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. The tricolour scheme was later adopted by many other nations in Europe and elsewhere, and, according to the Encyclopædia Britannica has historically stood 'in symbolic opposition to the autocratic and clericalist royal standards of the past'.īefore the tricolour was adopted the royal government used many flags, the best known being a blue shield and gold fleurs-de-lis (the Royal Arms of France) on a white background, or state flag. While not the first tricolour, it became one of the most influential flags in history. The design was adopted after the French Revolution, where the revolutionaries were influenced by the horizontally striped red-white-blue flag of the Netherlands. It is known to English speakers as the Tricolour ( French: Tricolore), although the flag of Ireland and others are also so known.
The national flag of France (French: drapeau français) is a tricolour featuring three vertical bands coloured blue ( hoist side), white, and red.
A vertical tricolour of blue, white, and redĪn interchangeable variant of the national flag with lighter shades