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''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' (),
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
for "
liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
, equality,
fraternity A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, " brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternit ...
", is the
national motto This article lists state and national mottos for the world's nations. The mottos for some states lacking general international recognition, extinct states, non-sovereign nations, regions, and territories are listed, but their names are not bold ...
of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
and the Republic of Haiti, and is an example of a
tripartite motto Hendiatris (; ) is a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea. The phrases "sun, sea and sand", and "wine, women and song" are examples. A tripartite motto is the conventional English term for a motto ...
. Although it finds its origins in the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third Republic at the end of the 19th century. (abridged translation, ''Realms of Memory'', Columbia University Press, 1996–98). Debates concerning the compatibility and order of the three terms began at the same time as the Revolution. It is also the motto of the
Grand Orient A Grand Lodge (or Grand Orient or other similar title) is the overarching governing body of a fraternal or other similarly organized group in a given area, usually a city, state, or country. In Freemasonry A Grand Lodge or Grand Orient is the us ...
and the Grande Loge de France.


Origins during the French Revolution

Some claim that
Camille Desmoulins Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (; 2 March 17605 April 1794) was a French journalist and politician who played an important role in the French Revolution. Desmoulins was tried and executed alongside Georges Danton when the Committee ...
in number 35 of ''Révolutions de France et de Brabant'', published on July 26, 1790. Speaking of the festival of July 14, 1790, he described "the citizen-soldiers rushing into each other's arms, promising each other ''liberty, equality, fraternity.''" (French: ''les soldats-citoyens se précipiter dans les bras l’un de l’autre, en se promettant liberté, égalité, fraternité.'') invented the phrase, however it isn't confirmed as this is only the first official mention of the phrase. Several months later,
Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
popularized the phrase in his speech "On the organization of the National Guard" (french: Discours sur l'organisation des gardes nationales), on 5 December 1790, article XVI, which was disseminated widely throughout France by the popular Societies. ), Maximilien Robespierre, 1790 Credit for the motto has been given also to
Antoine-François Momoro Antoine-François Momoro (1756 – 24 March 1794) was a French printer, bookseller and politician during the French Revolution. An important figure in the Cordeliers club and in Hébertisme, he is the originator of the phrase ''″Unité, Indiv ...
(1756–1794), a Parisian printer and Hébertist organizer, though in different context of foreign invasion and Federalist revolts in 1793, it was modified to "Unity, indivisibility of the Republic; liberty, equality, brotherhood or death" (french: Unité, Indivisibilité de la République; Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité ou la mort) and suggested by a resolution of the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...
(of which Momoro was elected member by his
section du Théâtre-Français Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...
) on 29 June 1793 to be inscribed on Parisian house-fronts and imitated by the inhabitants of other cities. In 1839, the philosopher
Pierre Leroux Pierre Henri Leroux (7 April 1797 – 12 April 1871), was a French philosopher and political economist. He was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, the son of an artisan. Life His education was interrupted by the death of his father, which ...
claimed it had been an anonymous and popular creation. The historian
Mona Ozouf Mona Ozouf born Mona Annig Sohier (born 24 February 1931) is a French historian and philosopher. Born into a family of schoolteachers keen on preserving the language and culture of Brittany, she graduated as a teacher of philosophy from the Éc ...
underlines that, although ''Liberté'' and ''Égalité'' were associated as a motto during the 18th century, ''Fraternité'' wasn't always included in it, and other terms, such as ''Amitié'' (Friendship), ''Charité'' (Charity) or ''Union'' were often added in its place. The emphasis on ''Fraternité'' during the French Revolution led
Olympe de Gouges Olympe de Gouges (; born Marie Gouze; 7 May 17483 November 1793) was a French playwright and political activist whose writings on women's rights and abolitionism reached a large audience in various countries. She began her career as a playwright ...
, a female journalist, to write the
Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne), also known as the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, was written on 14 September 1791 by French activist, femini ...
as a response. The tripartite motto was neither a creative collection, nor really institutionalized by the Revolution. As soon as 1789, other terms were used, such as "''la Nation, la Loi, le Roi''" (The Nation, The Law, The King), or "''Union, Force, Vertu''" (Union, Strength,
Virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...
), a
slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...
used beforehand by
masonic lodges A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
, or "''Force, Égalité, Justice''" (Strength, Equality, Justice), "''Liberté, Sûreté, Propriété''" (Liberty, Security, Property), etc. In other words, ''liberté, égalité, fraternité'' was only one slogan among many others. During the
Jacobin , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...
revolutionary period, various mottos were used, such as ''liberté, unité, égalité'' (liberty, unity, equality); ''liberté, égalité, justice'' (liberty, equality, justice); ''liberté, raison, égalité'' (liberty, reason, equality), etc. The only solid association was that of ''liberté'' and ''égalité'', ''fraternité'' being ignored by the '' Cahiers de doléances'' as well as by the 1789
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revol ...
. It was only alluded to in the 1791
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...
, as well as in
Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...
