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Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Region, France)

Flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 25 January 2021

Administrative data
Flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Former flags of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Provisional flags
Former Region Aquitaine
- Administrative data
- Flag of the Region
Former Region Limousin
Former Region Poitou-Charentes

See also:

Administrative data

Departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
Bordering Regions: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Centre-Val de Loire, Occitanie, Pays de la Loire
Bordering country: Spain
Traditional provinces: Angoumois, Aunis, Béarn, Berry, Guyenne-et-Gascogne, Limousin, Lower-Navarre; Marche, Poitou, Saintonge

Area: 83,260 km²
Population (1995): 5,204,300 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Bordeaux

Flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine

The flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine (photo, photo) is white with an emblem that mixes elements of the logo adopted in June 2019 and the full-colored coat of arms adopted in 2016.

The graphical charter modified in June 2019 prescribes a new version of the logo, as a kind of syncretism between the 2016 logo and the coat of arms, the stylized lion being replaced by the coat of arms in a monochrome (red or black) version.
As a symbol of its historical legacy, Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine raises a coat of arms to increase its identity and belonging to its new geographical and administrative territory. Inspired by the bravery and valiance of the lion, the historical emblem-animal, the logo of the Region re-invents the symbol. In the shield's heart, the several watercourses that run across the region are represented by three waves.
The font used for the writing is ITC Avant Garde Gothic Demi, 7% italicized. This font was designed in 1971 by Herb Lubalin and Tom Carnase for the ITC foundry.
The dots on the "i" were modified from squares to rounds. The downstroke of the "q" was slightly increased.
The red color is specified as Pantone Red 200C / CMYK 16-100-77-6 / RGB 194-0-47 / Hex #C31632.
[Graphic Charter, V. 3, September 2020]

Transitory flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2017

A transitory, white flag (photo, photo) with the coat of arms, and below the words "Région Nouvelle Aquitaine" in a font not used in the logo, was used in 2018?-early 2019.

. Olivier Touzeau & Ivan Sache, 27 January 2021

Former flags of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine

First flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2017

The first flag of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (photo, photo, photo, photo) was a banner of the regional arms, adopted in December 2016 with the logo.

In addition to this new logo, a coat of arms will be used for protocolary uses: flags, correspondence of the Presidency and gifts. Its use is strictly reserved for the Regional Council.
The coat of arms of the red lion standing on a white field was used as early as the eleventh century in the whole of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine territory. Some towns such as Poitiers, Chàtellerault, Espelette or Ustaritz, still show today this red lion in their coat of arms.
In its 2016 version, the coat of arms of Region Nouvelle Aquitaine is enriched by blue waves to illustrate the attachment to the historic Aquitaine: Aquitania, the land of waters.
[Official press release, 16 December 2016]

Alternative flag of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine, two versions - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 4 September 2017

The Regional Council in Bordeaux also used a white flag with the logo (photo, photo, photo). Oddly enough, this flag does not use a logo compliant with the graphical charter. Instead, the wording is placed under the lion's face with "Nouvelle-" and "Aquitaine" in a single line, which is theorically not permitted.
The flag was also used with the logo in white on a red background (photo).

The contour map of Nouvelle-Aquitaine looks like a lion's head with the profile matching the profile of the Atlantic coast. The lion of Nouvelle-Aquitaine looks towards the Atlantic Ocean. This the "ocean's guardian", as was in the beginning of the 17th century the Cordouan lighthouse, which was built on the model of the Alexandria lighthouse. It refers to the emblem of Richard Lionheart, the son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was at the end of the 12th century the most powerful of the kings of England and duke of Aquitaine. The lion's wavy mane represents the course of the five main rivers running across Nouvelle-Aquitaine from the mountains to the ocean: Adour, Charente, Dordogne, Garonne and Vienne.

