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Hauts-de-France (Region, France)

Flag of Region Hauts-de-France - Image by Ivan Sache, 7 September 2017

Administrative data
Flag of Region Hauts-de-France
Former Region Nord-Pas de Calais
Former Region Picardie
- Administrative data
- Flag of the Region

See also:

Administrative data

Departments: Aisne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Somme
Bordering Regions: Grand Est, Île-de-France, Normandie
Bordering country: Belgium
Traditional provinces: Flanders, Artois, Picardy Champagne, Franche-Comté, Île-de-France

Area: 31,813 km²
Population (1995): 5,903,300 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Lille

Flag of Region Hauts-de-France

The flag of Region Hauts-de-France (photo) is white with the Regional Council's logo, created in July 2016.
The provisory name of the Region during the first monthes was Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie; a logo made simply of the name of the region and sometimes with the map was used, but it did no appear on a flag. In march 2016, for example, the Regional Council used the flags of the two former regions (photo, photo).

Olivier Touzeau, 7 September 2017

Former Region Nord-Pas de Calais

Administrative data

Departments: Nord, Pas-de-Calais
Bordering Region: Picardie
Bordering country: Belgium
Traditional provinces: Flanders, Artois, Picardy

Area: 12,414 km²Population (2007): 4,048,000 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Lille

Flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Nord-Pas de Calais - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 7 September 2017

The flag of Region Nord-Pas de Calais, as seen hoisted over boats moored in the port of Dunkirk, was blue with the regional logo "countercoloured" in the middle: the logo shows on a white background a yellow-orange heart and a blue belfry and writing, while the flag shows on a blue background a yellow-orange heart and a white belfry and writing.
The current logo of the Region was adopted by the Regional Council on 19 October 2007. The heart is symmetric and the belfry, heavily stylized, is vertical. "Région / Nord-Pas de Calais" is written below the heart.

Ivan Sache, 20 September 2009

Former flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Nord-Pas de Calais, 1993-2007, two versions - Images by Philippe-Pierre Darras & Ivan Sache, 20 September 2009

The Region's logo was "renovated" in 1993 by Jérôme Watrelot, from the Quetzal agency (Marcq-en-Barœul), in partnership with the PR Department of the Region and the Nickel agency. In the renovated logo, the heart is white with an orange border; the belfry is stylized and the whole emblem is tilted to the upper right corner of the flag. "RÉGION / NORD / PAS DE CALAIS" is written in blue letters in the lower right corner of the emblem.
The "renovated" flag of the Region is white with the logo in the middle and an orange vertical stripe placed along the hoist. The width of the stripe is ca. 2/9 of the length of the flag, the height of the logo corresponds to ca. 7/8 of the fly of the flag. The colour specifications are:

Colour		Pantone		   CMYK
Orange		1235c		0-30-100-0
Black            288c          100-70-0-20

The flag was sometimes used without the orange stripe (as seen in Maroilles on 1 May 2007).

Flag of the former Region Nord-Pas de Calais, 1982-1993 - Image by Ivan Sache, 20 September 2009

The first flag of the Region is white with the first logo of the Region. Created in 1982 by the OPN agency (Lille), the logo is made of a dark yellow heart with a triple black border. A black belfry surmounted by a small rectangular black flag emerges from the base of the heart. While the heart represents solidarity and open-mindness, being yellow as the youth, the light and the sun, the belfry represents the spirit of enterprise and liberty.

Belfries, as characteristic elements of the north of France and Belgium, were registered in 1999 (Belgium) and 2005 (France and Gembloux, Belgium) on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with the following comment:

Twenty-three belfries in the north of France and the belfry of Gembloux in Belgium were inscribed as a group, an extension to the 32 Belgian belfries inscribed in 1999 as Belfries of Flanders and Wallonia. Built between the 11th and 17th centuries, they showcase the Roman, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles of architecture. They are highly significant tokens of the winning of civil liberties. While Italian, German and English towns mainly opted to build town halls, in part of north-western Europe, greater emphasis was placed on building belfries. Compared with the keep (symbol of the seigneurs) and the bell-tower (symbol of the Church), the belfry, the third tower in the urban landscape, symbolizes the power of the aldermen. Over the centuries, they came to represent the influence and wealth of the towns.

The registered belfries of Region Nord-Pas de Calais are located in Armentières, Bailleul, Bergues, Cambrai, Douai, Dunkirk (2), Gravelines, Lille and Loos (Department of Nord), and Aire-sur-la-Lys, Arras, Béthune, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais and Hesdin (Pas-de-Calais).
Another six belfries are located in Region Picardie (Department of Somme).

Ivan Sache, Philippe-Pierre Darras & Pascal Vagnat, 20 September 2009

Former Region Picardie

Administrative data

Departments: Aisne, Oise, Somme
Bordering Regions: Champagne-Ardenne, Haute-Normandie, Île-de-France, Nord-Pas de Calais
Traditional provinces: Picardy, Île-de-France, Champagne

Area: 19,399 km²Population (1995): 1,855,300 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: A HREF="fr-80-am.html">Amiens

Flag of the Region

Flag of the former Region Picardie, 2006-2016 - Image by Ivan Sache, 29 June 2014

The flag of Region Picardie, as seen in front of the Agricultural School "Le Paraclet", located in Cottenchy, near Amiens, is light green with the "Picardie" logotype.

According to the official graphical charter, the Regional Council recognizes three logotypes, made of a common pictogram and typogram but differing by the signature.
The pictogram is made of two superimposed waves and a "P". The two elements should not be used separately and should keep always the same relative proportions. The typogram, placed beneath the pictogram, is made of the word "PICARDIE".
The signature, placed beneath the typogram is:
- "LA RÉGION" for the logotype to be used by the regional executive;
- "LE CONSEIL / RÉGIONAL" for the logotype to be used by the regional legislature;
- no signature for the "Picardie" logotype, used to represent the territory. Permission to use this logotype is granted by the President of the Regional Council. The logotype shall not be used for commercial purpose, except in collective, official actions promoting tourism, quality, commerce, products or services at the regional level. The logotype can be used by public bodies, such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and educational institutes.

The flag uses a much lighter shade of green than the prescribed "Picardie green", which is approximated by Pantone 377c, with a FAG (yellow) densitometric correction (CB: 1.15, CM: 1.15, Opal: 0.95). The colour specifications are given according to alternative systems as follows:

CMYK (%)	55-0-100-0
RGB		140-188-0
Web colour	# 8CBC00

Ivan Sache, 29 June 2014

Earlier flags of the former Region Picardie - Images by Olivier Touzeau, 9 September 2017

Before 2006, the Region had white flags with its former logotypes. Throughout time, Picardie has had several logos, all with a common point : the letter "P" with two waves on the left.
A first version of the logo with a blue square "P" (image; video) existed between 1976 and the early 1980ies and was probably not used on a flag.
[France3 Hauts-de-France, 16 March 2016]

The first white flag with the logo is shown by Luc Doublet (L'aventure des drapeaux [dou87]).
Between the late 1980s and 1996, this logo was slightly modified (new font, frame) and appeared on a white flag/
In 1996, the logo was modified again and appeared on a white flag, too.

Olivier Touzeau, 9 September 2017