's draft Declaration of 1793, placed under the invocation of (in that order) ''égalité, liberté, sûreté'' and ''propriété'' (equality, liberty, safety, property—though it was used not as a motto, but as articles of declaration), as the possibility of a universal extension of the Declaration of Rights: "Men of all countries are brothers, he who oppresses one nation declares himself the enemy of all." It did not figure in the August 1793 Declaration. The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (french: Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen de 1789, links=no), set by France's National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from the French Revol ...
of 1789 defined liberty in Article 4 as follows: Equality, on the other hand, was defined by the Declaration in terms of judicial equality and merit-based entry to government (art. 6): ''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'' actually finds its origins in a May 1791 proposition by the '' Club des Cordeliers'', following a speech on the Army by the
Marquis de Guichardin A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...
. A British marine held prisoner on the French ship ''Le Marat'' in 1794 wrote home in letters published in 1796: The compatibility of ''liberté'' and ''égalité'' was not in doubt in the first days of the Revolution, and the problem of the antecedence of one term on the other not lifted. Thus, the Abbé Sieyès considered that only liberty ensured equality, unless the latter was to be the equality of all dominated by a despot; while liberty followed equality ensured by the rule of law. The abstract generality of law (theorized by
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
in his 1762 book '' The Social Contract'') thus ensured the identification of liberty to equality, liberty being negatively defined as an independence from arbitrary rule, and equality considered abstractly in its judicial form. This identification of liberty and equality became problematic during the Jacobin period, when equality was redefined (for instance by
François-Noël Babeuf François-Noël Babeuf (; 23 November 1760 – 27 May 1797), also known as Gracchus Babeuf, was a French proto-communist, revolutionary, and journalist of the French Revolutionary period. His newspaper ''Le tribun du peuple'' (''The Tribune of ...
) as equality of results, and not only judicial equality of rights. Thus,
Marc Antoine Baudot Marc Antoine Baudot (18 March 1765 – 23 March 1837) was a French memoirist and physician. 1765 births 1837 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly (France) 19th-century French physicians Regicides of Louis XVI Représentants en miss ...
considered that French temperament inclined rather to equality than liberty, a theme which would be re-used by
Pierre Louis Roederer Comte Pierre Louis Roederer (15 February 1754 – 17 December 1835) was a French politician, economist, and historian, politically active in the era of the French Revolution and First French Republic. Roederer's son, Baron Antoine Marie Roede ...
and
Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wo ...
, while Jacques Necker considered that an equal society could only be found on coercion. The third term, ''fraternité'', was the most problematic to insert in the triad, as it belonged to another sphere, that of moral obligations rather than rights, links rather than statutes, harmony rather than
contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...
, and community rather than individuality. Various interpretations of ''fraternité'' existed. The first one, according to Mona Ozouf, was one of "''fraternité de rébellion''" (Fraternity of Rebellion), that is the union of the deputies in the '' Jeu de Paume Oath'' of June 1789, refusing the dissolution ordered by the King
Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...
: "We swear never to separate ourselves from the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
, and to reassemble wherever circumstances require, until the constitution of the realm is drawn up and fixed upon solid foundations." Fraternity was thus issued from Liberty and oriented by a common cause. Another form of ''fraternité'' was that of the patriotic Church, which identified social links with religious links and based fraternity on Christian brotherhood. In this second sense, ''fraternité'' preceded both ''liberté'' and ''égalité'', instead of following them as in the first sense. Thus, two senses of Fraternity: "one, that followed liberty and equality, was the object of a free pact; the other preceded liberty and equality as the mark on its work of the divine craftsman." Another hesitation concerning the compatibility of the three terms arose from the opposition between liberty and equality as
individualistic Individualism is the moral stance, political philosophy, ideology and social outlook that emphasizes the intrinsic worth of the individual. Individualists promote the exercise of one's goals and desires and to value independence and self-relianc ...
values, and fraternity as the realization of a happy community, devoid of any conflicts and opposed to any form of
egotism Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importan ...
. This fusional interpretation of Fraternity opposed it to the project of
individual autonomy Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...
and manifested the precedence of Fraternity on individual will. In this sense, it was sometimes associated with death, as in ''Fraternité, ou la Mort!'' (Fraternity or Death!), excluding liberty and even equality, by establishing a strong dichotomy between those who were brothers and those who were not (in the sense of " you are with me or against me", brother or foe).
Louis de Saint-Just Louis Antoine Léon de Saint-Just (; 25 August 17679 Thermidor, Year II 8 July 1794, was a French revolutionary, political philosopher, member and president of the French National Convention, a Jacobin club leader, and a major figure of the F ...
thus stigmatized
Anarchasis Cloots Jean-Baptiste du Val-de-Grâce, baron de Cloots (24 June 1755 – 24 March 1794), better known as Anacharsis Cloots (also spelled Clootz), was a Prussian nobleman who was a significant figure in the French Revolution. Perhaps the first to advocate ...
'
cosmopolitanism Cosmopolitanism is the idea that all human beings are members of a single community. Its adherents are known as cosmopolitan or cosmopolite. Cosmopolitanism is both prescriptive and aspirational, believing humans can and should be " world citizen ...
, declaring "Cloots liked the universe, except France." With Thermidor and the execution of Robespierre, ''fraternité'' disappeared from the slogan, reduced to the two terms of liberty and equality, re-defined again as simple judicial equality and not as the equality upheld by the sentiment of fraternity. The
First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...
(
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
) then established the motto ''liberté, ordre public'' (liberty, public order).


