Flag of Réunion
Locally La Réunion
What the flag looks like
Lo Mahavéli, an unofficial flag: a blue field with a red triangle rising from the whole bottom edge to the center, and five yellow rays fanning out from its peak to the top and sides. The official flag is the French tricolor.
What it means
The red triangle is the island's volcano, Piton de la Fournaise, and the five yellow rays are sunbeams, said to stand for the peoples who converged on the island from different parts of the world.
How to remember it
Réunion
is a red volcano erupting five golden sunbeams into a blue sky, like a child's drawing of a sunrise over a mountain.
Fun facts
- Lo Mahavéli was designed in 1974 by Guy Pignolet and has no official status, though several town halls, including Saint-Denis's, have flown it since 2014.
- Piton de la Fournaise, the volcano on the flag, is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.
Réunion at a glance
- Status
- Overseas department and region of France
- Sovereign state
- France
- Capital
- Saint-Denis
- Region
- French overseas region
- Population
- 910,985
- Area
- 2,511 km²
- Languages
- French, Réunion Creole
- Currency
- Euro (€)