Flag of French Polynesia

The flag of French Polynesia was adopted in 1984. Two red horizontal bands encase a wide white band in a 1:2:1 ratio; centered on the white band is a disk with a blue and white wave pattern depicting the sea on the lower half and a gold and white ray pattern depicting the sun on the upper half; a Polynesian canoe rides on the wave pattern; the canoe has a crew of five represented by five stars that symbolize the five island groups; red and white are traditional Polynesian colors.

All vessels registered in French Polynesia have to fly the French flag, even for the small ships sailing between the islands, as there is no official French Polynesian civil or state ensign.