Bastille Day Parade in Paris, 14 July 2012: General of Brigade Jean-Pierre Palasset, commander of the 1st Mechanized Brigade of the French Army, leads his staff past the reviewing stand. Behind him, carried by an NCO, is the command pennant of a brigade commander. In times past such flags and pennants were used to identify the commander's location on the field of battle and wherever he went it was to accompany him. Nowadays they are mostly seen on ceremonial occasions such as the annual parade marking the outbreak of the French Revolution. See also FRENCH ARMY COMMAND & RANK FLAGS 1933-40, showing the flags and pennants of commanders as they were at the time of the Second World War.

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