Tricolor | Define Tricolor at Dictionary.com tricolor [trahy-kuhl-er; especially British trik-uh-ler] /ˈtraɪˌkʌl ər; especially British ˈtrɪk ə lər/ Spell Also, tricolored; especially British, tricoloured. having three colors. noun a flag having three colors. 3. the national flag of France, adopted during the French Revolution, consisting of vertical bands of blue, white, and red. Expand 1780-90; < Late Latin tricolor, equivalent to tri- tri- + -color colored; see color Dictionary.com Unabridged Examples from the Web for tricolor Expand Contemporary Examples Thom Browne, known for his tricolor stripes and short-suits, will soon launch a diffusion collection called Thom Grey. Mary-Kate Olsen Moves In; 20,000 Pairs of Fake Louboutins Seized The Daily Beast August 16, 2012 Historical Examples So again the tricolor rose above the parapet, the evening breeze caressed it, the last rays of the setting Sun saluted it! Word Origin and History for tricolor Expand n.

1798, "flag having three colors," especially the emblem of France adopted during the Revolution, from French tricolore, in drapeau tricolore "three-colored flag." The arrangement of colors on the modern French national flag dates from 1794. Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper History of the French flag History of the French flag You are here: France information flag history During the Ancien Régime, the oriflamme, the flag of Saint-Denis, was used -- red, with 2, 3 or 5 spikes. Originally, it was the personal flag of Charlemagne, given to him by the Pope in the 9th century. Over the time, it became the royal banner under the Carolingians and the Capetians. It was stored in Saint-Denis abbey, where it was taken when war broke out. In the French military, every regiment had its own flag. An accident where French regiments attacked each other at the Battle of Fleurus in 1690 led to the habit of attaching a white scarf to the flags of the regiments -- white being the colour of the kings of France.

The origins of the tricolore are said to be a rosette, created in July 1789 during the French Revolution, which (according to legend among vexillologists) used a combination of the colours of the coat of arms of Paris (red and blue), symbolically separated by the royal colour (white), with the combination often being credited to the Marquis de Lafayette. There are many theories and suppositions about the choice of colours and indeed Lafayette's involvement in the process. One theory says that Lafayette was inspired by the colours used by the American revolutionaries; another that it symbolized the control of the people over the monarchy (Paris' colours - blue and red - bording monarchy's colour - white) at a time when parliamentary monarchy was still seen as a possibility in France; another that the French design and scheme originated with the Dutch flag - the first tricolour. Flag of Free France during WWII The three colours in vertical stripes were first used as a canton on Naval flags in 1790, and extended to the whole field in 1794.

The French National Convention adopted the modern blue-white-red flag as the national flag on February 15, 1794 (27 pluviôse an. II in the revolutionary calendar). The relevant part of the decree says, in translation: The national flag shall be formed of the three national colours, set in three equal bands, vertically arranged so that the blue is nearest to the staff, the white in the middle, and the red flying. It came into use on May 20, 1794, in order to avoid confusion in naval warfare. Its adoption was not universally welcomed; the navy threatened to mutiny, since they were at the time continuing to fight under the white flag of the monarchy. Even when the three colours had been used - for example by the army in 1791 and by the National Guard after 1789 - they were often used creatively. For example, at the Battle of Arcole Napoleon brandished a white standard, with a golden fasces lictoriae in the centre (a symbol of the former Roman Republic), and four red and blue lozenges at the corners.

The vertical striped flag was adopted by the army in 1812, replacing the previous flags which were often a white cross on red and blue. After the restoration of the Bourbon monarchy following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 the tricolore was replaced by the royal white standard with fleur-de-lis which had been in use before the Revolution. However, the revolution of 1830 saw Louis-Philippe, the Citizen-King, ascend to the throne who again designated the tricolore as the national flag, which it has remained ever since. The flag of Free France featured a red Cross of Lorraine on a Tricolore Enlarge The flag of Free France featured a red Cross of Lorraine on a Tricolore During the Revolution of 1848, the red flag was raised by radicals supporting a socialist alternative government to the new French Second Republic while moderates rallied to the tricolore. In World War II, Vichy France continued to use the traditional French standard. To distinguish themselves, Free French Forces under Charles De Gaulle bore a Tricolore with a red Cross of Lorraine superimposed in the centre.

