What is its meaning and what does its colors represent?
The flag of France, also called The tricolor flag is one of the national symbols of the Republic of France and is the emblem by which the country is known internationally..
The French flag is made up of three vertical stripes of the same size with the colors blue, white and red, with blue being the first color next to the flagpole.
The tricolor flag was used for the first time, as an insignia, by King Louis XVI, a few days after the Storming of the Bastille in 1789, which would begin the French Revolution.
The design was the work of the Marquis de Lafayette (1757-1834) who used the blue and red colors of the Paris flag adding the royal white that represented the monarchy. The Marquis Lafayette was the commander of the Paris National Guard that the king was visiting at the time and a member of the National Assembly, so his opinion was taken into account by those in power.
Although on February 15, 1794 it was made official that the tricolor symbol would build the French national flag, the flag of France with its three characteristic colors would not receive the expected consensus until at least one hundred years later.
During the period of political instability, monarchists continued to use the white flag at the time of the Restoration. Later, King Louis Philippe would restore the use of the tricolor flag but would add the symbol of the Gallic rooster, while the people would use the red flag to mark the strength of the rebellion.
It was only in 1880, after the Third Republic was established, that a consensus was generated on the use of the tricolor flag. Despite there still being detractors, the flag being made official and adopted in the First World War gave it international visibility.
Finally, in the French Constitution of 1946 and 1958, the tricolor flag was given the status of national emblem of the Republic.