19th century

Following Napoleon's rule, the triptych dissolved itself, as none believed it possible to conciliate individual liberty and equality of rights with equality of results and fraternity. The idea of individual sovereignty and of
natural rights Some philosophers distinguish two types of rights, natural rights and legal rights. * Natural rights are those that are not dependent on the laws or customs of any particular culture or government, and so are ''universal'', '' fundamental'' an ...
possessed by man before being united in the collectivity contradicted the possibility of establishing a transparent and fraternal community. Liberals accepted liberty and equality, defining the latter as equality of rights and ignoring fraternity. Early socialists rejected an independent conception of liberty, opposed to the social, and also despised equality, as they considered, as Fourier, that one had only to orchestrate individual discordances, to harmonize them, or they believed, as Saint-Simon, that equality contradicted
equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership *Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...
by a brutal levelling of individualities. Utopian socialism thus only valued fraternity, which was, in Cabet's Icarie the sole commandment. This opposition between liberals and socialists was mirrored in rival historical interpretations of the Revolution, liberals admiring 1789, and socialists 1793. The
July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first in 1789. It led to ...
of 1830, establishing a constitutional monarchy headed by
Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
, substituted ''ordre et liberté'' (order and liberty) to the Napoleonic motto ''Liberté, Ordre public''. Despite this apparent disappearance of the triptych, the latter was still being thought in some underground circles, in Republican
secret societies A secret society is a club or an organization whose activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence ...
, masonic lodges such as the "Indivisible Trinity," far-left booklets or during the
Canuts Revolt The Canut revolts (french: Révolte des canuts) is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers (french: canuts) which occurred in 1831, 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period k ...
in Lyon. In 1834, the lawyer of the
Society of the Rights of Man The Society of the Rights of Man (french: Société des droits de l'homme, SDH) was a Republicanism in France, French republican association with Jacobin roots, formed during the July Revolution in 1830, replacing another republican association, th ...
(Société des droits de l'homme),
Dupont DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...
, a liberal sitting in the far-left during the
July Monarchy The July Monarchy (french: Monarchie de Juillet), officially the Kingdom of France (french: Royaume de France), was a liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 26 July 1830, with the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 23 ...
, associated the three terms together in the '' Revue Républicaine'' which he edited: The triptych resurfaced during the 1847 '' Campagne des Banquets'', upheld for example in
Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...
by
Ledru-Rollin Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin (; 2 February 1807 – 31 December 1874) was a French lawyer, politician and one of the leaders of the French Revolution of 1848. Youth The grandson of Nicolas Philippe Ledru, the celebrated quack doctor known ...
. Two interpretations had attempted to conciliate the three terms, beyond the antagonism between liberals and socialists. One was upheld by Catholic traditionalists, such as Chateaubriand or
Ballanche Pierre-Simon Ballanche (4 August 1776 – 12 June 1847) was a French writer and counterrevolutionary philosopher, who elaborated a theology of progress that possessed considerable influence in French literary circles in the beginning of the ninete ...
, the other by socialist and republicans such as
Pierre Leroux Pierre Henri Leroux (7 April 1797 – 12 April 1871), was a French philosopher and political economist. He was born at Bercy, now a part of Paris, the son of an artisan. Life His education was interrupted by the death of his father, which ...