For the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, Adidas designed the official match ball with a triode blue, white and red design and called it the "Tricolore" inspired by the French Flag colours. tricolor - WordReference.com Dictionary of English tricolor WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2017 tri•col•or /ˈtraɪˌkʌlɚ/USA pronunciation adj. Also, ˈtriˌcol•ored; a flag with three colors, esp. the national flag of France. Also,[esp. Brit.,] ˈtriˌcol•our. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2017 tri•col•or (trī′kul′ər;[esp. Brit.]trik′ə lər),USA pronunciation adj. Also, tri′col′ored* [esp. Brit.,] tri′col′oured. having three colors. n. a flag having three colors. the national flag of France, adopted during the French Revolution, consisting of vertical bands of blue, white, and red. Also,[esp. Brit.,] tri′col′our. Late Latin tricolor, equivalent.

to tri- tri- + -color colored; see color 1780–90 Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: tricolour, US tricolor /ˈtrɪkələ; ˈtraɪˌkʌlə/ adj Also: tricoloured, US tricolored /ˈtraɪˌkʌləd/ having or involving three colours n (often capital) the French national flag, having three equal vertical stripes in blue, white, and red any flag, badge, ribbon, etc, with three colours 'tricolor' also found in these entries: France This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website France Flag of France - Image by Željko Heimer, 22 September 2001 Flag adopted, as an ensign, by Decree of 27 Pluviôse of the Year II (15 February 1794) Proportion: 2:3 Use: on land, as the national (civil and state) flag.

Colour approximate specifications (Album des Pavillons [pay00] ): Blue: Pantone 282c / CMYK (%) 100-70-0-50 Red: Pantone 186c / CMYK (%) 0-90-80-5 On this page: France: Index of all pages Origin of the French flag In brief we can accept that the colours are basically those of Paris as used on the day of the storming of the Bastille , mixed with the Royal white . It is thought that the Marquis de Lafayette was responsible for inventing the red, white and blue cockade which soon became compulsory for Revolutionaries in 1789. We don't have to believe that the combination arose because the King placed a red-blue cockade in his hat next to a Royal white one, but combinations of Revolutionary and Royal emblems were common at that time. The flag was created in 1790 but with the colours the reverse of what they are today, i.e. with red at the hoist, and revised in 1794 to the modern form.

The 1790 flag existed only as part of the jack and ensign of the navy. The flag went out of use with Napoléon I 's defeat at Waterloo, but was brought back in 1830 (again by Lafayette) and has remained in use ever since. Although significances have been attached to the colours these are all spurious and invented after the fact. The red and blue of Paris were the livery colours of the coat of arms and natural ones for use by the militia. William Crampton, undated Colours of the French flag The colors of the French flag "combine" different symbols, invented after the fact: - Blue is the color of Saint Martin, a rich Gallo-Roman officer who ripped his blue cloak with his sword to give one half of it to a poor who was begging him in the snow. This is the symbol of care, of the duty that the rich had to help the poor. - White is the color of the Virgin Mary, to whom the Kingdom of France was consecrated by Louis XIII in the 17th century; it is also the color of Joan of Arc , under whose banner the English were finally driven out of the Kingdom (15th century).

It became logically the color of Royalty. The King's vessels carried plain white flags at sea. - Red is the color of Saint Denis, the saint patron of Paris. The original oriflamme (war banner) of the Kings was the red oriflamme of Saint Denis. Pierre Gay, 15 September 1998 Most French flags, at least in the beginning of their use, have a very dark blue shade, sometimes called bleu drapeau (flag blue). Petit Larousse Illustré has nothing on bleu drapeau, but has: Bleu roi : bleu soutenu (celui du drapeau francais) (King blue: strong blue, the blue of the French flag). Therefore, it seems that the use of a dark blue for the French flag has been widely accepted, since it is highligted to examplify the "King blue" shade.

Ivan Sache, 23 September 2001 For the naval flags, the maintenance service of the French Navy (HCC) gives the following specifications (in reference to AFNOR standard NFX 08002): Blue A 503 Blue Pantone 282c and red 186c are my translation (approximation) of those colours. Armand Noël du Payrat, 24 September 2001 The protocol manual for the London 2012 Olympics (Flags and Anthems Manual London 2012 [loc12] ) provides recommendations for national flag designs. Each NOC was sent an image of the flag, including the PMS shades, for their approval by LOCOG. Once this was obtained, LOCOG produced a 60 x 90 cm version of the flag for further approval. So, while these specs may not be the official, government, version of each flag, they are certainly what the NOC believed the flag to be. For France, PMS Reflex blue, 032 red. The vertical version is simply the flag turned through 90 degrees clockwise.

