France Flag

How to identify it

Three equal vertical bands, blue next to the flagpole, then white, then red. Vertical orientation separates it from the Netherlands and Russia; the blue-first order separates it from Italy and Ireland.

Design and construction

Proportions

2:3

Adoption and legal status

15 February 1794 for the current band order

Construction

Three vertical bands of equal width.

Commonly repeated interpretation

Not official: Blue and red are usually described as the colours of Paris and white as the colour of the monarchy, brought together during the Revolution. Presentations of this vary, and no colour symbolism is fixed in the constitution, which names only the tricolour itself.

History of the design

Early revolutionary flags placed red next to the flagpole; the order was reversed in 1794. Naval and land versions have differed in the exact width of the bands. In 2020 French state buildings returned to a darker navy blue, reversing a lighter shade introduced in the 1970s for television.

Similar flags

Compare the details that separate these designs.

• 
  Netherlands

  The Netherlands uses the same three colours in horizontal bands, red on top.

• 
  Italy

  Italy is also vertical but green, white and red.

Sources