National Emblem of France : Ask Biography

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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 is printed 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 during 1912 using a design by the sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain.

During 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:

*A wide shield with, on the one end a lion-head and on the other an eagle-head, bearing a monogram "RF" standing for République Française (French Republic).

*A laurel branch symbolises victory of the Republic.

*An oak branch symbolises perennity or wisdom.

*The fasces, a symbol associated with justice (the bundle of rods and an axe, carried by Roman lictors). This use of the fasces predates the adoption of this symbol by Mussolini as the emblem of Italian Fascism.

During 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.

File:Logo de la République française.svg|The symbol of the French government

File:Emblem of France consulate.jpg|The symbol is used on plaques marking French consulates