Ian Sumner, 10 October 2012 Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Prime Minister of France from 6 May 2002 to 31 May 2005, made a consistent use of his own interpretation of the colours of the flag in his political speeches. 8 May 2002 - Interview by F. Leroy, France3 Poitiers, the regional TV channel of Poitou , Raffarin's region. Mais aujourd hui, je sers ces trois belles couleurs, le bleu de notre histoire, le blanc de nos espoirs, et le rouge du sang de nos ancêtres, ce drapeau bleu, blanc, rouge [...] (Today, I serve these three beautiful colours, the blue of our history, the white of our hopes, and the red of the blood of our ancestors, this blue, white, red flag [...]) 11 November 2002 - Commemoration of the 11 November 1918 Armistice in Rethondes, the place where the Armistice was signed.

Ce drapeau qui allie le bleu de notre histoire, le blanc de notre espoir et le rouge du sang de nos aînés, le sang de notre gloire [...] (This flag, which matches the blue of our history, the white of our hope and the red of the blood of our elders, the blood of our glory [...]) 7 March 2003 - European Forum in Avignon. [...] notre appartenance à notre drapeau, à ce bleu de l'histoire, à ce blanc de notre espoir, à ce rouge du sang de nos ancêtres. ( [...] our sence of belonging to our flag, to this blue of history, this white of hope, this red of the blood of our ancestors.) Ivan Sache, 22 November 2003 Nickname of the French flag Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustré has for Tricolore the following entry: Tricolore adj. (du pref. tri , et du latin color , couleur). De trois couleurs. Le drapeau tricolore, le drapeau français.

- L'origine des trois couleurs qui figurent dans notre drapeau national remonte à l'année 1789 : pour cimenter la bonne intelligence entre le roi et la ville de Paris, dans la journée où, suivant le mot heureux de Bailly, Paris reconquit son roi, on réunit à la couleur blanche, qui était celle de la royauté, le bleu et le rouge, couleurs qui figuraient dans les armes de la ville de Paris. (Tricolore adj. (from prefix tri and Latin color, colour). Of three colours. Le drapeau tricolore: The French flag. - The origins of the three colours shown on our national flag dates back to year 1789: In order to create a good relation between the King and the town of Paris, on the day where, as Bailly expressed it rejoicing, Paris reconquered its King, the colour white, which was that of Royalty, was associated with blue and red, which are colours figuring in the arms of the town of Paris.

Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 26 September 2001 Decree on the French flag The French National Convention adopted as national flag the three colours blue, white, red on 15 February 1794 - or more exactly, on the 27 Pluviôse of the Year II, according to the revolutionary calendar. The Decree says: II. The national flag shall be formed of the three national colours, set in three equal bands, placed vertically so that blue is closed to the staff of the flag, white in the middle, and red at the fly. III. The jack and the ensign are formed in the same way, observing the size proportions established by custom. IV. The commissioning pennant shall also be made of the three colours, with one-fifth blue, one-fifth white, and three-fifths red.

Armand Noël du Payrat, 4 February 1998 The French flag in the Constitution The present Constitution of the French Republic, adopted in 1958 says: L'emblème national est le drapeau tricolore, bleu, blanc, rouge (The national emblem is the tricolor, blue, white, red, flag). Pierre Gay, 24 September 1998 French national ensign French national ensign - Image by Željko Heimer, 22 September 2001 The respective proportions of the vertical blue, white and red stripes on the French flag when used at sea as the civil or naval ensign or jack are 30:33:37, to give a good visual effect when flying, and are therefore called optical proportions. Civil vessels shall indeed use the prescribed ensign (and not a Tricolore flag with equal stripes. The Tricolore ensign was adopted by Decree of the 27 Pluviôse of the Year II (15 February 1794) and confirmed by Decree dated 7 March 1848.

