What the French Flag Colors Represent

From LoveToKnow French

Although the colors of the French flag are the same as the American and the British flag -- red, white, and blue -- you may wonder what the French flag colors represent. Do the colors represent the same values on all three flags, or do different countries choose the same color to represent different values important to their own culture and history?

French Flag Colors: Red, White, and Blue

The colors red, white, and blue are often used in flags because they universally represent values that are important to nations. Even in flags that do not use all three of these colors, but one or two of the colors (and sometimes in combination with other colors), these common values are represented. Each color has its own meaning; however, the combination red, white, and blue also has a synergistic meaning when the three colors are used together. This combination of red, white, and blue on a flag often represents revolution and freedom.

What the French Flag Colors Represent

The French motto is: liberté, égalité, fraternité. Many people state that the three colors of the French flag stand for these three values so central to France. Another explanation, and the one that has been taught in French schools for some time, is that the blue is for the bourgeoisie, the white is for religious members of the clergy, and the red is for the noble members of society.

Another interpretation of the colors is to simply look at what these three colors generally symbolize when used in national flags. At this point, the distinctions become difficult because each of these three colors can represent multiple things.

Blue

Blue is often used to represent freedom. Since the French flag as it exists today originated around the time of the Revolution, this could be an accurate interpretation of the color. Other values that blue represents in flags are: perseverance, justice, vigilance, peace, patriotism, and prosperity.

White

The color white on a flag most often represents peace. In addition, white can represent purity or innocence. This color can also often be translated into a religious value because of the color's association with the Virgin Mary.

Red

Red, the color of blood, often represents courage and valor. Red can also mean revolution, which is, most likely, an additional reason for red to be on the French flag.

History of French Flags

Yet another way to interpret what the French flag colors represent is to look at other historical flags important to the cultural and historical development of the nation. At the time when the French flag was first created, the official colors of Paris were red and blue. These colors were symbolically important to the people of Paris, as they represented the working-class ideals. It would not be strange if the French flag were to some level derived from the colors of Paris; the first French flag was seen in Paris.

In addition to the red and blue, the third bar of the French flag is white. Historically, white is a religious color that can represent purity and innocence or can represent the people who embrace those ideals. Joan of Arc flew a white flag during her crusade. Some believe that white dates that far back in the French flag. Another interpretation is that since white was the color to represent the monarchy in France, putting white in between the two colors of the people (blue and red) represented a united France.

All of these interpretations of the flag colors are fun French facts, and no matter which interpretation of the french flag color meanings you adopt, there are many other people who share the same interpretation.

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