France: Flag and Facts
France's flag has three equal vertical stripes of blue, white and red, with blue next to the pole.
- Official name
- French Republic
- Capital
- Paris
- Region
- Western Europe
- Population
- 69 million (2025)
- Languages
- French
- Currency
- Euro
- Area
- 551,695 km² (213,011 sq mi)
- People
- French
- Calling code
- +33
- Highest point
- Mont Blanc 4,810
- Independence
- No single official date
- National symbols
- Gallic rooster, fleur-de-lis, Marianne (female personification of the country)
- Borders
- Andorra, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Spain, Switzerland
About France
Nicknamed le tricolore, the flag goes back to 1790 and the French Revolution. It paired the old royal white with the blue and red worn by the Paris militia. For its first four years of use, the stripes ran the other way, red-white-blue.
France has no single independence date. Frankish tribes united under Merovingian kings in 486, the monarchy fell on 14 July 1789, and the First Republic began on 22 September 1792. The current Fifth Republic dates from 4 October 1958. The country holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and belongs to NATO, the G-7 and the EU. In the north and west, plains and soft hills dominate; the Pyrenees and Alps rise in the south and east. A cold, dry wind called the mistral sometimes blows hard.
Did you know?
- Mont Blanc, the highest point in France, reaches 4,810 meters.
- The Gallic rooster, the fleur-de-lis and Marianne are all national symbols.
- The anthem, La Marseillaise, means The Song of Marseille.
Want to test yourself? The random flag generator has a quiz mode, and the full flags of the world page shows every flag at once.
Questions about France
What is the population of France?
About 68.5 million people, based on a 2025 figure of 68,512,806.
How big is Paris?
Paris has about 11.208 million people, far more than Lyon or Marseille.
Sources
- CIA World Factbook, checked October 8, 2026
- REST Countries data (mledoze/countries), checked October 8, 2026
- Flag artwork: flag-icons (MIT), checked October 8, 2026
Facts are compiled from these open sources and rewritten in our own words. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.