The proportions 30:33:37 were officialized by a Regulation dated 17 May 1853. This of 1853 gives the precise measurements, in metres and centimetres, of the standard legal ensigns, numbered from 1 to 16. #1 is 9 m x 13.5 m and #16 is 50 cm x 75 cm. Željko Heimer, Armand Noêl du Payrat & Pierre Gay, 12 March 2006 French National Symbols: The Tricolore, Tricolor or Tricolour Living in the Languedoc: Central Government: French National Symbols: The Tricolore (Tricolor or Tricolour) The French National Flag. Only one visual symbol has the official sanction of the Constitution: the tricolore flag (tricolore drapeau). It is sometimes referred to as a tricolour (UK) or tricolor (US) or tricoleur. The colours are those of Paris (blue and red) combined with the Royal white (the dispossession and execution of the King still lay in the future when the tricolore was first used).

Origin of the Cockade and Tricolore. The Marquis de Lafayette was probably responsible for inventing the red, white and blue cockade which soon became compulsory for revolutionaries in 1789. Two examples are shown one on the left, one on the right on a Liberty cap . History of the Tricolore. The flag was created soon after, in 1790, but with the colours the reverse of what they are today, i.e. with red at the hoist and the blue to the fly. The order was reversed in 1794 to the familiar modern form. Associated with Revolutionary and later Imperial France. The three colours in vertical stripes were first used as a canton on Naval flags in 1790, and extended to the whole field in 1794. One of the flags in the naval signalling alphabet is still a red-white-blue vertically striped flag - ie like the modern French flag, but with the colours reversed. The French National Convention adopted the modern blue-white-red flag as the national flag on 15 February 1794 (or 27 pluvi�se an II in the revolutionary calendar).

The relevant part of the decree says, in translation: II. The national flag shall be formed of the three national colours, set in three equal bands, vertically arranged so that the blue is nearest to the staff, the white in the middle, and the red flying. The Tricolore went out of use with Napol�on's defeat at Waterloo. It was replaced by a white flag (c/f the old royal flag) from 1814 to 1830. During the July revolution of that year the Tricolore was re-established by the Marquis de Lafayette under the relatively liberal regime of Louis-Philippe. It has remained in use ever since. The present Constitution of the French Republic (1958) declares: L'embl�me national est le drapeau tricolore, bleu, blanc, rouge (The national emblem is the tricolor, blue, white, red, flag). When hoisted vertically, the French national flag is often forked. The three vertical coloured bands were not always of equal width, and on the French naval jack they are still not of equal width. The idea is that unequal bands can look more equal that genuinely equal ones when the flag is flying.

Whether or not it works in real life, is difficult to tell - it certainly does not work well for flat rectangles on the page (see the flag on the left). The flag features on an official French logo shown on the left, along with Marianne and French national motto . It is sometimes represented as a coat of arms as on the right, most people not knowing and not recognising the (semi-official) coat of arms of France . The French tricolore has provided a model for the flags of other Republics - for example Italy and Ireland among many others. But it is not restricted to republics. Belgium for example, a monarchy, uses a tricolore. The French national flag is one of the sybols of sovereignty mentioned in article 2 of the French Constitution of 1958 : "L'emblème national est le drapeau tricolore, bleu, blanc, rouge." Variations on the basic tricolore have been used. The French Tricolore featured a Liberty cap for a brief period in 1842. During the Second World War, Vichy France used a plain Tricolore.

The flag shown on the right was the personal flag of Marshal Pétain, head of the German-occupied État français. The Free French used a tricolore defaced (to use a technical term) with the Cross of Lorraine , as shown on the left. This is the flag of Louisiana, adopted in 1861. It is one of the many early flags of Louisiana and never had official status. This is the flag of Acadia (Acadie), one of the oldest Francophone communities of Canada. Acadians were deported to various locations in 1755 after their homeland passed to the British Crown in 1713 (it is now the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). This Tricolore was introduced in the 1840's as the flag the Motherland of the Acadians. Shortly afterwards, it was adopted as a flag for French Canadian Nationalists. The yellow star is the Stella Maris (symbol of the Virgin Mary, patron saint of mariners). This was the flag of the Lebanon when it was under French control. The French organised Syria into five states under a League of Nations Mandate.

One of these states was the French Mandate of Greater Lebanon 1920-1932. Its flag was the French flag with a cedar on the central white stripe. These illustrations courtesy of Pierre Gay Military flags use the same colours but a different design with a white lozenge in the middle. On the left is the flag of one of Napolean's regiments. On the right is the flag of the Free French Navy with the cross of Lorraine (Croix de Lorraine) in a white lozenge. This jack is still hoisted today on warships of the French Navy named after Free French Naval units. French Yacht Club Flags You will notice that almost no private individual in the Languedoc flies the French Tricolore flag, though many fly the flag of the old Counts of Toulouse , with the famous Cross of Toulouse . Many mairies will fly this flag along with the tricolore and the flag of the European Community. A minor footnote: The annual `rent' paid by The Duke of Marlborough to the English Crown for the royal manor of Woodstock and Blenheim Palace is a Royal French flag, "Argent three fleurs-de-lys Or" as shown on the right.

