8 and with a golden border (not shown here).

Pierre Gay & Željko Heimer, 23 September 2001