All Flags of France
- 1. The Oriflamme Used in the early Middle Ages, the oriflamme was also known as the flag of St. Denis. Bearing two to five pointed ends, the Oriflamme was more like a pennant than a flag. It was created out of red silk without any ornament. ...
- 2. The Flag of Joan of Arc
What was the original French flag?
• The original design of the French flag used in 1790 had the same colours as the current flag but in the reverse order. • For a few years under the Bourbon Monarchy who ruled from 1814 to 1830, a plain white flag was used in France. The tricolour was restored by Louis Philippe who came to the throne in 1830.
What is the history behind the French flag?
The flag of France is the Tricolor. The original use of the three color flag dates back to 1789. The colors were used to represent a good relation between the King and the city of Paris. It was meant to be Paris re-conquered by its King. The color white represents the royalty and the blue and red colors were to be the arms of the city.
Were there earlier forms of the French flag?
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. Advertisement ( place your advert here ) 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.
Who designed the French flag?
• The French tricolor was designed by Gilbert du Motier (Marquis de Lafayette) and the French painter Jacques-Louis David. • The Netherlands’ red, white, and blue horizontally striped flag inspired the vertically striped French three-colored flag after the French Revolution in 1789.
What was the old French flag called?
The "tricolore" (three-colour) flag is an emblem of the Fifth Republic. It had its origins in the union, at the time of the French Revolution, of the colours of the King (white) and the City of Paris (blue and red).
Were there earlier forms of the flag Why have the changes been made French flag?
The modern tricolor flag was derived from military cockades used during the French Revolution. It was in 1790 when the simple design that has inspired France's modern flag was adopted. Just four years later, however, changes were made to the flag. This was simply to reverse the order of the colors.
What was the French flag in the 1700s?
Date: 1534 to 1700s. Prior to the French Revolution, there was no national flag which represented France. From 1590-1790 the Fleur-de-Lis (flower of the lily) with a blue field was one of four that was used on warships and fortresses.
Has the French flag changed over time?
The French flag originally featured a navy blue stripe, but was changed in 1976 to a lighter hue to match the blue of the European Union flag. The decision was made by then-president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Euronews reported.
Was the French flag ever plain white?
In fact, between 1814 and 1830, the French flag was just plain white.
How many versions of the flag have there been?
27 different versionsSince the founding of the United States in 1776, there have been 27 different versions of the flag featuring the stars and stripes.
What did the flag look like in 1775?
Christopher Gadsden designed "The Gadsden Flag" in 1775. This flag depicts a rattlesnake with the phrase “DONT TREAD ON ME” in a field of yellow. The Continental Marines used the Gadsden Flag during the early years of the war and the flag still flies today as a sign of American patriotism.
Did France copy the Dutch flag?
The Dutch began using a red, white, and blue horizontally striped flag in the mid-17th century, the red being a substitution for the original orange stripe. This flag became the inspiration for the vertically striped French Tricolor after the French Revolution in 1789.
What was France flag during ww2?
Flag of Free France The cross of Lorraine was adopted as the emblem of Free France in June 1940, probably proposed by Vice Admiral Muselier, the first Commander-in-Chief of the Free French Naval Forces. The naval and airborne forces which had rallied de Gaulle were asked to use the cross of Lorraine as their emblem.
Which country has the oldest flag unchanged?
The oldest, continuously used national flag is that of Denmark. The current design of a white Scandinavian cross on a red back ground was adopted in 1625 and its square shape in 1748. In Denmark it is known as the 'Dannebrog' or 'Danish cloth'.
When was the French flag flipped?
17944. In 1794 that the colors were reversed to create the French flag we know today. Except for a brief period (1814-1830) when the Bourbon monarchy returned to power after the defeat of Napoleon in Battle of Waterloo in 1815. During this time, they used a plain white flag.
What was France called before?
France was originally called Gaul by the Romans who gave the name to the entire area where the Celtics lived. This was at the time of Julius Caesar's conquest of the area in 51-58 BC.
How has the flag changed over time?
The flag went through changes, with more stars and stripes added as new states joined the Union. In 1818 Congress decided that the number of stripes should be fixed at 13, and only new stars added. The current US flag has been used the longest of any version, and has been the same since 1960.
Why was the French flag chosen?
The colors symbolize nobility (blue), clergy (white), and bourgeois (red), which were the estates of the old regime in France. When the Tricolour was formally adopted in 1794, its colors symbolized the values of the French Revolution: liberty, equality, brotherhood, democracy, secularism, and modernization.
