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The French flag
Blue, White, Red
- A flag is the symbol of a person, a group of soldiers, a king or a country. From the 5th Century onwards, flags of different designs,
shapes and colours appear. Both Clovis in 507, and Charles Martel 200 years later, showed a blue flag to their enemies, whilst Saint-Denis,
protector of France, had a red banner, Jeanne d'arc had a white flag - a symbol of her purity. The King's armies all had flags of different
shapes and colours.
- The French kings used the colours of the French flag in different ways. Charlemagne chose a blue banner for his coronation (800), as did
Clovis and Charles X who added golden Fleurs de lys, a symbol of loyalty and fidelity. During the reign of Hugues Capet and his descendants
the king's banner was the red flag of Saint Denis.
From 1638 to 1790, the colour of the royal flag was white, and this then became the colour for the royal army between 1814 and 1830.
The three-coloured flag first appeared on a rosette during the French Revolution.
- In July of 1789, just before the storming of the Bastille, a militia was created in Paris to keep peace in the city. Their distinctive sign
was a rosette, in the traditional red and blue colours of Paris. On July 17, three days after the storming of the Bastille, Louis XVI
travelled to Paris wearing the blue and red rosette, as a sign of compassion for the people. Army General Lafayette later added the royal
white, and was the first to wear the three colours in this manner.
- A law, dated Pluviôse An II along the Revolutionary calendar (February 15, 1794) declared that the French national flag would be
composed of the three colours, in the following order: The blue, the white in the centre and the red at the far end of the flag.
The Restoration of 1815 re-established the white flag - a symbol of monarchy. During the 1848 revolution however, the three coloured flag
was again adopted by the provisional government, but the red flag flew above the barricades as symbol of the social revolution.
- By the time of the 3rd Republic, the blue, white and red flag slowly began to be re-established. From 1880 onwards, the three coloured flag
was flown at the republican celebrations, and was then chosen unanimously over time. It was even accepted by royalists to represent France
during World War I.
The constitutions of 1946 and 1958 recognise the blue, white and red flag as the official French flag, and as distinctive sign for the republic.
Today, and in the near future, the French flag will be joined by the European flag.
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