France’s flag consists of three vertical stripes arranged blue, white, and red from the flagpole outward. This design is known as the French Tricolour, or Tricolore.
The flag grew out of the French Revolution. Blue and red were associated with Paris, while white had long been connected with the French monarchy. Combining these colors created a national symbol intended to bridge revolutionary and royal traditions. A red-white-blue arrangement was approved in 1790, but the order was reversed to blue-white-red on 15 February 1794, establishing the layout used today.
The tricolour disappeared during the Bourbon Restoration, when France returned to a plain white royal flag, but it was restored after the July Revolution of 1830. Article 2 of France’s 1958 Constitution identifies blue, white, and red as the national emblem’s colors. The flag is commonly made in a 2:3 proportion, with equal-width stripes, although French naval flags use slightly different stripe widths to improve their appearance when flying.