As well as the flags of individual colonies, the governors-general of French colonies flew a square flag with a blue field and the French ensign in the canton.

This flag was flown beneath the national ensign.

Colonial governors used a rectangular swallow-tailed version of this flag.

Naval sources show flags such as those used in the French Mandate of Syria as having the tricolour with unequal stripes, as in the French ensign, but it is likely that these versions of the flags were used at sea, and on land the tricolour had the standard equal stripes.

While for the sake of simplicity French colonial ensign are on this page classified by appearance, this should not be taken to imply common origins or the existence of undefaced ensigns used by the French government unless otherwise noted.