Flag of France
Description
- Three equal vertical stripes of blue, white, and red — the iconic Tricolore born of the French Revolution
- The design unites the blue and red of Paris with the white of the Bourbon monarchy
- In 2020, President Macron restored the darker navy blue, replacing the lighter blue introduced by Giscard d'Estaing in 1976
Trivia
- President Macron quietly changed the blue from a lighter shade to a darker navy blue in 2020. Few noticed for over a year
- The tricolour was inspired by the Dutch flag and adopted during the French Revolution in 1789
- The blue and red are from the Paris coat of arms; white is the royal colour of the Bourbons
Flag of France
The French tricolour emerged during the Revolution by combining royal white with Paris's traditional colours of blue and red. Marquis de Lafayette added the white stripe in 1789 to signify that the revolution opposed tyranny rather than the monarchy itself. This three-vertical-stripe design has endured as one of history's most influential flag designs.
The Bourbon restoration replaced it with white in 1815, but the July Revolution of 1830 restored the tricolour. One popular reading associates blue with liberty, white with equality, and red with fraternity, reflecting the revolutionary motto "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite." The tricolour became a symbol of democratic aspirations across Europe, inspiring numerous flag designs worldwide.
json:data
{
"g": "europe",
"ns": "france",
"name": "France",
"id": "france",
"index": "c/france",
"title": "Flag of France",
"ratio": "2:3",
"use": {
"as": "national flag",
"since": "1794-02-15"
},
"of": {
"country": "france"
},
"countryData": {
"name": "France",
"officialName": "French Republic",
"un": "member"
},
"colors": [
{
"color": "blue",
"hex": "#000091",
"cmyk": "100/90/20/7",
"pantone": "072 C",
"officialSpec": "Navy blue restored by President Macron in 2020",
"note": "Represents liberty and the colours of Paris"
},
{
"color": "white",
"hex": "#FFFFFF",
"cmyk": "0/0/0/0",
"note": "Symbolizes equality; represents the monarchy and peace"
},
{
"color": "red",
"hex": "#E1000F",
"cmyk": "0/100/100/0",
"pantone": "485 C",
"note": "Represents fraternity and the sacrifice of the Revolution"
}
],
"desc": "- Three equal vertical stripes of blue, white, and red — the iconic Tricolore born of the French Revolution\n - The design unites the blue and red of Paris with the white of the Bourbon monarchy\n - In 2020, President Macron restored the darker navy blue, replacing the lighter blue introduced by Giscard d'Estaing in 1976",
"article": "france/flag.md",
"cs": "france/flag.cs.svg",
"trivia": "- President Macron quietly changed the blue from a lighter shade to a darker navy blue in 2020. Few noticed for over a year\n - The tricolour was inspired by the Dutch flag and adopted during the French Revolution in 1789\n - The blue and red are from the Paris coat of arms; white is the royal colour of the Bourbons",
"flag": "france/flag.svg",
"_name": "France",
"_namespace": "france",
"_namePart": ""
}