It dates from the victory of John Churchill at Blenheim in 1704, well before the French Revolution, when this was the French national flag. The Duke of Wellington pays a similar rent for his property, also granted in recognition of military victory. His victory, at Waterloo, occurred just over a century later, in 1805, after the French Revolution. Each year he presents as rent a tricolore, the national French flag in 1805. French Flag, France Flag History, Facts & Image Quiz on national flags About French Flag The French flag features three equal bands of blue, white, and red. The bands are vertical and the blue band is featured to the hoist side. In 1790, following the French Revolution, the national color of France, white, was teamed with the colors of the French militia, blue and red, to form the tricolor that would represent France for years to come. The French tricolor was officially adopted on February 15, 1794. The French flag was designed by Jacques-Louis David. The naval ensign of France is the same tricolor but with a different aspect ratio.

French Flag Evolution: The French flag dates back to the days of the French Revolution. Prior to the revolution, France had traditionally been represented by a plain white flag - a sign of purity and strength. Members of the Parisian militia that stormed the Bastille on July 14, 1789 had worn blue and red cockades on their hats. To give the blue and red a national appeal, Marquis de La Fayette, the French leader suggested including a white cockade to the uniform of the National Guard. In 1790, the French Constituent Assembly approved the tricolor flag but the sequence was red, white, and blue. By 1794, a resolution was passed to adopt the tricolor in it current form - blue, white, and red. During the reign of Napoleon I the tricolor became prominently used. The Bourbon dynasty, however, did away with the tricolor and replaced it with the plain white flag of earlier times. The July Revolution of 1830 brought yet another turn. Louis-Philippe renewed the use of the tricolor and this time the French identified with the flag which became a national ensign.

The establishment of the Third Republic in 1870 did nothing to diminish the stature of the tricolor flag. Later, the French constitutions of 1946 and 1958 officially instated the current tricolor flag of France. Standard Specifications of French Flag: The flag aspect ratio of the France flag is 2:3. The naval ensign bears the same colors as the national flag but used a width proportion of 30:33:37 (blue:white:red). The Pantone shades used to represent the French national flag are the 'Reflex Blue' and the Pantone Red 032. These shades replaced the darker shades of blue and red and were adopted by Valery Giscard d'Estaing. Napoleon I had changed the naval ensign to feature equal bands. The white, being the brightest of the three colors, seemed wider. Beginning in May 1853 the width proportion of 30:33:37 was reinstated. Resemblance: The French flag closely resembles the flag of Belgium. The Belgian flag features three vertical and equal bands of black, yellow, and red instead of the French colors - blue, white, and red.

The flag of Chad and Ireland also resemble the French tricolor in design. The Irish flag features three vertical and equal bands of green, white, and orange. The flag of Chad resembles the French flag closely and the three colors on the Chad flag are blue, yellow, and red. The Luxembourg flag also features red, white, and blue, but the stripes are horizontal and the are shades lighter than the French flag. The design of the French flag has influenced the flags of many nations of the world including the flags of Belgium, Italy, Mexico, Ireland, and Romania. Fact about France Flag Flag of France Flag of France First as ensign : 15 February 1794 ; As Napoleon army flag : 1812; Readopted July 1830 Design A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and red Variant flag of French Republic 15 February 1794 (with equal bars) ; 17 May 1853 (with bars in proportion 30:33:37) Design As above, but with bars in proportion 30:33:37.

