Thecockade of France (French:Cocarde tricolore,lit. 'Tricolor cockade') is the nationalornament ofFrance, obtained by circularly pleating a blue, white and red ribbon. It is composed of the three colors of theFrench flag, with blue in the center, white immediately outside and red on the edge.
The French tricolorcockade was devised at the beginning of theFrench Revolution. On 12 July 1789 – two days before thestorming of the Bastille – the revolutionary journalistCamille Desmoulins, calling on the Parisian crowd to revolt, asked the protesters what color to adopt as a symbol of the revolution, proposing either green (representinghope) or the blue of theAmerican revolution, symbol offreedom anddemocracy. The protesters responded "The green! The green! We want green cockades!"[1] Desmoulins then took a green leaf from the ground and pinned it to his hat.[1] However, the green was abandoned after just one day because it was also the color of the king's brother, thereactionaryCount of Artois, later King Charles X.[2]
The following day, 13 July, an opportunity arose to create a cockade of different colors when those bourgeois who hoped to limit revolutionary excesses established a citizen militia.[3] It was decided that the militia should be given a distinctive badge in the form of a two-coloredcockade in theancient colors of Paris, blue and red.[3]
On 17 July, KingLouis XVI went to Paris to meet the newFrench National Guard: its members wore the blue and red cockade of the militia, to which it would appear that theMarquis of Lafayette, commander of the Guard, had added a white band representing loyalty to the Sovereign.[4] Louis XVI put it on his hat and – with some reluctance – approved the appointment of the revolutionaryJean Sylvain Bailly asmayor of Paris, and the formation of the National Guard led by Lafayette.[5] Thus was born the French tricolor cockade. On the same day, the Count of Artois left France, along with members of the nobility supportive ofabsolute monarchy.[6]
The tricolor cockade became the official symbol of the revolution in 1792, with the three colors now said to represent thethree estates of French society: theclergy (blue), thenobility (white) and thethird estate (red).[2] The use of the three colors spread, and a law of 15 February 1794 made them the colors of the French national flag.[4]
From August 1789, Italian demonstrators in sympathy with the French revolution began to use simple cockades of green leaves inspired by the primitive French cockade. From these evolved the red, white and greenItalian tricolor cockade.[7]
The 1831 playThe Tricolour Cockade by theCogniard Brothers, set during theFrench conquest of Algeria, led to the coining of the wordchauvinism.[8]
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Decree no. 89-655 of 13 September 1989 forbids the use of the tricolor cockade on all land, sea and air vehicles, with the following exceptions:[9]
The use of the tricolor cockade is not permitted formayors' vehicles, and offenders risk up to one year's imprisonment and a fine of €15,000.[10]
The use of the cockade on French military aircraft was first mandated by theAéronautique Militaire in 1912, and subsequently became widespread duringWorld War I.[11][12] The French practice inspired the adoption of asimilar roundel (with colours reversed) by the BritishRoyal Flying Corps, and ofcomparable insignia by other nations. Cockades were, and still are, painted on the aircraftfuselages as the primarymilitary aircraft insignia of theFrench Air Force; modified designs are used for other French government aircraft.[12]
Cockades continue to be used on French state aircraft.[13] AfterWorld War II a yellow border was added to the cockade, which was removed in 1984.[14]
The tricolor cockade is also used on certain elite uniforms, both military and civilian, which include headwear decorated with it.[15][16] It is likewise an attribute ofMarianne, thenational allegorical representation of France, who is conventionally depicted wearing aPhrygian cap, sometimes decorated with a tricolor cockade.[17] The cockade appears on mayors' badges;[18] and on the sash worn byMiss France, as well as French-made "méduses" (jellyfish in English) plastic beach sandals.[19]
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