Swimming: what is the meaning of the different colors of flags?

Before going to a bathing area, it is recommended to inform yourself whether the place is monitored or not, dangerous or prohibited. In the monitored areas, the response of the rescue teams is faster.

When you arrive at your bathing site, you can ask the monitoring staff about any hazards: currents, natural hazards, weather conditions, etc.

In addition, on the beaches and in bathing places equipped, authorized and open free of charge to the public, flags are put up to inform you of the bathing conditions related to the state of the sea and the weather. These flags are arranged so as to be visible everywhere within the bathing area; on beaches, as a rule, a flag is at least settled near the emergency station.

What does each flag color mean?

Three flags are mainly used to indicate bathing recommendations:

• green flag: swimming is supervised and does not present any apparent danger ­ (the sea is calm and there are enough rescuers­­);
• yellow flag: swimming is monitored with limited or marked danger (in this case, you are advised ­ be careful in the water due to rough seas for example);
• red flag: swimming is prohibited (­ ­ conditions are dangerous for swimmers but also for rescues ­ sea, for example due to storms, strong winds or a strong swell).

The following flags may also be flown:

• a purple flag it indicates ­ water pollution or the presence ­ dangerous aquatic ­ ­ such as jellyfish, or the existence of a protected marine and underwater area (aquatic fauna, reefs, etc.);
• a black and white checkered flag: it indicates an area of aquatic and nautical practices such as surfing (so you must be very careful in this type of area if you go into the water because swimming there is perilous);
• a red triangular flag: it indicates a temporary ban on swimming, outside the supervised area, due to a localized risk of baths for example (baths are in the form of succession of regular cavities resembling natural pools, which can generate a more or less powerful current taking the bathers to the sea). The red triangular flag shall be placed at the level of the danger zone and removed once the risk has been removed.

Bicolored flags (they are composed of 2 horizontal bands, red on top and yellow on bottom) are also present to delimit on either side the bathing area monitored during the opening hours of the emergency station. You should make sure to swim between these flags, which ensure that you are close to the rescuers.

You can download the guide to the meaning of bathing signals, with a representation of the different flags.