Marianne is the embodiment of the French Republic. Marianne represents the permanent values that found her citizens’ attachment to the Republic: "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity".
Commemorating the storming of the Bastille on 14th July 1789, Bastille Day takes place on the same date each year. The main event is a grand military parade along the Champs-Élysées, attended by the President of the Republic and other political leaders. It is accompanied by fireworks and dances in towns throughout the whole of France.
The Marseillaise is the patriotic hymn of the French Revolution, officially adopted by France as its national anthem in 1879.
The "tricolour" (three-colour) flag is an emblem of the Fifth Republic. It had its origins in the union, at the time of the French Revolution, of the colours of the King (white) and the City of Paris (blue and red). Today, the "tricolour" flies over all public buildings. It is flown at most official ceremonies, both civil and military.
The Latin word Gallus means both "rooster" and "inhabitant of Gaul". Certain ancient coins bore a rooster, but the animal was not yet used as the emblem of the tribes of Gaul. Gradually the figure of the rooster became the most widely shared representation of the French people.
A fundamental value and essential principle of the Republic, secularism is a French invention.
On 4 September 2020, France celebrated its Republic's 150th anniversary.
Make sure to find out the relevant information to make your arrival and stay in France as easy as possible. If you are not an EU, ...
[Read more]15 July 2014
