The symbols of the Republic
The 14th of July
French national holiday: 14th July parade on the Champs-Elysées (Paris)
Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, A. Arraou
A day of revolution in Paris has become a national holiday: the 14th of July is celebrated today with a mixture of formal military parades and high-spirited balls and fireworks. Although generally associated with the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, it actually commemoratesof the anniversary of the Federation (14 July 1790).
National anthem and motto of the Republic
Composed in Strasbourg in 1792, the Battle Hymn of the Army of the Rhine became the Marseillaise and was made the national anthem on 14 July 1795.
The motto of the French Republic is "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity"
Listen to the Marseillaise.
The French flag
In 1789, La Fayette added the colour white, symbolizing royalty, to the red and blue cockade of the Paris National Guard. The tricolour flag is the official emblem of the French Republic.
Marianne
Bust of Marianne
National Assembly, Laurent Lecat
Although the 1958 Constitution declared the tricolour flag to be the national emblem, Marianne also symbolises the French Republic.
The first images of a woman wearing a Phrygian cap, a symbol of Liberty and the Republic, appeared during the French Revolution.
The symbols of the Republic.
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
Inspired by the 1776 American Declaration of Independence and 18th century philosophical thinking, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen in 1789 marked the end of the Old Regime and the dawning of a new era. The values set out in the Declaration were held to be universal and can be considered as the founding values of modern democracy. These values reverberated throughout the 19th century and inspired similar texts in many European and Latin American countries before being largely incorporated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948. They also inspired the European Convention on Human Rights signed in Rome on 4 November 1950.
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr (EN)
2008 is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It will be celebrated all year long by a whole host of events and projects (short films, cartoons, training, interactive dialogues, public discussions, etc.) involving the United Nations, the public and private sectors, the media, schools, artists and other representatives of civil society from all over the world.
- Sources:
Elysée Website, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs
- Updated: 25.06.2008
