^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

French Sailing Federation

Fédération Française de Voile

Flag of the FFV - Image by Ivan Sache, 31 July 2016

Presentation of the FFV
Flag of the FFV
- Écoles françaises de Voile
- French Sailing Championship
Former flag of the FFV
- Flag of clubs affiliated with the FFV
Regional and local sailing leagues

See also:

Presentation of the FFV

The organization of yachting started in France on 15 June 1867 with the creation of the Société d'Encouragement pour la Navigation de Plaisance, placed under the patronage of Emperor Napoléon III and renamed short after Yacht Club de France (YCF). The YCF remained the sole authority in charge of sailing and motor yachting until the Second World War. The "Sports Chart" issued on 20 December 1940 by the Vichy Government totally reorganized sports in France on the Italian and German models; the sports federations were placed under the direct control of the state, which appointed their leaders. Following the abrogation of the "Sports Chart" by the Gaullist government on 2 October 1943, new national federations were set up after the liberation.

The Fédération de Yachting à Voile was founded in 1946 but was officially recognized by the Ministry of Sports only in 1976, having been renamed Fédération Française de Voile (FFV) in 1975.
The duties of the FFV are the promotion, encouragement, development, management, teaching, organization, and regulation of sport yachting in its broader sense, including competition, leisure, educational and social activities, and tourism.
In 2009, the 28 regional leagues of the FFV encompassed 1,049 affiliated clubs. The top five clubs by their membership are the Société des Régates du Havre (2,006), the Société Nautique de la Trinité-sur-Mer (1,549), the Yacht Club d'Antibes (1,099), the Société Nautique de Marseille (924) and the Centre Nautique Paul Vatine [Le Havre] (811).

Ivan Sache, 5 November 2009

Flag of the FFV

The flag pf the FFV (photo), which is widely used , on land, by the affiliated clubs, is white with the federation's logo.
The FFV unveiled on 7 December 2012 (press release) its new "visual identity", designed by the Leroy Tremblot agency. The new logo uses the colours of the French national flag, shaped like two interlaced sails forming the "V" of "Voile" (Sailing). The sails do not represent a specific boat, recalling that the federation represents "sailing, all kinds of sailing".

The graphical charter of the federation gives detailed colour specifications, with two shades of dark blue for the letters "FF", three shades of light blue for the first sail and the letters "oile", and two shades of red for the second sail.
On the flag, "direct shades" are used, that is, without shade gradient, prescribed as follows:

Colour		Pantone
Dark blue	 2747C
Light blue	  299C
Red		 1795C

Ivan Sache,31 July 2016

Écoles françaises de Voile

Flag of EFVoile - Image by Ivan Sache, 31 July 2016

Écoles françaises de Voile (EFvoile; presentation) is one of the labels granted by the FFV, as prescribed by the official rules of the federation (text) and Appendix No. 1 (text), specific to sailing schools. "Écoles françaises de Voile" is a registered trademark (No. 852145, 23 April 1987), recognized as a label by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The 480 sailing schools affiliated to the label have signed a charter, which includes the following commitments:
- appropriate reception;
- modern and diversified equipment;
- personalized supervizing;
- training towards autonomy;
- appropriate safety measures.

The official rules of the federation prescribe "the use of the specific flag, in good state, of the Écoles françaises de Voile". The flag (photo) is dark blue with the logo of the Écoles françaises de Voile, similar to the logo of the federation, with "EF" instead of "FF" and colours appropriate to the background.

Ivan Sache, 31 July 2016

French Sailing Championship

Flag of French Sailing Championship - Image by Ivan Sache, 1st September 2022

The flag of the French Sailing Championship, which is organized by the French Sailing Federation, is dark blue with the logo of the federation, an orange horizontal wavy line, the writing "CHAMPIONNAT / DE FRANCE" in white letters, and an orange vertical stripe at fly separated from the main blue field by a thin white vertical line.

Ivan Sache, 1st September 2022

Former flag of the FFV

Former flag of the FFV, two versions - Images by Ivan Sache, 31 July 2016

The former flag of the FFV was white with the logo of the federation in the middle.
The logo of the FFV is made of the writing "FF (white outlined in blue) Voile" (blue) with two blue and red stripes behind "FF".
The flag was also used, quite unfrequently, with a blue background and the logo countercoloured (photo) - that is, with blue and white parts swapped.

Ivan Sache,31 July 2016

Flag of clubs affiliated with the FFV

Flag of the FFV-affiliated club - Photo taken in Marseilles by Ivan Sache, 28 April 2009

The clubs affiliated with the FFV are granted a triangular blue flag with the logo of the FFV (with blue and white colours counterchanged) and "Club" in red letters on the left of the logo.

Ivan Sache, 24 September 2009