The main symbols of France are its blue-white-red flag, Marianne, or "Liberty Leading the People", the Lorraine Cross, the Eiffel Tower and the Gaal Rooster.
Official symbols of France
The main symbol of any country, without a doubt, is its national flag. French consists of three equal stripes - blue (at the flagpole), white and red. The king of the Franks, Clovis, still had the blue flag; the white color came from the vestments of the patron saint of France, Martin of Tours. Red from a banner revered in the Middle Ages by the Abbey of San Denis.
Another famous symbol of the French Republic is Marianne, an allegorical depiction of the republic itself in the form of a young woman in a Phrygian cap. She personifies the world famous national motto of France: Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood. The image of Marianne must be found in all administrative and state institutions of the country, as well as on the large state seal and, before the introduction of the euro, on banknotes and coins of the French Republic. Marianne's logo on the background of the tricolor is used instead of the national emblem of the country.
Another symbol of the country has always been the Lorraine Cross. However, after the onset of the post-religious era, this ancient symbol is found less and less often.
A well-known symbol of France is also the Order of the Legion of Honor, which is accepted only for special military or civil services to the Fatherland. The ceremony of admitting a new member to the Order is carried out personally by the President of the French Republic. The Order is the elite of France.
Other symbols of France
The so-called Gaal Rooster is a peculiar symbol of the country. The Romans called Gauls the Celtic tribes living in the territory of modern France, and the Latin word gallus also means a rooster. The Gauls were mostly red-haired, and their hair bristled like a cock's combs. During the revolution, the symbol of the rooster was reinterpreted as a symbol of revolutionary vigilance, and the image of a bird began to adorn the reverse of twenty-pence coins. The French themselves love to be ironic on this topic, they say, who else, if not a Frenchman, will stand in the manure, but proudly ruffle their feathers, singing battle songs.
Finally, the easily recognizable symbol of France is the Eiffel Tower.
To commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution, the Parisian authorities asked their chief architect Gustave Eiffel to come up with something unusual and amazing. This is how this tower appeared.
Oddly enough, the structure was conceived as a temporary arch, and it was not demolished only due to the onset of the radio era, when radio antennas were installed on the top of the tower. The Eiffel Tower is the most visited and photographed architectural landmark in the world.
