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Historical Flags (Wallis and Futuna)

Introduction
Use of the flag of Uvéa (Wallis) as an emblem of the whole territory
Flag in sporting events

See also:

Introduction

From a paper by Lucien Philippe published in the March 1999 (13/59) issue of Franciae Vexilla:

Status
The official protectorate on Uvea was ratified by France on 5 April 1887. The protectorate was attached to New Caledonia, as a dependence. The protectorate on Alo and Sigave dates from 16 February 1888, with the same status as Uvea. In 1917, soon after the abdication of the King of Uvea (12 June 1913), France finally annexed the kingdoms to create the colony of Wallis-et-Futuna, administrated by New Caledonia. On 29 July 1961, the archipelago was detached from New Caledonia to constitute a Territoire d'Outre-Mer [overseas territory], following the referendum of December 1959.

Ivan Sache, 29 June 1999

The question of the flag of Wallis and Futuna is closely linked to the structure of the archipelagos and kingdoms that make up the territory. For a long time, only the Kingdom of Uvéa, on Wallis, had a flag. It was only in the 1980s that the two kingdoms of Futuna, Alo and Sigave, adopted their own flag. These three flags are now treated with equal respect.

The more powerful vexillological history of Uvéa, combined with the greater importance given by the Marists and later by France to Wallis than to Futuna in the administration of these islands, resulted in what was only the flag of Uvéa becoming the de facto flag of Wallis and Futuna.
For convenience, given the existence of a flag in Wallis (Uvéa) for decades, and the absence of flags in Futuna, the flag of Uvéa has become, metonymically, the one perceived as the flag of Wallis and Futuna. To understand this shift, we must examine the history of the Territory.

Olivier Touzeau, 26 March 2025

Use of the flag of Uvéa (Wallis) as an emblem of the whole territory

Relations between Wallis and Futuna

There has been no colonization, strictly speaking, in Wallis and Futuna, as the power of the French resident was limited to external affairs. The resident lived on Wallis and only visited Futuna for a total of a few days during his mission. Futuna therefore remained very isolated and relatively independent of French political power. This situation continued until the 1960s, with the administration not being established in Futuna until 1959. This situation is characteristic of the unequal relationship between Wallis and Futuna, the latter always being subordinate to its "sister island".
Since the arrival of Marist missionaries in 1837 on Futuna and Wallis, the two islands have been linked together. They already had ties before (the chiefdom of Sigave had special ties with the northern district (Hihifo) in Uvéa, while that of Alo maintained matrimonial relations with the district of Mu'a), but Futuna also maintained relations with Samoa, Tokelau, and Fiji. Within the French Protectorate, Futuna, less populated and too isolated, remained dependent on its sister island, where all power was concentrated.

Since the adoption in the 19th century of the cross pattée (reported as a Marist symbol), it has remained a constant feature of Uvea's colors. Until the 1980s and the emergence of the flags of the Kingdoms of Futuna, this unique local symbol in the territory became, probably because there was no other, the only known flag that could be used to symbolize the whole of Wallis and Futuna. After the 1980s, and theadoption of the flags of Alo and Sigave, this vexillological preeminence of Wallis/Uvea could no longer be justified in the same way. A debate occurred in 2015 about the equal use of the thee kingdoms flags rather than the use of the flag of Uvéa to represent the whole territory.

Olivier Touzeau, 26 March 2025

Protectorate (until 1961) and Territory of Wallis-and-Futuna

Image by Olivier Touzeau, 29 March 2025

White cross on a red field with French tricolour in canton, fimbriated in white on lower and right sides. Source: Flags of Paradise 1996 chart.

Ivan Sache, 29 June 1999

This flag was presented in the Flags of Paradise 1996 chart as the flag of Wallis-and-Futuna 1910-1985.
It was the flag of Uvéa since 1910, which was also considered de facto as the flag of the protectorate of Wallis-and-Futuna.

Olivier Touzeau, 30 March 2025

Territory of Wallis-and-Futuna from the 1980ies

From the traditional cross pattée to the square with red saltire:
A stylized rendering emerged in the firts half of the 1980ies, with four white triangles supposedly symbolizing the three kingdoms and the French administrator. This explanation was given in Mucha 1985 and in the CIA World Factbook. This design has become the most frequent flag in use to represent the territory as a whole.
This difference in design between the original cross pattée and this red saltire on a white square is undoubtedly the origin of the idea that there exists a flag of "Wallis and Futuna" distinct from the flag of Uvea. In reality, this flag is a variant of that of the Kingdom of Uvea alone. It is likely that it originated from an overly imprecise description of the cross pattée as a collection of four triangles, and we do not know whether this is an intentional rendering, an error made in vexillological literature, dictionary flagplates, or a manufacturer's invention. In any case, this version of the flag of Uvéa has become the unofficial flag of Wallis-and-Futuna.

Olivier Touzeau, 26 March 2025

Flag in sporting events

Pacific Games, 1971

image by Juan Manuel Villascan, 23 May 2016

During the 1971 Pacific Games in Tahiti, French Polynesia, Wallis and Futuna had two flags: French flag and a reddish pennant with a tricolor cross allover the field surmounted by a Wallis white cross.

Juan Manuel Villascan, 23 May 2016

Pacific Mini-Games since the 1980ies

During the Pacific Mini-Games and other sport events, Wallis-and-Futuna has been represented indifferently with the saltire (four white triangles flag) and the cross pattée flags:

four white triangles flag: source (2022)
two models at the same time: source (2017)
cross pattée flag: source (2017)
cross pattée flag: source (2025)

Olivier Touzeau, 26 March 2025