Great Seal of France
The Great Seal of France depicts Liberty and the Gallic rooster.
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The Great Seal of France (Grand sceau de France) is the official seal of the French Republic. After the monarchy was abolished in 1792, the seal was redesigned to represent the new republic. It now depicts Liberty alongside symbols of French culture and governance.
Quick Facts
- Obverse legend
- RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE
- DÉMOCRATIQUE
- UNE ET INDIVISIBLE
- Reverse legend
- AU NOM DU PEUPLE FRANÇAIS
- Reverse motto
- LIBERTÉ
- ÉGALITÉ
- FRATERNITÉ
- Keeper of the seals
- Minister of Justice
Facts from the source article.
History
The first seals were created by Merovingian kings to authenticate orders, originally rings worn on a necklace. Under the House of Capet they grew to about 12 cm. During the Ancien Régime, seals depicted the king enthroned giving justice, each king having his own personal seal. On August 13, 1792, King Louis XVI was arrested and later executed on January 21, 1793.
With the monarchy overthrown, the Republic needed a new symbol. The French symbol of Marianne emerged from this period. Revolutionaries destroyed tangible reminders of the Old Regime, breaking royal seals, scepters and crowns and melting them into republican coins. They recognized that the cultural framework of the past could not continue, and the king as the seal's insignia had to be replaced with a republican emblem.
Description
The Great Seal shows Liberty wearing a crown with seven arches, holding a fasces and supported by a ship's tiller bearing a cock, representing the Gallic rooster. At her feet is a vase inscribed "SU" for "Suffrage Universel".
In the background are symbols of the arts, architecture, education, agriculture and industry. The surrounding legend reads "RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE, DÉMOCRATIQUE, UNE ET INDIVISIBLE" with "24 FEV.1848" at the bottom. The reverse bears "AU NOM DU PEUPLE FRANÇAIS" encircled by oak and laurel leaves tied with wheat and grapes, along with the motto "LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, FRATERNITÉ".
Usage
Under the Second Republic, the Great Seal was used mainly for laws, decrees of the National Assembly and diplomatic treaties. The Keeper of the Seals became linked to the Minister of Justice. After the Second Empire, sealing of laws was gradually abandoned, restricted to constitutional acts and treaties such as the Treaty of Versailles. Under the Fourth Republic, only the Constitution of October 27, 1946 was sealed.
Since the Fifth Republic, after sealing the Constitution of October 4, 1958, constitutional modifications have often been sealed. Sealing ceremonies became less common from 1963 to 1991, then increased after 1992. The date of the ceremony was close to the law's passage until 1964, but later separated. Ceremonies are held at the Chancellerie using a sealing press and the unique matrices of the Seal of the State.
Sealing documents
Originally, sealers used plastic sealing wax shaped by hand into circular pieces and pressed. Today, liquid wax is fed into a stamp with a mobile metallic ring, cooled until pasty, then applied. The wax recipe was lost between 1920 and 1946, requiring trials by the Sigillographic service of the National Archives. The Ancien Régime used green wax for important documents and yellow for lesser ones.
The Restoration, July Monarchy and Third Republic used yellow wax; the First Republic, Consulate and Empire used red. The 1946 Constitution used red wax; the 1958 Constitution and later documents used yellow until 2002, when green returned. The Empire sealed on wide yellow and blue silk ribbons; the Republic and Consulate on a tricolor braid. Since 1946, a tricolor ribbon has been used.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Great Seal of France (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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