The Cordouan lighthouse (website) was built from 1584 to 1611 in the middle of the Gironde estuary. Designed by architect Louis de Foix, who died around 1603, the King's Lighthouse, of 37 m on height, equipped with a chapel and decorated with marble and stained-glass windows, was then considered as the Eighth Wonder of the World. In 1786, Joseph Teulère, municipal architect of Bordeaux, increased the lighthouse's height of 20 m. The lighthouse was registered as an historical monument in 1862, the same year as the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.
The Cordouan lighthouse was equipped in 1623 by the newly invented Fresnel lens. composed of eight panels and mirrors the concentrate light by refraction. It has now a range of 40 km.

Olivier Touzeau & Ivan Sache, 27 January 2021

Provisional flags

Provisional flags of Region Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 27 June 2017

The Region used between June and December 2016 a white flag (photo) with the temporary regional logo (presentation).
Before June 2016, the provisional name of the region was "Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes". The Regional Council in Bordeaux flew a white flag with the provisional logo(photo).

Olivier Touzeau, 27 June 2017

Former Region Aquitaine

Administrative data

Departments: Dordogne, Gironde, Landes, Lot-et-Garonne, Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Bordering Region: Limousin, Midi-Pyrénées, Poitou-Charentes
Bordering country: Spain
Traditional provinces: Guyenne-et-Gascogne, Béarn, Lower-Navarre

Area: 41,309 km²
Population (1995): 2,866,300 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Bordeaux

Flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Aquitaine - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 27 June 2017
- Left, 2012-2015;
- Center, 2008-2012;
- Right, before 2008

The original flag of the Region (photo) had no writing. Between 2008 and 2012, the flag (photo was white with the logo, including the words "REGION" and "AQUITAINE". In 2012, the logo was modified again with the use of another font in blue and another shade of blue in the drawing. The flag (photo) was changed accordingly,

Olivier Touzeau, 27 June 2017

The letter "A" with five branches symbolizes the Region's five departments and its coastline. Blue stands for the ocean and green for the inland, the vast forests of Landes and Gironde, tourism and agriculture.

Philippe-Pierre Darras, 26 January 1999

Former Region Limousin

Administrative data

Departments: Corrèze, Creuse, Haute-Vienne
Bordering Regions: Aquitaine, Auvergne, Centre, Midi-Pyrénées, Poitou-Charentes
Traditional provinces: Limousin, Guyenne and Gascony, Marche, Berry, Poitou

Area: 16,942 km²
Population (1995): 718,900 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Limoges

Flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Limousin - Image by Ivan Sache, 12 September 2010

The flag of Region Limousin was white with the Region's logo in the middle.

The current logo was unveiled by the Regional Council on 28 March 2007; this was a modernization of the previous logo, made by the Regional Council with the support of the Semiotic Research Center of the University of Limoges (therefore with a limited cost). The logo has retained the chestnut leaf and the letter "L" from the previous logo, the updated logo being "less strict and more dynamic".
As in the previous logo, the chestnut leaf has a geometric outline on the left, recalling technology and artificial intelligence, and a smooth outline on the right, recalling the natural environment. Therefore, the leaf symbolizes the union of new technology and natural heritage. The green colour represents fertility, nature, knowledge, science and hope.
The letter "L" stands for "Limousin". The red colour represents life, force and dynamism.

