> The national flag of France has vertical stripes of red, white and blue. What'sthe color of the left stripe?And the answer: blue. The national flag of France is sometimes referred to as the French Tricolor,because of its simple design of three colors. The left third of the flag issolid blue, the center is white, and the right third is solid red.Photo credit: Getty Images.Blue, white and red are typically colors associatedwith democracy. Although the French were not the first to use and publicize thiscolor combination, the French Tricolor draws from a chaotic and rebellioushistory. In 1789, France found themselves amidst a revolution. Naturally, the Frenchrevolutionaries couldn't be seen using the same flag as their oppressors, so thewhite flag adorned with yellow shields – a design dating back to the white andyellow emblazoned flag carried by Joan of Arc – was disposed. The white whichdominated the old flag was, in large part, a withstanding symbol of themonarchy, and had been adorned by kings and soldiers alike for centuries. The revolutionaries initially sought inspiration for their new flag from theflag of Paris – a simple stripe of blue and a stripe of red. However, theyneeded to adapt the design to apply more widely to France; thus, the idea wasborn to place the historic white color (the symbol of monarchy) between the blueand red of the Paris flag. In effect, the symbol of monarchy – that stripe ofwhite – was forced into submission by the will of the people (stripes of blueand red). Did you know? The similarly fashioned, tricolor flags which dominate much of Europe are inlarge part due to Napoleon's influence. The ruler was so infatuated with thedesign of the new French flag that he marauded it around Europe, spreading itinto the locales he conquered. Artwork by SiBr4 (Wikimedia)