The French Flag: the Tricolore. The Tricolore (tricolour,
tricoleur, tricolor) is only visual symbol in France 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 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". It 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 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.
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.
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 is Marianne. Click
here for more on Marianne
Liberty. Another female figure used by French Revolutionaries
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 mades extensive use of an ancient
Roman
symbol, the fasces. The French Pantheon. 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. |
|
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
Back to: the French Republican Principle.
