What was the name of the revolutionary flag adopted in 1794?

The revolutionary flag adopted in 1794 was the Tricolour, France’s blue, white, and red national flag.

Its origins lay in the early Revolution. Blue and red were the traditional colours of Paris, while white was associated with France’s older national identity. In July 1789, these colours were combined in a revolutionary cockade worn by the Paris militia and later by the National Guard. The first national flag design, approved in 1790, placed the colours in a different order, with red nearest the flagpole.

On 15 February 1794, the Convention adopted the blue-white-red arrangement used today. The flag was not continuously flown: the Bourbon Restoration replaced it with a white royal flag between 1815 and 1830. The Tricolour returned after the July Revolution and has remained France’s national flag, aside from brief variations.

A common mix-up is confusing the Tricolour with the fleur-de-lis, which symbolized the French monarchy, or with the Phrygian cap, a revolutionary emblem rather than a flag.