The origin of the modern Flag of France can be traced back to the late eighteenth century, during the French Revolution. This first form of the French flag had tricolor bands placed in the opposite sequence as compared to their sequence of the latest flag; the red band was near the hoist while the blue band was free in air. The colors of the flag were the colors of the coat of arms of Paris during the revolution. These Parisian colors were adopted in the fourteen century. According to one theory, these colors were the selection of Marquis de Lafayette. Others claim that it was a derivation of the Dutch flag. Some also believe that the colors of the French flag were influenced by those of the American Revolution.

Although the flag was created in 1790, it was adopted by the French army only in the year 1812. In the following years, Napoleon’s empire fell and the Bourbon dynasty took control of France once again. The tricolor flag of France was discarded by the King in 1815 and it was replaced with the flag of the royal families that had fleur-de-lis printed over it. However, with the change in monarchy after next fifteen years the modern tricolor was again assigned the status as flag of the state. There were few changes added to the French flag again during the Vichy regime in the first half of the twentieth century. In order to exhibit its distinctness, Marshall Philippe Petain included the Cross of Lorraine in the flag, which was placed exactly in the centre of the modern tricolor flag of France.

The modern flag of France is composed of three equal bands of blue, white and red. The white color symbolizes Joan of Arc and the Virgin Mary, blue is considered to be the color of Saint Martin, and red is dedicated to Saint Denis. Saint Martin was a generous Roman commandant who worked in the Gaulish Empire and used to wear a blue uniform. His deep consideration towards the poor was the reason for including blue in the flag of France, which reminds the rich of their duty towards the poor. The white color is also considered to be the color of the monarchs, while red color reflects the nobility of the state as reflected by the life of Saint Denis. The width of the flag of France is half the size of its length. The flag of France is said to have had a strong influence on the flag of Romania.