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| Vexillology of France |
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| Proportion: 2:3 Adopted: 15 February 1794 First Flown: 1790 as a naval ensign, but the colors were reversed) Use: Drapeau Tricolore Image Source: SouthBear |
| French National Emblem fasces lictoriae Image Source: SouthBear |
| France |
| Long Form of Country Name: Republic of France (République française) Short Form of Country Name: France Form of State: Republic consisting of 22 metropolitan regions, a territorial collectivity in Corsica & 4 overseas territories, headed by a President popularly elected to a 5-year term.. Form of Government: Parliamentary democracy vested in a bicameral parliament consisting of a Senate (indirectly elected through an electoral college to 9-year terms) and a National Assembly (directly elected to 5-year terms). Executive authority is vested in a governing cabinet headed by a Prime Minister chosen by the majority party in parliament and appointed by the President. Independence: Unification under King Clovis in 496 Capital: Paris Major National Groups: French, African, Middle-Eastern, Indochinese, Basque (Note: most Africans in France migrated from their homelands after the end of colonialism. Most of these, though racially of African descent, have assimilated into French culture. Middle-Eastern migrants retain their ethnic identities.) |
| Prior to the French Revolution, the flag of royal France consisted of a white banner with three golden fleur-de-lis. During the revolution, the colors of blue, white, and red came to be used by the revolutionaries, all of whom originally hoped that the monarchy could be retained in the post-revolutionary state. It is widely believed that the blue and red colors were adopted from the colors of the city of Paris and that the white represented the monarchy. Because of this, it is also widely believed that the colors of the city (representing the people) were placed on either side of the king's color as a symbolic demonstration of their hope to "contain" the monarchy and mold its policies to the will of the people. Such a political statement incorporated into the Tricolor can not, however, be proven. Although, there is no doubt that the blue and red colors did come fhe colors of Paris and the white color always represented the king's authority. The combination of the two, at a point in the revolution's history during which the retention of the monarchy as a viable political institution was still a reality, can only lead one to believe that this political statement must have some legitimacy. |
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| Royal Flags & Ensigns of France Images source: SouthBear |
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| Bannière de France also known as the Azur semé de lis introduced by Philippe II in the 13th century. |
| Bannière de France (France Modern) Modified by King Charles V to honor the Holy Trinity in 1365. |
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| Fleurdelisé The naval ensign of the royal navy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Also used briefly during the Bourbon restoration as a state flag. |
| Fleurdelisé (Modern) civil flag used during the Bourbon restoration (1814-1830) |
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| French Civil Ensign Civil ensign used between 1661 and 1765 on all merchant ships. An ensign was also used without the royal shield. |
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| National Flag of Free France (1940-1944) Flown by Gen. DeGaulle during the French Resistance to the Nazi Occupation of France. It used the Cross of Lorraine to distinguish itself from the French forces fighting on behalf of the Axis Powers in both the occupied portion of France centered in Paris and Vichy France. |
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| Naval Ensign of Free France (1940-1944) This flag is used today as a naval jack as a flag of honor in remembrance of those who fought to liberate France during WWII. |
| Flags of France during World War II Images source: SouthBear |
| Modern National Ensign of France |
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| The colors of the national ensign of France are disproportionate from one another. The bands are set at 30:33:37, which is considered to be the optical proportion, or that which appears to be proportionate at a long distance, especially on the seas. Image Source: SouthBear |
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| Return to the European Vexillogram Directory © 2007 SouthBear This page was created on 22 February 2007 Date of Last Revision: 27 February 2007 Animated flagpole: www.fg-a.com |
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| Provincial Flags of France's Regions |
| 1. Alsace 2. Aquitaine 3. Auvergne 4. Basse-Normandie 5. Bourgogne 6. Bretagne 7. Centre 8. Champagne-Ardenne 9. Corse (Corsica) 10. Franche-Comté 11. Haute-Normandie |
| 12. Ile de France 13. Languedoc-Roussillon 14. Limousin 15. Lorraine 16. Midi-Pyrénées 17. Nord-Pas-de-Calais 18. Pays de la Loire 19. Picardie 20. Poitou-Charentes 21. Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur 22. Rhône-Alpes |
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| Channel Islands (U.K.) |
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| French Air Form Roundel |