Aux Armes, Citoyens!

He gets a foofy hat, rather than a tiara though 🙂

So the French are capable of disrespect ? Quell horror! (french is not my first, second or even third language, as if you haven’t guessed). Perhaps the renaming of the french fry to freedom fry stuck in their craw?

but…Courtesy Ensigns

Many countries require either as a matter law or of customary practice that foreign vessels in their territorial waters display the host country’s flag. This flag is known as a “courtesy ensign.” When a host country has a merchant ensign that differs from its national flag used ashore, it is the merchant ensign that is displayed as the courtesy ensign. According to The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations, however, “a warship cannot be required . . . to fly the flag of the host nation.” U.S. policy is that public vessels, including warships as well as civilian-manned ships belonging to the Military Sealift Command and other U.S. government vessels, enjoy sovereign immune status, that they are exempt from the jurisdiction of any other state.
Because complying with a coastal state’s regulations purporting to require the display of its flag in its waters or ports could be construed as an admission that the U.S. public vessel is subject to the coastal state’s jurisdiction, all U.S. public vessels are forbidden from flying courtesy ensigns.

and

When you visit foreign water, your boat should display a courtesy flag (the civil ensign of the country you are visiting) whenever your U.S. national ensign (the USPS ensign or the yacht ensign should not be displayed in foreign waters) is displayed. (The USPS ensign and U.S. yacht ensign should not be worn in foreign waters)

Maybe its a retaliation for the US refusal to do the same thing in foreign ports….I did however on another day see the US Flagged raised on the same lanyard.

The French flag was on the Bow at that time. It was removed just before the ship sailed.

Are you really sure they didn’t have the US flag? It should have been flown at the same height as the French flag on a different pole. Maybe it wasn’t visible to you?

Certainly a slight like this would not be an officially sanctioned state act, but it’s always possible that some 20 year old douche bag sailor decided to play a prank. May he suffer a humiliating and miserable shellback ceremony.

I definitely want to see those pictures. Post them to flickr or whatev and then give us links. My personal truce with the French may be about to end.