France

About the flag

This is the French Tricolore: three vertical bands of blue, white, and red. The alternatives look very different—Germany has horizontal black-red-gold, Estonia is blue-black-white, and Albania is red with a black double-headed eagle—so France is the only match. Born of the French Revolution (1789), the flag combines Paris’s colors (blue and red) with the Bourbon monarchy’s white, later tied to the motto “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” As one of the earliest and most influential tricolors, it inspired many modern flags. Memory tip: think “bleu-blanc-rouge” standing upright like three baguettes—France’s stripes are vertical—while Germany’s are horizontal.