(See French ensigns .) The national flag of France is a tricolour flag featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side ), white , and red . It is known to English speakers as the French Tricolour or simply the Tricolour ( French : Tricolore). The royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and gold fleur-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, the city’s traditional colours. According to Lafayette , white, the “ancient French colour”, was added to the militia cockade to create a tricolour, or national, cockade. [1] This cockade became part of the uniform of the National Guard , which succeeded the militia and was commanded by Lafayette. The colours and design of the cockade are the basis of the Tricolour flag, adopted in 1790. The only difference was that the 1790 flag’s colours were reversed. 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 ever since 1830. Contents base colour S 0580 Y80R Currently, the flag is one and a half times wider than its height (i.e. in the proportion 2:3) and, except in the French navy , has stripes of equal width. Initially, the three stripes of the flag were not equally wide, being in the proportions 30 (blue), 33 (white) and 37 (red). Under Napoleon I , the proportions were changed to make the stripes’ width equal, but by a regulation dated 17 May 1853, the navy went back to using the 30:33:37 proportions, which it now continues to use, as the flapping of the flag makes portions farther from the halyard seem smaller. Symbolism Multiple French flags as commonly flown from public buildings. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris , used on the city’s coat of arms . Blue is identified with Saint Martin , red with Saint Denis .

At the storming of the Bastille in 1789, the Paris militia wore blue and red cockades on their hats. White had long featured prominently on French flags and is described as the “ancient French colour” by Lafayette. [1] White was added to the “revolutionary” colours of the militia cockade to “nationalise” the design, thus creating the tricolour cockade. [1] Although Lafayette identified the white stripe with the nation, other accounts identify it with the monarchy. [3] Lafayette denied that the flag contains any reference to the red-and-white livery of the Duc d’Orléans . Despite this, Orléanists adopted the tricolour as their own. Blue and red are associated with the Virgin Mary, the patroness of France, and were the colours of the oriflamme . The colours of the French flag may also represent the three main estates of the Ancien Régime (the clergy : white, the nobility : red and the bourgeoisie : blue). Blue, as the symbol of class, comes first and red, representing the nobility, comes last. Both extreme colours are situated on each side of white referring to a superior order.

[4] The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was one of many world landmarks illuminated in the French flag colors after the November 2015 Paris attacks . Lafayette’s tricolour cockade was adopted in July 1789, a moment of national unity that soon faded. Royalists began wearing white cockades and flying white flags, while the Jacobins , and later the Socialists , flew the red flag . The tricolour, which combines royalist white with republican red, came to be seen as a symbol of moderation and of a nationalism that transcended factionalism. The three colours are occasionally taken to represent the three elements of the revolutionary motto, liberté (freedom: blue), égalité (equality: white), fraternité (brotherhood: red); this symbolism was referenced in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s three colours film trilogy , for example. On the other hand, the French government website wrote that the white field is the colour of the king, while blue and red were the colours of Paris. In the aftermath of the November 2015 Paris attacks , many famous landmarks and stadiums were illuminated in the flag colours to honour the victims.

History Kingdom of France During the early Middle Ages , the oriflamme , the flag of Saint Denis , was used—red, with two, three, or five spikes. Originally, it was the royal banner under the Capetians . It was stored in Saint-Denis abbey, where it was taken when war broke out. French kings went forth into battle preceded either by Saint Martin’s red cape, which was supposed to protect the monarch, or by the red banner of Saint Denis. Later during the Middle Ages, these colours came to be associated with the reigning house of France. In 1328, the coat-of-arms of the House of Valois was blue with gold fleurs-de-lis bordered in red. From this time on, the kings of France were represented in vignettes and manuscripts wearing a red gown under a blue coat decorated with gold fleurs-de-lis. During the Hundred Years’ War , England was recognised by a red cross, Burgundy , a red saltire , and France, a white cross. This cross could figure either on a blue or a red field. The blue field eventually became the common standard for French armies.

The French regiments were later assigned the white cross as standard, with their proper colours in the cantons. The French flag of a white cross on a blue field is still seen on some flags derived from it, such as those of Quebec and Martinique . The flag of Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years’ War is described in her own words, “I had a banner of which the field was sprinkled with lilies; the world was painted there, with an angel at each side; it was white of the white cloth called ‘boccassin’; there was written above it, I believe, ‘JHESUS MARIA’; it was fringed with silk.”. [5] Joan’s standard led to the prominent use of white on later French flags. [5] From the accession of the Bourbons to the throne of France, the green ensign of the navy became a plain white flag, the symbol of purity and royal authority. The merchant navy was assigned “the old flag of the nation of France“, the white cross on a blue field. [6] The Oriflamme , the banner of the Capetians.