Why did France have an all white flag?
Ancien Régime in France During the period of the Ancien Régime, starting in the early 17th century, the royal standard of France became a plain white flag as a symbol of purity, sometimes covered in fleur-de-lis when in the presence of the king or bearing the ensigns of the Order of the Holy Spirit.
How many times has the design of the flag been changed since its original creation on June 14 1777?
The current design of the U.S. flag is its 27th; the design of the flag has been modified officially 26 times since 1777. The 48-star flag was in effect for 47 years until the 49-star version became official on July 4, 1959.
What is the French flag?
History of the French flag. 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.
When did the French flag become blue?
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:
What color was Lafayette inspired by?
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.
What is the flag of France with a red cross on it?
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.
What was the name of the royal white standard that was replaced by fleur de lis?
Advertisement ( place your advert here) 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.
What was the red flag raised for during the French Revolution?
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.
Why did the French wear a white scarf on their flags?
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.
What is the national flag of France?
Since March 5, 1848, however, the Tricolor has been the sole national flag of France and of all territories under its control. Like many early national flags, the Tricolor has no specific symbolism attached to the individual colours and shapes in its design. Whitney Smith The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica.
What colors were used in the French Revolution?
In the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789 the emphasis was refocused to simple flag designs that expressed the radical changes being introduced into France’s social, political, and economic life. Blue and red, the traditional colours of Paris, were popular among revolutionaries in that city, and the Bourbon royal white was often added.
What is the significance of the French tricolor?
In that way the French Tricolor became one of the most-influential national flags in history, standing in symbolic opposition to the autocratic and clericalist royal standards of the past as well as to the totalitarian banners of modern communism and fascism.
Why is the French tricolor used?
At first the French Tricolor was used as a symbol of belief in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. In 1803, however, Haitians removed the white stripe from the Tricolor, and the new blue-red flag, representing the black and mulatto populations only, became the….
When did the tricolour become the national flag of Hungary?
These became part of the Austrian merchant flag in 1869 after the two countries formed the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. In 1918, with the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the tricolour became the national flag of an independent Hungary. The traditional coat of arms was…. flag of Mauritania.
When did the Navy add the stripes to the flag?
In 1790 three equal vertical stripes, arranged red-white-blue within a frame of the same colours, were added to the white flag of the navy. Four years later the Tricolor, with stripes now ordered blue-white-red, was made the official national flag for use by the common people, the army, and the navy.
What happened after Napoleon's victory?
After the military victories of Napoleon I under the Tricolor, the Bourbon Restoration in 1814/15 led to the replacement of all symbols. The white flag was again supreme, but the revolution of 1830, which put Louis-Philippe on the throne, restored the Tricolor. In 1848 many sought to impose a communist red banner on France, ...
Why is the French flag blue?
The first French banner known is the one of king Louis VII leaving for the crusade of 1147 : just like the coronation clothes it was blue scattered with gold lily flowers, in order to signify to the world that the chosen ones (the heavenly Jerusalem) helped him . Charles V (1364-1380) reduced the fleurs-de-lis to three in honour of the Holy Trinity. This banner of France was still present at Louis XVIII funeral (1824).
What was the color of the French flag at Louis XVIII's funeral?
This banner of France was still present at Louis XVIII funeral (1824). From the beginning of the XIVth century, white was the color of the French, especially on the cross of their clothes opposed to the red cross of Englishmen (circa 1350).
What was the national flag in 1814?
National ensign (1814) National flag Hundred-Days (1815) National ensign (1815-1830) The King being back in 1814, the white cockade spread and an order of the provisional Government (April 13th) decided that the white ensign and the white cockade would be displayed on the war and merchant vessels. Nothing else was decided.
When was the Tricolour Flames on the ship?
It will be displayed on all ships on the 1st day of prairial (May 20th, 1794). It went ashore to replace the tricolour flames on public buildings, and it was seen on the building of the Tuileries during the installation of the First Consul on 19th February, 1801.
When did the Navy start using the white ensign?
The Ordinance of October 9th, 1661 formalized the plain white ensign for warships. A little later, in 1689, a new order defined for the Royal Navy for trade, a blue ensign bearing a white cross charged with the coat of arms of France (sometimes omitted).
When did the color blue change to red?
The shade of colors has never been specified in any text. However, President Giscard d’Estaing changed the shade of blue in June 1976, by lightening it in order to make it more ‘readable’ or more ‘telegenic’ (Pantone 286 C approximately) while the red became more vivid (Pantone 185 C approximately).
Who restored the tricolor flag?
