Which French national anthem was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle?

France’s national anthem written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle is “La Marseillaise.”

Rouget de Lisle composed the song in Strasbourg during the French Revolutionary Wars. Its original title was “Chant de guerre pour l’armée du Rhin,” meaning “War Song for the Army of the Rhine.” Volunteers from Marseille later sang it while marching to Paris, giving the song its better-known name.

The French National Convention adopted it as the republic’s anthem in 1795. It was later banned during periods of imperial and monarchical rule, then restored in 1879 under the Third Republic.

The anthem’s six officially recognized verses include vivid revolutionary imagery, although public ceremonies usually perform only the first verse and refrain. The title refers to Marseille’s volunteers, not to the song’s place of composition.