French ensigns

Occasionally illustrations from this era also show the white cross, now on a red field, but this is mostly limited to the coats of arms only.

A decade or so later, the rule for the merchant navy was modified to allow every kind of ensign, provided it wasn't all white.

Since the white field was too royal for the taste of the revolution, on 27 pluviôse year II of the French Republican calendar (15 February 1794), the flag and the ensign were changed to the design of the current flag of France: three columns of equal width, of blue, white, and red.

To counter the effect that the fly of an ensign appears to shorten when moving in the wind, the widths of the columns were regulated anew on 17 May 1853, now as 30:33:37.

Each jack wear a croix de guerre, of different colors depending on the conflicts during which the mentions are won.

If applicable, this pennant is replaced with the jack of a high-ranking officer or a minister aboard, There is a tradition that when a ship is on mission off France for more than 5 months, it lengthens its masthead pennant by one metre for each month spent away from the homeland.

The following jacks are flown on the masthead if a minister, general officier or division commanding officer are aboard