Flagpoles for businesses in France: signs and flag flying

Businesses, hotels, campsites, car dealerships and sports clubs use flagpoles to be seen from afar and to welcome their visitors. In France, a company flag falls not only under the Planning Code, like any flagpole, but often also under the Environmental Code rules on signs. This guide presents the rules and customs specific to businesses.

Sign or simple flag

The Environmental Code distinguishes three kinds of device (article L. 581-3):

• Advertising: any inscription, form or image intended to inform the public or attract its attention.
• Sign (enseigne): any inscription, form or image placed on a property and relating to an activity carried on there.
• Pre-sign: an inscription indicating the proximity of a property where an activity is carried on.

A flag or vertical banner bearing the company’s name or logo, installed on its premises, can therefore be a sign. The same flag installed elsewhere, to draw people to the business, can be a pre-sign or advertising, which are subject to stricter rules. The tricolour, the European flag or a foreign flag, with no link to an activity, do not fall under these rules.

Rules on free-standing signs

Under articles R. 581-64 and R. 581-65 of the Environmental Code, signs of more than 1 m² fixed in or placed directly on the ground:

• are not placed less than 10 metres from a window of a neighbouring building when they stand in front of the wall containing that window;
• are set back from a property boundary by at least half their height;
• are limited to one device along each road open to public traffic that borders the property where the activity is carried on;
• have a maximum unit area of 6 m², raised to 10.50 m² in built-up areas of more than 10,000 inhabitants;
• do not exceed 6.50 metres in height when they are 1 metre wide or more, and 8 metres when they are less than 1 metre wide.

A flag of less than 1 m² does not fall under these size rules. A local advertising regulation (règlement local de publicité, RLP) can set stricter rules. Under article L. 581-18, installing a sign requires permission on certain buildings and in protected places and in municipalities covered by an RLP. According to Service Public, the town hall or prefecture then has two months to decide.

Planning

The pole itself falls under the Planning Code: under article R. 421-2, a structure of 12 metres or less, with a footprint and floor area of no more than 5 m², is exempt from any formality outside protected areas. The guide to flagpole installation sets out the cases requiring a prior declaration.

The tricolour and company flags

A company flies flags freely: the Ministry of the Interior’s guide states that a building that is not public may be decorated with flags freely. Many companies fly the tricolour, the European flag and their logo flag side by side, following the custom of public buildings: the national flag in the place of honour, flags of the same size on poles of the same height. When a foreign delegation visits, the guest country’s flag is often added. More on this is in the guide to flag protocol.

Poles with arms and visibility

For logos, companies often choose poles with one or two arms that hold a vertical banner taut, readable even without wind. According to the flag maker Doublet, the pole with two arms suits advertising messages and commercial signage. Lighting a logo flag may fall under the rules on illuminated signs; more on this is in the guide to flag lighting.

Safety and maintenance

In a car park or on a site open to the public, poles are exposed to vehicle impacts and vandalism; an anti-theft inside halyard and protection at the foot are common. Work at height by employees falls under the Labour Code, and according to the INRS, falls from height are the second cause of fatal work accidents. Many companies leave maintenance to an installer. More on this is in the guide to flagpole safety.