According
to an announcement made on 12th March 1999 the Prime Minister
(Lionel Jospin) authorised the use of a state logo (shown
on the right) to be used on all the documents of French
ministries and administrations. It is now widely used on
government documents though Government agencies which already
had their own logo were not required to use this one.
The attractive logo depicts Marianne apparently wearing a Liberty Cap , on a background based on the French tricolore flag, with the motto of the French Republic below it.
Until
then, the nearest the French state had to a logo was the
cockerel
or rooster, the cypher
(uninspiring), the
Liberty Cap or the
fasces (neither of which were specific to France),
or the fleur-de-lis (too closely associated with the Ancient
Regime since it came from the royal French
arms.)
On
the right are the logos of the French army, navy and Air
Force (These
illustrations courtesy of Pierre Gay)
The French national logo is one of the gererally recognised symbols of sovereignty not mentioned in article 2 of the French Constitution of 1958, which refers only to le drapeau tricolore, bleu, blanc, rouge: The French Flag , L'hymne national, the national anthem, The Marseillaise and La devise de la République; the motto . "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité".
The
French National Motto