After the July Revolution (the Three Glorious years), Louis-Philippe duke of Orléans, lieutenant general of the Kingdom, restored the tricolor flag by the ordinance of 1st August 1830 and became Louis-Philippe Ist King of the French. During his reign the Navy obtained that bands have over 100 unequal widths 30 for blue, ...
What is the old flag of France?
The merchant navy was assigned "the old flag of the nation of France", the white cross on a blue field. There also was a red jack for the French galleys. The Kingdom of France flag consists of a white banner with 86 Fleur-de-lis and their Coat of Arms or without. (Variant) The Oriflamme, the banner of the Capetians.
What is the French national flag?
Design. Article 2 of the French constitution of 1958 states that "the national emblem is the tricolour flag, blue, white, red". In modern representations, two versions are in use, one darker and the other lighter: both are used equally, but the light version is far more common on digital displays.
What is the flag of New Orleans?
Flag of New Orleans, Louisiana. Although part of France, the flag of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon does not incorporate the current national flag. The island's flag is based on the historic regional emblems of the Basque Country, Brittany and Normandy. This flag lacks official status.
What house of Bourbon ruled France?
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.
What was the red cape of the French king?
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. The Royal Banner of France or "Bourbon Flag". The House of Bourbon ruled France from 1589 to 1792 and again from 1815 to 1848.
What was the flag of Saint Denis?
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.
What is the tricolour of France?
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 French government website states that the white field was the colour of the king, while blue and red were the colours of Paris.
What is the national flag of France?
The Tricolore, the national flag of France. This list includes flags that either have been in use or are currently used by France, French Overseas Collectivites, the Sui Generis Collectivity and the French Overseas Territory .
What is the French Society of Vexillology?
The French Society of Vexillology is the authority on the flying of flags in France and maintains the only official register of flags for the country. It was established in 1985 and as part of the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques operates under the authority of the Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation. The Breton Vexillology Society holds a similar role within Brittany.
Why is the French flag flown?
Today, the French flag can be seen on all public buildings. It is flown on the occasion of national commemorations , and it is honored according to a very precisely-defined ceremony. The French flag frequently serves as a backdrop when the French President addresses the public. Depending on the circumstances, it may be accompanied by the European flag or the flag of another country.
What were the colors of the French Revolution?
A militia was formed; its distinctive sign was a two-color cockade made up of the ancient colors of Paris, blue and red. On July 17, Louis XVI came to Paris to recognize the new National Guard, sporting the blue and red cockade, to which the Commander of the Guard, Lafayette, it appears, had added the royal white.
What colors did the Royalists use in the 19th century?
Throughout the 19th century, the blue of the legitimist royalists contended with the three colours inherited from the Revolution. The white flag was re-introduced under the Restoration, but Louis-Philippe reinstated the "tricolor," surmounting it with the Gallic rooster.
What flag did the people on the barricades use to signal their revolt?
During the Revolution of 1848, the provisional Government adopted the "tricolor," but the people on the barricades brandished a red flag to signal their revolt.
What is the tricolor flag?
The "tricolor" (three-color) flag is an emblem of the Fifth Republic. It had its origins in the union, at the time of the French Revolution, of the colours of the King (white) and the City of Paris (blue and red).
Overview
The national flag of France (French: drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue (hoist side), white, and red. It is known to English speakers as the Tricolour (French: Tricolore), although the flag of Ireland and others are also so known. The design was adopted after the French Revolution; while not the first tricolour, it became one of the most influential flags in histor…
Design
Article 2 of the French constitution of 1958 states that "the national emblem is the tricolour flag, blue, white, red". No law has specified the shades of these official colours. In English blazon, the flag is described as tierced in pale azure, argent and gules.
The blue stripe has usually been a dark navy blue; a lighter blue (and slightly lig…
Symbolism
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. White was added to the "revolutionary" colours of …
History
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 …
Colonial flags
Most French colonies either used the regular tricolour or a regional flag without the French flag. There were some exceptions:
• Flag of Tonkin (French protectorate) and Annam in French Indochina
• Flag of Laos in French Indochina
Other
Many provinces and territories in Canada have French-speaking communities with flags representing their communities:
• The Acadian flag used in Canada is based on the tricolour flag of France, but this flag was never used during French rule of Acadia. It was adopted in 1884. Acadians live mainly in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.
Gallery
• French regimental flag, Paris, autochrome dated 1918
• Flag of France, color photography dated 1930
See also
• List of French flags
• Flags of the regions of France
• National emblem of France
• Armorial of France