. Chateaubriand thus gave a Christian interpretation of the revolutionary motto, stating in the 1841 conclusion to his ''Mémoires d'outre-tombe'': Neither Chateaubriand nor Ballanche considered the three terms to be antagonistic. Rather, they took them for being the achievement of Christianity. On the other hand, Pierre Leroux did not disguise the difficulties of associating the three terms, but superated it by considering liberty as the aim, equality as the principle and fraternity as the means. Leroux thus ordered the motto as Liberty, Fraternity, Equality, an order also supported by
Christian socialists Christian socialism is a religious and political philosophy that blends Christianity and socialism, endorsing left-wing politics and socialist economics on the basis of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus. Many Christian socialists believe capi ...
, such as
Buchez Philippe-Joseph-Benjamin Buchez (1796–1865), more commonly called Philippe Buchez, was a French historian, sociologist, and politician. He was the founder of the newspaper ''L'Atelier'', and he served briefly, in 1848, as the president of the ...
. Against this new order of the triptych, Michelet supported the traditional order, maintaining the primordial importance of an original individualistic right. Michelet attempted to conciliate a rational communication with a fraternal communication, "right beyond right", and thus the rival traditions of socialism and liberalism. The republican tradition would strongly inspire itself from Michelet's synchretism.


1848 Revolution

With the
1848 February Revolution The French Revolution of 1848 (french: Révolution française de 1848), also known as the February Revolution (), was a brief period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation ...
, the motto was officially adopted, mainly under the pressure of the people who had attempted to impose the red flag over the tricolor flag (the 1791 red flag was, however, the symbol of martial law and of order, not of insurrection).
Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869), was a French author, poet, and statesman who was instrumental in the foundation of the Second Republic and the continuation of the Tricolore as the flag of France. ...
opposed popular aspirations, and in exchange of the maintaining of the tricolor flag, conceded the Republican motto of ''Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité'', written on the flag, on which a red rosette was also to be added. Fraternity was then considered to resume and to contain both Liberty and Equality, being a form of civil religion (which, far from opposing itself to Christianity, was associated with it in 1848) establishing social links (as called for by Rousseau in the conclusion of the ''Social Contract''). However, Fraternity was not devoid of its previous sense of opposition between brothers and foes, images of blood haunting revolutionary Christian publications, taking in Lamennais' themes. Thus, the newspaper '' Le Christ républicain'' (The Republican Christ) developed the idea of the Christ bringing forth peace to the poor and war to the rich. As soon as 6 January 1852, the future
Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...
, first President of the Republic, ordered all prefects to erase the triptych from all official documents and buildings, conflated with insurrection and disorder.
Auguste Comte Isidore Marie Auguste François Xavier Comte (; 19 January 1798 – 5 September 1857) was a French philosopher and writer who formulated the doctrine of positivism. He is often regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense ...
applauded Napoleon, claiming equality to be the "symbol of metaphysical anarchism", and preferring to it his diptych "''ordre et progrès''" ("order and progress", which would then become the motto of Brazil,
Ordem e Progresso The national flag of Brazil ( pt, bandeira do Brasil), is a blue disc depicting a starry sky (which includes the Southern Cross) spanned by a curved band inscribed with the national motto "''Ordem e Progresso''" ("Order and Progress"), within a y ...
).. On the other hand,
Proudhon Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (, , ; 15 January 1809, Besançon – 19 January 1865, Paris) was a French socialist,Landauer, Carl; Landauer, Hilde Stein; Valkenier, Elizabeth Kridl (1979) 959 "The Three Anticapitalistic Movements". ''European Soci ...
criticized fraternity as an empty word, which he associated with idealistic dreams of
Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
. He preferred to it the sole term of liberty.


