The navy blue color of France’s flag marks a return to custom. (File)
Paris:
It is a change so refined it went unnoticed for nearly three years. However President Emmanuel Macron ordered a change to the color of the French flag to seek out echoes of heroism in France’s previous.
Eager-eyed observers can see that the French red-white-and-blue tricolour flying above the Elysee Palace and in addition positioned behind Macron at information conferences and speeches now has a darker navy blue somewhat than the earlier vivid blue.
The navy blue color marks a return to custom — it had been then president Valery Giscard d’Estaing who switched the brighter blue in 1976 in order that it matched the color of the European flag, which shows yellow stars on a blue background.
The change had been made on the flags positioned behind Macron at speeches from 2018 after which on these flying from the Elysee and different presidential buildings from 2020, a presidential official, who requested to not be named, informed AFP on Monday.
The official mentioned that the navy blue color “evokes the reminiscence” of the heroes who fought within the French Revolution, the trenches of World Battle I and within the Resistance throughout World Battle II.
The change has lastly been observed after being revealed in a e-book “Elysee Confidential” revealed this Autumn by journalists, Eliot Blondet and Paul Larrouturou.
They reported that the initiative got here from the top of operations on the Elysee Arnaud Jolens, whom the journalists interviewed for his or her e-book. The change value a symbolic 5,000 euros.
“Giscard modified this blue for aesthetic causes throughout integration with Europe, however the flag that every one the presidents took together with them ever since was not the actual French flag,” Jolens is quoted as saying.
The Elysee official additionally identified that the flag on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris had all the time had the navy blue.
France on January 1 takes on the rotating EU presidency underneath Macron, a pro-European, whereas he faces re-election battle in April.
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