STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP
An aerial view of Fort-de-France Bay in Martinique, June 15, 2022. (Photo Illustration)
MARTINIQUE – Martinique will see a turning point in its history, with a new flag and a new anthem. From January 2-13, 37,000 Martiniquans participated in a poll organized by the Territorial Community of Martinique (CTM) to select an official flag for sporting and cultural events.
The big winner – with 73% of the votes – was announced on Monday 16 January: it’s the red, green and black flag with a hummingbird in the centre.
Anthem and Flag: The hummingbird flag was voted for by netizens https://t.co/BKPkmaBtVw https://t.co/PofYtAbD0B
— RCI Martinique (@RCI_MQ)
The winning anthem, which garnered 54% of the votes, is itself titled Ansanm.
You cannot view this content for the following reasons:
- You have rejected cookies related to third-party content by logging in. You can therefore not play our videos, which require third-party cookies to work.
- You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to disable it to be able to access our videos.
If neither of these two cases applies to you, contact us at [email protected].
Controversial Colors
The red, green and black colors of the flag “are very important to us, they are ingrained in our personal and collective consciousness,” commented Michelle Monrose, President of the Martinique Territorial Collective’s Commission set up to select the flag and anthem. She describes each color’s symbol: red is associated with life and freedom, green with nature and fertility, and black “is a tribute to all who have been hurt.”
The red, green and black colors first appeared in Martinique 60 years ago, under the aegis of the Martinique Anti-Colonial Youth Organization. Far from being unanimous, they were seen by some as too closely associated with the independence movements, Le Parisien recalls.
In 2019, the Executive Council of the Territorial Collectivity of Martinique had already selected a flag in green, blue and white colors called Ipséité through a competition, but that choice had been annulled by court decision in November 2021. Indeed, the Administrative Court considered that this election should not only be that of the President of the CTM, but of its assembly, that is, the people of Martinique.
See also on The HuffPost:
You cannot view this content for the following reasons:
- You have rejected cookies related to third-party content by logging in. You can therefore not play our videos, which require third-party cookies to work.
- You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to disable it to be able to access our videos.
If neither of these two cases applies to you, contact us at [email protected].