In 1890 the Ministry of Colonies was separated from that of the Ministère de la Marine. This raised the question of to which authority the "troupes de Marine", who only now served in the colonies, should be responsible. By a decree dated July 7, 1900 the renamed troops were placed under the Département de la Guerre and were thus rebadged, now as part of the French Army, under one name - the "Troupes coloniales", retaining the anchor badge as a reminder of their naval heritage.