Flag of France

French Republic
Tricolore
UseNational flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion2:3 (habitual)
Adopted15 February 1794; 230 years ago (1794-02-15) (darker variant on 13 July 2020) [a]
DesignA vertical tricolour of blue, white, and red
Designed byJacques-Louis David
UseNational flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side
Proportion2:3 (habitual)
Adopted1976[1]
DesignAn interchangeable variant of the national flag with lighter shades

The national flag of France (drapeau national de la France) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, whose revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands.[2][3] While not the first tricolour, it became one of the most influential flags in history. The tricolour scheme was later adopted by many other nations in Europe and elsewhere, and, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica has historically stood "in symbolic opposition to the autocratic and clericalist royal standards of the past".

Before the tricolour was adopted the royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and gold fleurs-de-lis (the Royal Arms of France) on a white background, or state flag. Early in the French Revolution, the Paris militia, which played a prominent role in the storming of the Bastille, wore a cockade of blue and red,[4] the city's traditional colours. According to French general Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, white was the "ancient French colour" and was added to the militia cockade to form a tricolour, or national, cockade of France.[5]

This cockade became part of the uniform of the National Guard, which succeeded the militia and was commanded by Lafayette.[6] The colours and design of the cockade are the basis of the Tricolour flag, adopted in 1790,[7] originally with the red nearest to the flagpole and the blue farthest from it. A modified design by Jacques-Louis David was adopted in 1794. The royal white flag was used during the Bourbon Restoration from 1815 to 1830; the tricolour was brought back after the July Revolution and has been used since then, except for an interruption for a few days in 1848.[8] Since 1976, there have been two versions of the flag in varying levels of use by the state: the original (identifiable by its use of navy blue) and one with a lighter shade of blue. Since July 2020, France has used the older variant by default, including at the Élysée Palace.[9][10]


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference lightyear was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Eriksen, Thomas Hylland; Jenkins, Richard, eds. (2007). Flag, nation and symbolism in Europe and America. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-203-93496-8. OCLC 182759362.
  3. ^ "Flags That Look Alike | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Presa della Bastiglia, il 14 luglio e il rosso della first lady messicana Angelica" (in Italian). 14 July 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
  5. ^ Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert Du Motier Lafayette (marquis de), Memoirs, correspondence and manuscripts of General Lafayette, vol. 2, p. 252.
  6. ^ Gaines, James (September 2015). "Washington & Lafayette". Smithsonian Magazine. Archived from the original on 25 February 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  7. ^ Curiat, Andrea (3 March 2011). "La storia del tricolore". Il Sole 24 ORE (in Italian). Archived from the original on 31 July 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2019.
  8. ^ "Les couleurs du drapeau de 1848". Revue d'Histoire du Xixe Siècle - 1848. 28 (139): 237–238. 1931. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference moreau was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Macron switches to using navy blue on France's flag - reports". BBC News. 14 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.