The
French Flag: the Tricolore. The Tricolore (tricolour,
tricoleur, tricolor) is only visual French symbol with the
official sanction of article
2 of the French Constitution of 1958. Click
here for more on the Tricolore 
The National Anthem of France: the Marseillaise.
La Marseillaise was composed in Strasbourg in 1792 and originally
known as the Battle Hymn of the Army of the Rhine; it became
the national anthem on 14 July 1795 and is sanctioned as
an official French symbol in article
2 of the French Constitution of 1958.
Click
here for more on the Marseillaise
The French National Motto. The motto of the French
Republic is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity". This French
symbol is sanctioned in article
2 of the French Constitution of 1958. Click
here for more on the French motto
The
French National Logo. A modern logo for the French Republic
has been in use as a French symbol since 1999.
Click
here for more on the French logo
The French Cypher: RF. France is officially referred
to as the Republique Francaise, hence the use of the "RF"
monogram as a French symbol.
Click here for more on the "RF" cypher
The French National Holiday. The commemorates the
storming of an old building, erroneously thought to hold
political prisoners, on 14th July 1789. Click
here for more on Bastille Day
The
Great Seal of France. The French State Seal used for
sealing important state documents. It is an important French
symbol of state.
Click
here for more on French State Seal
Marianne, Personification of France. The French
revolution was symbolised by a variety of women, in various
headgears, but the one that has become best known as a French
symbol is Marianne. Click
here for more on Marianne
Liberty. Another female figure used by French Revolutionaries
as a French symbol was the Roman
goddess Liberty or Liberté.
Click
here for more on the goddess Liberty
The Phrygian Cap or Liberty Cap. One of the symbols
associated with eighteenth and nineteenth century revolutions
- and especially the French Revolution was the red Liberty
Cap, an ancient Roman
symbol of freedom.
Click here for more on the Liberty Cap
The French Cockerel. The Cockerel (US Rooster) has
long been part of French national culture because the Latin
words for cockerel and inhabitant of Gaul are similar.
Click here for more on the French Cockerel
The
Arms of France. The old Kingdom of France used coats
of arms and so, informally, does the Modern French Republic.
Click here for more on the arms of France
Fasces. The modern French Republic like many other
republics made extensive use of an ancient Roman
symbol, the fasces.
Click here for more on the fasces symbol and its use
The French Panthéon. The monument which comes closest to being a symbol of the Republic is the Pantheon in Paris, built under Louis XV as the Sainte Geneviève Church.
Click here for more about the Panthéon
The
Cross of Lorraine. The Second World War was fought
by the Free French under the sign of the Cross of Lorraine
, the emblem chosen by the Resistance to distinguish their
flag from the tricolour which had been kept by the Vichy
Government. The Cross of Lorraine is therefore used regularly
on monuments commemorating the 1940-1945 period, from the
greatest monuments to the humblest places marking the fighting
in the maquis. Click
here for more on the Cross of Lorraine
Click
here for French Symbols in the sense of accents and punctuation
Back to: the French Republican Principle.
