The Secret History Behind France's Flag

France's tricolor was born in revolution.

Before the flag, there was a cockade — a small rosette of ribbon pinned to a hat. Blue and red were the colors of Paris; white belonged to the king. Just days after the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789, the two were combined into one cockade, worn together as a symbol of unity between monarchy and people, at a moment when no one yet knew which side would win.

The king didn't win. But the colors did. What started as a fragile gesture of unity became the national flag in 1794 — one of the very first vertical tricolor flags in the world, a design so striking that it went on to inspire dozens of other national flags across Europe and beyond, from Italy to Ireland to Mexico.

A flag that began as a compromise between a king and his people, and outlived the king by centuries.

See the France Eiffel Tower Tee → · Browse the West Europe collection → — or explore the story behind any other country's flag on our free Flag Story Cards page.

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