The French Symbol Marianne incarnates the French Republic and represents the values of the republic and the French citizens: "Freedom, Equality, Fraternity". Marianne is the symbolic notation of the motherland - impetuous, warlike, peaceful, provider/feeder and protective.

Sometimes Marianne, sometimes Marie-Anne, the origin of the name of Marianne is rather obscure, but it seems that it is the result of a consensus between the partisans and the adversaries of the republic.

The representation of Marianne finds its origin in Antiquity.

Symbols of Marianne:

The phrygian cap – freedom
The crown – capacity
The naked centre – feeder/provider symbol and emancipation
The armour – invincibility
The mouth or legs of lion – the courage and the force of the people
The star – light
The triangle – equality
The broken chains – freedom
The cross hands – fraternity, brotherhood
The beams – authority of the state
The balance – justice
The hive – work
The Tables of the law – law

The representations of the French Symbol Marianne differ according the times and concerns of the French people. It routinely does not wear all of the symbols. Marianne can be represented in her entirety or maybe just as a bust.

In the twentieth century, all the town halls gradually obtained a bust of Marianne, routinely wearing a Phrygian cap and other cumbersome attributes often removed e.g. the beam of weapons, level or balances. It can take on features of famous woman like Brigitte Bardot, Mireille Matthieu, Catherine Deneuve, Laetitia Casta but the busts always remains topical to its locality.

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The French Symbol Marianne
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