Paris Commune and Third Republic

Pache, mayor of the
Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defende ...
, painted the formula "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, ou la mort" on the walls of the commune. It was only under the Third Republic that the motto was made official. It was then not dissociated with insurrection and revolutionary ardours,
Opportunist Republicans The Moderates or Moderate Republicans (french: Républicains modérés), pejoratively labeled Opportunist Republicans (), was a French political group active in the late 19th century during the Third French Republic. The leaders of the group inc ...
such as
Jules Ferry Jules François Camille Ferry (; 5 April 183217 March 1893) was a French statesman and republican philosopher. He was one of the leaders of the Moderate Republicans and served as Prime Minister of France from 1880 to 1881 and 1883 to 1885. He ...
or Gambetta adapting it to the new political conditions. Larousse's ''Dictionnaire universel'' deprived fraternity of its "evangelistic halo" (Mona Ozouf), conflating it with solidarity and the welfare role of the state. Some still opposed the Republican motto, such as the nationalist
Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet, and critic. He was an organizer and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that is monarchist, anti-parl ...
in his ''Dictionnaire politique et critique'', who claimed liberty to be an empty dream, equality an insanity, and only kept fraternity.
Charles Péguy Charles Pierre Péguy (; 7 January 1873 – 5 September 1914) was a French poet, essayist, and editor. His two main philosophies were socialism and nationalism. By 1908 at the latest, after years of uneasy agnosticism, he had become a believing b ...
, renewing with Lamennais' thought, kept fraternity and liberty, excluding equality, seen as an abstract repartition between individuals reduced to homogeneity, opposing "fraternity" as a sentiment put in motion by "misery", while equality only interested itself, according to him, to the mathematical solution of the problem of "poverty." Péguy identified Christian charity and socialist solidarity in this conception of fraternity. On the other hand, Georges Vacher de Lapouge, the most important French author of pseudo-scientific racism and supporter of
eugenism Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
, completely rejected the republican triptych, adopting another motto, "''déterminisme, inégalité, sélection''" (determinism, inequality, selection). But, according to Ozouf, the sole use of a triptych was the sign of the influence of the republican motto, despite it being corrupted in its opposite.


20th century

During the
German occupation of France in World War II The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during Wor ...
, this motto was replaced by the reactionary phrase "'' travail, famille, patrie''" (work, family, fatherland) by
Marshal Pétain Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated ...
, who became the leader of the new
Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a spa and resort town and in World War II was the capital of ...
French government in 1940. Pétain had taken this motto from the
colonel de la Rocque Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
's ''
Parti social français , logo = French Social Party emblem.svg , leader1_title = President , leader1_name = François de La Rocque , foundation = , dissolution = , predecessor = Croix-de-Feu , headquarters = Rue de Milan, ...
'' (PSF), although the latter considered it more appropriate for a movement than for a regime. Indian polymath and social reformer
B.R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...
quoted "I Like the Religion That Teaches Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity". Following the Liberation, the
Provisional Government of the French Republic The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; french: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française (''GPRF'')) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberatio ...
(GPRF) re-established the Republican motto ''Liberté, égalité, fraternité'', which is incorporated into both the 1946 and the 1958 French constitutions.


