Flag of France
Officially French Republic
What the flag looks like
Three equal vertical stripes of blue, white and red from the hoist.
What it means
Blue and red are the traditional colors of Paris, and white was the color of the monarchy; together they came to represent the Revolution and the Republic.
How to remember it
France
stands blue-white-red upright from the flagpole; the Netherlands
lays red-white-blue flat, and Italy
swaps the blue for green.
Fun facts
- The French Navy's ensign uses stripes of unequal width (30:33:37) so they look equal when the flag flaps.
- In 2020 the Élysée Palace switched back to a darker navy blue for the flags it flies.
France at a glance
- Capital
- Paris
- Region
- Western Europe
- Population
- 69 million
- Area
- 551,695 km²
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- Euro (€)
- Flag adopted
- 1794
Flags often confused with France
- Netherlands: France and the Netherlands both use red, white and blue. France's stripes are vertical, blue first; the Netherlands' are horizontal, red on top.
- Italy: France and Italy both have vertical stripes with white in the middle and red at the fly. France starts with blue; Italy starts with green.