New Martinique Flag

[BermudaShorts]

Hi everyone! Long time listener, first time caller.

We are about a week out from making landfall in Martinique (thanks Elon!) and had a question about courtesy flags for the country.

The island adopted a new black, green, and red flag just last year and great resources like noonsite say to fly the French flag and not the Martinique flag. I wonder if this references the “snake flag” that seems to be for sale as the courtesy flag of choice, although I’ve read this is quite a faux pas and akin to flying something like the confederate flag when making landfall in Florida. However acceptable that may be is another thread.

Before leaving Cape Verde we had a French flag and a new Martinique flag made. If anyone has been there recently, I would love to hear your thoughts. French flag only? New Martinique flag? French over Martinique and fly both simultaneously?


Thanks in advance!

-‘Da Shorts

[Zanshin]

Martinique is a departement of France. Thus you will fly a French courtesy flag. You might fly a regional flag below the French flag where there is one (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Corsica, etc.) if you wish, but those locations are part of France.

We might meet up in a week or so, as I'll be provisioning there on my way down island.

[SailingHarmonie]

I am in La Marin, Martinique right now. There are hundreds of boats here, and not one single Martinique flag to be seen. You would not fly the New York State flag as a courtesy flag. Same thing. French flag only.

I do not know about the "new" flag, but flying the old Martinique flag was very unpopular with a significant fraction of the local population. I don't know the history of that, but one boat who got that wrong was severely chastised in loud and angry French until he took it down.

[BermudaShorts]

Thanks Zanshin, this is the exact info I was looking for. Better to have it and not need it….

We will keep an eye out for you out there.

Harmonie - Thanks for the input! I know the fer de lance flag is unacceptable, yet still widely sold for some reason. I agree that I would never fly a state flag, even under the US flag, as courtesy, but in a place like Quebec that has its own identity, I would understand someone flying the Quebec flag under the Canadian flag because they have such a unique identity as a region and province. Thought Martinique might kind of fall into this category, but you’re right, it’s French soil.

Bottom line, French flag it is! Thank you