Other nations

Many other nations have adopted the French slogan of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" as an ideal.
B.R. Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who headed the committee drafting the Constitution of India from the Constituent Assembly debates, served ...
, the Chairman of the Drafting Committee of the Constitution of India, included these words in the
preamble to the Constitution of India The Preamble of the Constitution of India presents the principles of the Constitution and indicates the sources of its authority It was adopted on 26 November 1949 by the Constituent Assembly and came into effect on 26 January 1950, celebrated ...
, in the year 1950. Since its founding, "Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood" has been the lemma of the Social Democratic Party of Denmark. In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
the political party the Liberal Democrats refer to "the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community" in the preamble of the party's Federal Constitution, and this is printed on party membership cards. The Philippine National Flag has a rectangular design that consists of a white equilateral triangle, symbolizing liberty, equality, and fraternity; a horizontal blue stripe for peace, truth, and justice; and a horizontal red stripe for patriotism and valor. In the center of the white triangle is an eight- rayed golden sun symbolizing unity, freedom, people's democracy, and sovereignty. Some former colonies of the French Republic (such as
Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...
,
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
,
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesGabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
) have adopted similar three-word mottos. The idea of the slogan "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" has also given an influence as
natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
to the First Article of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt ...
:


Culture

The term is referred to in the 1993-94 film trilogy ''
Three Colours The ''Three Colours'' trilogy (french: Trois couleurs, pl, Trzy kolory) is the collective title of three Psychological drama (subgenre), psychological drama films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski: ''Three Colours: Blue'' (1993), ''Three Colour ...
'' by
Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for '' Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994 ...
. "Libertad! Igualdad! Fraternidad!" is the title of an English-language poem by
William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...
.


See also

*
List of political slogans The following is a list of notable political slogans. Political slogan (listed alphabetically) A * Abki baar Modi Sarkar – Bharatiya Janata Party's campaign slogan for 2014 Indian Parliamentary Elections * ACT UP, Fight Back, Fight AIDS – ...
* Give me liberty or give me death * Life, liberty, and property *
Brotherhood and unity Brotherhood and unity was a popular slogan of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia that was coined during the Yugoslav People's Liberation War (1941–45), and which evolved into a guiding principle of Yugoslavia's post-war inter-ethnic poli ...
*
Three Principles of the People The Three Principles of the People (; also translated as the Three People's Principles, San-min Doctrine, or Tridemism) is a political philosophy developed by Sun Yat-sen as part of a philosophy to improve China made during the Republican Era. ...
*'' Travail, famille, patrie'' – the national motto of
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
*''
La Nation, la Loi, le Roi ''La Nation, la Loi, le Roi'' ( en, The Nation, the Law, the King) was the national motto of France during the constitutional period of the French monarchy, and is an example of a tripartite motto – much like the popular revolutionary slogan; ...
'' *Salazar's Estado Novo's motto ''Deus, Pátria e Família'' (meaning "God, Fatherland, and Family")


Notes


References


Further reading

* Mathijsen, Marita. "The emancipation of the past, as due to the Revolutionary French ideology of Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité." ''Free Access to the Past'' ed Lotte Jensen (Brill, 2010). 20–40. * Roth, Guenther. "Durkheim and the principles of 1789: the issue of gender equality." ''Telos'' 1989.82 (1989): 71–88. * Sénac, Réjane. "The Contemporary Conversation about the French Connection "Liberté, égalité, fraternité": Neoliberal Equality and "Non-brothers." ''Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique. French Journal of British Studie''s 21.XXI-1 (2016)
online


External links


Slogan of the French Republic
– Official French website (in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite French words and phrases Slogans National mottos National symbols of France National symbols of Haiti French political catchphrases Liberty symbols Human rights concepts Political ideologies Egalitarianism Liberalism Radicalism (historical) Political campaigns 1790s neologisms