| Emblem of the French Republic | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Armiger | The French Republic |
| Adopted | 1912 (1953) |
| Escutcheon | A shield at the corners of the head of a lion and an eagle with the monogram RF, standing for République française. A shield is placed on a fasces with crossed laurel branch and an oak branch all or. |
The current emblem of France has been a symbol of France since 1953, although it does not have any legal status as an official coat of arms. It appears on the cover of French passports and was adopted originally by the French Foreign Ministry as a symbol for use by diplomatic and consular missions in 1912 using a design by the sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain.
In 1953, France received a request from the United Nations for a copy of the national coat of arms to be displayed alongside the coats of arms of other member states in its assembly chamber. An interministerial commission requested Robert Louis (1902–1965), heraldic artist, to produce a version of the Chaplain design. This did not, however, constitute an adoption of an official coat of arms by the Republic.
Technically, it is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not respect heraldic rules—heraldry being considered an aristocratic art by the French government, and therefore associated with the Ancien Régime. The emblem consists of:
In September 1999, the French government adopted a unique official identifier for its communication, incorporating the Republic's motto, the colours of the flag, and Marianne, the Republic's personification.[1]
Contents |
| Coat of arms | Description & blazon | Dates Used |
|---|---|---|
| The arms of "France Ancien": Azure semé-de-lis or | Before 1305 | |
| Arms of France Ancien dimidiated with the arms of Navarre, used by Kings Louis X and Charles IV. | 1305–1328 | |
| The arms of "France Ancien": Azure semé-de-lis or | 1328–1376 | |
| The arms of "France Moderne": Azure, three fleurs-de-lis or , a simplified version of France Ancien | 1376–1515 | |
| The arms of France Moderne with a closed royal crown. | 1515–1589 | |
| The royal arms of the Kingdom of France after the conclusion of the French Wars of Religion. Again the arms of the Kingdom of Navarre impaled with France Moderne, indicating the personal union of the two realms as a result of Henry IV becoming king. | 1589-1792 | |
| Unofficial Emblem of the Napoleonic Consulate used by Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul during the French First Republic featuring an imperial eagle holding a lighting bolt with laurel leaves and the letter N in the centre. |
1799–1804 | |
| The arms of the First French Empire of Napoleon I, featuring an eagle and inset with "golden bees" as in the tomb of King Childeric I. | 1804–1814 | |
| After the restoration the royal house of Bourbon once more assumed the French crown. These arms are still used by the royal house of France. | 1814–1830 | |
| During the July Monarchy the arms of the House of Orléans were used. | 1830–1831 | |
| During the July Monarchy the arms of Louis-Philippe were used, depicting the Charter of 1830. | 1831–1848 | |
| The arms of the Second French Empire of Napoleon III, again featuring an eagle | 1852–1870 | |
| Unofficial Informal arms were created for the French Third Republic featuring fasces on a laurel branch and an oak branch in saltire. |
1898–1953 | |
| Unofficial Emblem of Philippe Pétain, chief of state of the French State (Vichy France), featuring the motto Travail, Famille, Patrie (Work, Family, Fatherland). The Francisque was only Pétain's personal emblem but was also gradually used as the regime's informal emblem on official documents[2] |
1940–1944 | |
| Unofficial Informal arms dating from 1912, reintroduced during the presidency of Jacques Chirac (1995–2002) and still used. |
1995–present |
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