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Centre (Region, France)

The region has no specific flag.

Administrative data
Flag of the Regional Council
Centre-Val de Loire

See also:

Administrative data

Departments: Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Loiret, Loir-et-Cher
Bordering Regions: Auvergne, Bourgogne, Basse-Normandie, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Limousin, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes
Traditional provinces: Anjou, Berry, Bourbonnais, Maine, Marche, Ile-de-France, Orléanais, Poitou, Touraine

Area: 39,151 km²Population (1995): 2,433,200 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Orléans

Flag of the Regional Council

by Philippe-Pierre Darras

The logo of the Regional council hasn't changed since it was first adopted by the Regional Council, it had and still has the shape of the French territory with a heart. Some variations are known, as for instance a white drawing on blue, but these are minor variations. The logo is now much known as it was at the beginning, but it isn't very well appreciated. The Region has also had a coat of arms, quartered with the coats of arms of the three main provinces which formed the territory of the region and the coat of arm of Joan of Arc, but this didn't last very long.

The flag of the Regional Council is white with the logo, but rarely seen. One can on the other hand see the flags of the three provinces, Berry, Touraine, and very rarely, if ever, Orléanais. In souvenir and books shops, one can easily find stickers with the arms of these three provinces.

Pascal Vagnat, 20 January 1999

The flags shows a stylized blue outline of France surrounded by a heart in three different shades of blue ending in an arrow locating the Region within France. On both sides of the logo, the Region name and the motto: Coeur de France (France's heart).

Pierre-Philippe Darras, 18 January 1999

Centre-Val de Loire

The Regional Council of Centre agreed the name of the Region be changed to Centre-Val de Loire. But, in order to change the name of the Region you need to have the approval of the departements which are in the Rregion and of the other French Regions. All agreed, except the Region Pays de la Loire, which disapproved the use of the word Loire, claiming it to be its property. As there wasn't any complete approval, the French Ministry of the Interior a classé définitivement le dossier (definitively stopped the procedure of changing the name).
If there had been a complete approval, the National Assembly would have had to vote on that matter.

The Touristical office of the Region Centre has on its part decided to use the "new" name of the Region on its papers, posters, documents, etc... The results, according to the communication department was astonishing, the American and Japanese people knowing then that the Châteaux de la Loire (castles in the Loire valley) are in this Region. The word Loire had had its effect. In fact, when the names of the Regions were given or adopted, there was a mistake. The Pays de la Loire shouldn't have been name so, since the Loire river only goes through two departments on five of the Region, whereas the river is going through four departments in the Region Centre, which should have had this name. Some errors cannot be repaired, alas.

Pascal Vagnat, 20 January 1999