The French tricolour flag is derived from the cockades used during the French Revolution. During that time the Paris militia adopted a two colour blue and red cockade as a badge of identity. Blue and red are the traditional colours of Paris, and they are used on the city's coat of arms.
A few days after the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the blue and red cockade was presented to King Louis XVI at the Hôtel de Ville. However the Marquis de Lafayette argued for the addition of a white stripe to "nationalise" the design. On 27 July, a tricolour cockade was adopted as part of the uniform of the National Guard, the national police force that succeeded the militia. And Le Tricolore was born.