“France ancien”, the early coat of arms of the French kings appeared circa 1211 “Lamartine, before the Hôtel de Ville, Paris , rejects the Red Flag,” 25 February 1848. By Henri Felix Emmanuel Philippoteaux . The tricolour flag is derived from the cockades used during the French Revolution. These were circular rosette-like emblems attached to the hat. Camille Desmoulins asked his followers to wear green cockades on 12 July 1789. The Paris militia, formed on 13 July, adopted a blue and red cockade. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, and they are used on the city’s coat of arms . Cockades with various colour schemes were used during the storming of the Bastille on 14 July. [7] The blue and red cockade was presented to King Louis XVI at the Hôtel de Ville on 17 July. [1] Lafayette argued for the addition of a white stripe to “nationalise” the design.

[1] On 27 July, a tricolour cockade was adopted as part of the uniform of the National Guard, the national police force that succeeded the militia. [8] A drapeau tricolore with vertical red, white and blue stripes was approved by the Constituent Assembly on 24 October 1790. Simplified designs were used to illustrate how the revolution had broken with the past. The order was reversed to blue-white-red, the current design, by a resolution passed on 15 February 1794. Despite its official status, the tricolore was rarely used during the revolution . Instead, the red flag of the Jacobin Club , symbolizing defiance and national emergency, was flown. The tricolore was restored to prominence under Napoleon . When the Bourbon dynasty was restored following the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the tricolore—with its revolutionary connotations—was replaced by a white flag, the pre-revolutionary naval flag. However, following the July Revolution of 1830, the “citizen-king”, Louis-Philippe , restored the tricolore, and it has remained France’s national flag since that time.

On 25 February 1848 Lamartine , during the Revolution of 1848 , said about the Tricoloured Flag :”I spoke as a citizen earlier, Now listen to me, your Foreign Minister. If I remove the tricolor, know it, you will remove me half the external force of France! Because Europe knows the flag of his defeats and of our victories in the flag of the Republic and of the Empire. By seeing the red flag, they’ll see the flag of a party! This is the flag of France, it is the flag of our victorious armies, it is the flag of our triumphs that must be addressed before Europe. France and the tricolor is the same thought, the same prestige, even terror, if necessary, for our enemies! Consider how much blood you would have to make for another flag fame! Citizens, for me, the red flag, I am not adopting it, and I’ll tell you why I’m against with all the strength of my patriotism. It’s that the tricolor has toured the world with the Republic and the Empire with your freedoms and your glory, and the red flag was that around the Champ-de-Mars, dragged into the people’s blood”.

[9] Following the overthrow of Napoleon III , voters elected a royalist majority to the National Assembly of the new Third Republic . This parliament then offered the throne to the Bourbon pretender, Henri, comte de Chambord . However, he insisted that he would accept the throne only on the condition that the tricolour be replaced by the white flag. As the tricolour had become a cherished national symbol, this demand proved impossible to accommodate. Plans to restore the monarchy were adjourned and ultimately dropped, and France has remained a republic, with the tricolour flag, ever since. The Vichy régime , which dropped the word “republic” in favour of “the French state”, maintained the use of the tricolore, but Philippe Pétain used as his personal standard a version of the flag with, in the white stripe, an axe made with a star-studded marshal’s baton . This axe is called the “Francisque” in reference to the ancient Frankish throwing axe . During this same period, the Free French Forces used a tricolore with, in the white stripe, a red Cross of Lorraine .

The constitutions of 1946 and 1958 instituted the “blue, white, and red” flag as the national emblem of the Republic. Flag of Paris, source of the tricolour’s blue and red stripes. The tricolour cockade, created in July 1789. White was added to “nationalise” an earlier blue and red design. The flag of France since 1794 (interruption 1815–30). The French tricolore with the royal crown and fleur-de-lys was possibly designed by the Count of Chambord in his younger years as a compromise [10] [11] From 1912 onwards to today, the French Air Force originated the use of roundels on military aircraft shortly before World War I . Similar national cockades, with different ordering of colours, were later adopted as aircraft roundels by their allies. [12] Flag used by the Free French Forces during World War II ; in the centre is the Cross of Lorraine ; later, the personal standard of President Charles de Gaulle .

Regimental flags The French soldiers started to use white crosses, during the Hundred Years’ War , to distinguish themselves from the English soldiers wearing red crosses ( battle of Formigny ). A white-crossed regimental flag during the Ancien Régime (here, Régiment d’ Auvergne ).

Question: What is the name of the French national flag adopted during during the French Revolution, consisting of three equal vertical bands of red, white and blue?
Answer: Tricolor