Gallic rooster

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"Apotheosis of the French heroes who fell for the nation during the War of Liberty" by Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson (1802) is an allegory that features the bard Ossian welcoming the generals Desaix, Kléber, Marceau, Hoche and Championnet into Heaven; new symbols of the nation born from the Revolution are introduced, such as the fight between the Gallic rooster and the German eagle, as a root of French-German enmity that would prevail in European battlefields for another century and a half.

The Gallic rooster (French: le coq gaulois) is a national symbol of France as a nation and its history, land and culture (as opposed to Marianne representing France as a State, and its values : the Republic). Its association with France is due to the play on words in Latin between Gallus, meaning an inhabitant of Gaul, and gallus meaning rooster, or cock. Although its use in France dates to the Middle Ages, it gained particular popularity during the French Revolution, and has been a national emblem ever since. The rooster was featured onthe reverse of French 20-franc gold pieces from 1899 to 1914.

Today, it is often used as a national mascot, particularly in sporting events such as football (soccer) and rugby. The 1998 FIFA World Cup, hosted by France, adopted a rooster named Footix as mascot. The French national Australian rules football team in the 2008 Australian Football International Cup is known as the Coqs after le coq gaulois.

The popularity of the symbol extends into business. Le Coq Sportif ("The sporting rooster"), is a French manufacturer of sports equipment using a stylized rooster and the colors of the French tricolour as its logo.