P. gallicus is a member of the family Vespidae, further classified under the Polistinae (the second-largest of the subfamilies), which consists of various social wasps.
Within the larger subfamily Polistnae, Polistes species are categorized by their independent founding behavior, distinguishing them from swarm-founding species.
Furthermore, P. gallicus is one of about 200 species of wasps in the genus Polistes.

P. gallicus is one of 27 members of the subgenus Polistes (Polistes), which are typically very similar black-and-yellow species.
This similarity has resulted in taxonomic complications in older literature.
For instance, many references prior to 1985 misapplied the name to the European paper wasp, P. dominula.
 In terms of coloration, P. gallicus typically has yellow spots on the mandibles as well as a black hypopygium whereas P. dominula has entirely black mandibles and a largely yellow hypopygium.
 Additionally, many published studies for which no vouchered reference specimens are available cannot be reliably assigned to either species.
 P. gallicus is also very closely related to P. biglumis and P. hellenicus, which are members of the same species group.
The former synonym, Polistes foederatus, was restored from synonymy following revision of the genus in 2017 and is considered a distinct species again.
P. gallicus is a member of the family Vespidae, further classified under the Polistinae (the second-largest of the subfamilies), which consists of various social wasps. Within the larger subfamily Polistnae, Polistes species are categorized by their independent founding behavior, distinguishing them from swarm-founding species. Furthermore, P. gallicus is one of about 200 species of wasps in the genus Polistes.
P. gallicus is one of 27 members of the subgenus Polistes (Polistes), which are typically very similar black-and-yellow species. This similarity has resulted in taxonomic complications in older literature. For instance, many references prior to 1985 misapplied the name to the European paper wasp, P. dominula.  In terms of coloration, P. gallicus typically has yellow spots on the mandibles as well as a black hypopygium whereas P. dominula has entirely black mandibles and a largely yellow hypopygium.  Additionally, many published studies for which no vouchered reference specimens are available cannot be reliably assigned to either species.  P. gallicus is also very closely related to P. biglumis and P. hellenicus, which are members of the same species group. The former synonym, Polistes foederatus, was restored from synonymy following revision of the genus in 2017 and is considered a distinct species again.
Polistes gallicus