Chestnut is the emblematic tree of Limousin. Until the introduction of potatoes around 1850, only rye could be grown on the poor, acid soils of Limousin. The carefully managed, natural chestnut groves saved the local population from starvation in harsh winter time for centuries.
According to a census made in 1808, 33,500 ha were grown with chestnuts in Limousin. A 0.6 ha chestnut grove - that is, 50 trees, each producing 20-30 kg chestnuts per year - could feed six people for 100 days. Chestnut conservation was a challenge, which was solved with heat dessication operations performed in specific stone huts called clédiers, once a significant component of the social life in the Limousin countryside. Frozen, broken and damaged chestnuts were used to feed the pigs, the second staple diet in Limousin.
Being not only the "bread tree", chestnut was grown for its resistant wood; easy to work, chestnut wood had many usages in building (lintels, rafters, boards, claddings, floors) and agriculture (fences and ropes, baskets). Around 1850, the local forges, once the main users of chestnut wood, all closed, and the new job of feuillardier appeared in the countryside. The feuillardiers were specialized workers of rural origin, who exploited chestnut coppices for wood merchants. Producing "black stuff" (unbarked) and "white stuff" (barked), the feuillardiers worked in harsh conditions, living in small huts (loges) built near the coppices. Probably on the model of the Limoges porcelain workers, the exploited feuillardiers set up a first workers' union in 1893 in Saint-Yrieix; the different local unions set up a central bureau in 1906, organizing ten strikes during the gilded age of the feuillardiers, 1880-1939, their membership peaking in 1906 at 1,280.
[Les Châtaigniers en Limousin]

Ivan Sache, 12 September 2012

Former flag of the Region

Former flag of Region Limousin, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 12 September 2010

The former flag of the Regional Council existed either without inscription or with the writing "LIMOUSIN / CONSEIL REGIONAL"
The leaf should convey the idea that Limousin is a Region where nature is very important ("Nature is Future"). The leaf outline is on the right side more rounded (nature and tradition) than on the left side, where it is pixelized, thus symbolizing technology and progress. The red "L" over the leaf stands for "Limousin".

Philippe-Pierre Darras, 18 January 1999

Former Region Poitou-Charentes

Administrative data

Departments: Charente, Charente-Maritime, Deux-Sèvres, Vienne
Bordering Regions: Aquitaine, Centre, Limousin, Pays de la Loire
Traditional provinces: Angoumois, Saintonge, Poitou, Aunis

Area: 25,809 km²
Population (1995): 1,619,100 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Poitiers

Flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Poitou-Charentes, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 17 April 2005, and Olivier Touzeau, 3 March 2022, respectively

Region Poitou-Charentes has recently adopted a new logotype, immediatly put on a white field to make a flag.
The flag can be seen behind the President of the Region, Ms. Ségolène Royal, on a photo taken on 8 April 2005 in Nanteuil.

The new logotype was designed on the model of the former one, which can be seen in the lower fly of the former flag.
The region is shown in orange on a map of France. The diagonal curved stripe represents the Arc Atlantique, uniting the regions of Western Europe. The meaning of the two curved horizontal lines is not known.
The logotype was designed by the public relations department of the Regional Council of Poitou-Charentes. It shows "the wish of openmindedness and solidarity, and the dynamics of grass-roots change".
The flag was also used (photos, photo, photo) with a light blue background instead of white and the lettering white instead of blue

Pascal Vagnat, Ivan Sache & Olivier Touzeau, 3 March 2022

Former flags of the Region

Flag of the Region, 1993-2004 - image by Philippe-Pierre Darras, 7 May 1998

The flag is diagonally divided blue over green by a curved red stripe, with the logo of the Region in the lower right corner. The name of the Region is written in white capital letters on the top of the flag. The flag, adopted in 1993, had the dimensions 1 m x 1.50 m and 1.50 m x 2.25 m.

The flag symbolizes the strength of the "Atlantic Arch" uniting the regions of Western Europe. Green stands for the land, blue for the ocean, and their being used together recalls the "Marais poitevin", one of the region's natural features. Red stands for sunset.

Pascal Vagnat & Philippe-Pierre Darras, 18 January 1999

Franciae Vexilla [frv] (#9) describes two other, older flags of the Region, communicated by Annette Dufour, PR officer of the Regional Council (26 September 1991).

Former flag of the Region - Image by Jaume Ollé, 6 May 1998

This flag was created by the Doublet flag manufacturer, using a logo designed by the Clin d'Œil agency.

Former flag of the Region - Image by Jaume Ollé, 6 May 1998

A new logo designed by the Chantal de Lassus agency was adopted on 10 July 1987. The flag was created by the Festa flag manufacturer.

Jaume Ollé, 6 May 1998.