What three-word slogan became the motto of the French Revolution?

“Liberté, égalité, fraternité” became the best-known three-word slogan associated with the French Revolution.

The French phrase means “Liberty, equality, fraternity.” It expressed revolutionary ideals: freedom from arbitrary authority, equal citizenship before the law, and solidarity among members of the nation. Revolutionary writers and politicians used many different slogans, but this three-part formula became the most enduring.

The wording was circulated during the Revolution and was notably promoted by Maximilien Robespierre in a 1790 proposal concerning the organization of the National Guard. It was not consistently used as the Revolution’s sole official motto, however; phrases such as “Liberty or death” were also popular.

The slogan gained lasting official status after the Revolution. It was adopted during the Second Republic in 1848 and became firmly established under the Third Republic later in the nineteenth century. Today, it appears on French public buildings and is the national motto of France.