Worldflagshop News

• 26Jul

  France protects flag after bottom-wiping photograph

  Flags in the news 4 Comments

  France has introduced a rule to protect its national flag from insult after a photo of a man wiping his bottom with the tricolour caused outrage(bbc.co.uk).

  Under the rule, anyone caught trying to “destroy, damage or use the flag in a degrading manner” could face a fine of 1,500 euros (£1,250; $1,900).

  The offending picture won a prize in a photo contest in the southern city of Nice in March.

  It was later published in a free national newspaper.

  The photograph showed a man seen from behind with his trousers around his ankles, apparently wiping his bottom with the flag.

  Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said at the time that the tricolour should not be used in this way.

  Until now, it was only an offence to insult the French flag in an event organised by the public authorities.

  The new rule, introduced by government order, makes it illegal to do this “in any public place or place open to the public”.

  The photograph was displayed in a competition run by the media retailer Fnac.

  It won a special mention in the “politically incorrect” category, before being withdrawn following complaints.

  Please be advised that Worldflagshop does not take any responsibility for providing Flags for the use of bottom wiping. However please feel free to visit our website www.worldflagshop.com (and you can make use of them in anyway you like!).

• 21Jul

  Council snub for flag flying plea

  Flags in the news No Comments
  WISBECH Town Council has explained why its has turned down a request to fly the Red Ensign flag on its Town Hall building on a special day to mark and remember the brave achievements of Merchant Navy seaman in war-time (courtesy of fenlandcitizen.co.uk).

  It has been urged to fly the special flag by Second World War merchant navy veteran Tommy Thompson who wrote to the council urging it to show its support.

  September 3 will be the tenth year that the national Merchant Navy Association has remembered those who served or lost lives in a variety of war-time duties, with the flying of the Red Ensign flag.

  Mr Thompson, of Outwell Road, Emneth, told the Citizen: “I am waiting for the council to give the Merchant Navy heroes the recognition they deserve this time; sadly many of those heroes will have crossed the bar.

  “But take heart you who served in the Merchant Navy – the nation does appreciate what you did in those terrible days of Atlantic, Arctic and Malta convoys.

  “The people would have starved had your shipmates not made the ultimate sacrifice applaud you.

  “The Armed Forces who you transported, fuelled and saved from the beaches. I applaud you.”

  But Wisbech Town Council clerk Erbie Murat said it was a very awkward situation regarding the flying of flags on public buildings and the authority had adopted guidelines from the Department of Media and Culture.

  The Union Flag is flown on key dates: The Queen’s birthday and official birthday, St George’s Day, the birthday of The Princess Royal, Remembrance Day, Armed Forces Day and the Rose Fair, while a special flag is also flown for Armed Forces Day.
  A second flag pole meant that the English flag, the cross of St George, could also be flown.

  But Mr Murat stressed: “We would never want anyone to think that the council does not honour and respect those who served or gave their lives in service of the nation.

  “They made a significant contribution to our lives and to the lives of others in the future.”

  He explained that if the council flew the flag to mark one organisation, then there would be many others seeking similar arrangements.

  “There are a great many. There are at least a dozen in and around Wisbech,” said Mr Murat. “We recognise and value what they did, but we cannot fly all the flags.

  If you would like your own Red Ensign to fly in commemoration of the Merchant Navy, you can do so at www.worldflagshop.com
• 21Jul

  New Caledonia adopts second flag in compromise over French rule

  Flags in the news No Comments

  New Caledonia, one of France’s most exotic colonial outposts, has adopted a second flag as part of a compromise between pro-independence activists and those who loyally support ongoing French rule(courtesy of telegraph.co.uk).

   

  

  The Kanak flag.

  Francois Fillon, the French prime minister, visited the South Pacific over the weekend to raise the indigenous Kanak flag and the French Tricolour above the high commission in the capital Noumea.

  The symbolic move comes after the New Caledonian Congress overwhelmingly voted to adopt the emblem of the indigenous movement, which features red, blue and green stripes with a yellow sun and black totem, as the nation’s second official flag.

   

• However, there was opposition to the move, with some residents arguing that using two flags underlined the ethnic divisions within the country, which remain more than 20 years after violent unrest in the mid-1980s forced France to declare a state of emergency and send paratroopers to restore order.

Nic Maclellan, an author and researcher on New Caledonia, said that some people wanted a new flag for New Caledonia, incorporating elements of the Tricolor and the Kanak flags, that would promote the idea of a “common destiny”.

“There is a contentious debate over whether a new flag would symbolise that people of different political and ethnic groups had come together as a nation, rather than having two flags that indicate the country is still divided.”

The unusual move makes New Caledonia one of only a handful of countries, including Canada, that have two official national flags.

The island nation’s population of 240,000 is deeply divided between Kanaks, a Melanesian ethnic group, who make up about 44 per cent of the population, and ethnic Europeans, who make up 34 per cent.

While Kanaks are in the majority, the islands, which were named by Captain James Cook in 1774 for their resemblance to the coast of Scotland, retain a distinctly Gallic flavour. All inhabitants of New Caledonia are French citizens, carry French passports and take part in the legislative and presidential French elections. Nicolas Sarkozy is head of state, French is the official language and French patisseries selling croissants and baguettes dot the palm-fringed islands. The towns are laid out to a traditional French design, complete with Marie and Hotel de Ville and the cars driving past the island’s pristine white beaches and turquoise lagoons all bear French number plates.

However, moves are afoot to sever ties with France and for New Caledonia to become fully independent. Under the Noumea Accord, which was signed by both loyalists and independents after the 1980s unrest, a working party was set up to devise new bank notes, a new national anthem and a new motto. However, negotiations over a new name for the islands, which the pro-independence groups want to call Kanaky, have faltered.

Residents are due to vote on taking further steps towards autonomy in 2014.