a yellow three-masted sailing ship facing the hoist side rides on a blue background with scattered, white, wavy lines under the ship
a continuous black-over-white wavy line divides the ship from the white wavy lines
on the hoist side, a vertical band is divided into three parts: the top part (called ikkurina) is red with a green diagonal cross extending to the corners overlaid by a white cross dividing the rectangle into four sections
the middle part has a white background with an ermine pattern
the third part has a red background with two stylized yellow lions outlined in black, one above the other
these three heraldic arms represent settlement by colonists from the Basque Country (top), Brittany, and Normandy
the blue on the main portion of the flag symbolizes the Atlantic Ocean and the stylized ship represents the Grande Hermine in which Jacques Cartier "discovered" the islands in 1536
note: the flag of France used for official occasions