Liberté, égalité, fraternité

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

'Liberté, égalité, fraternité' (French for "freedom, equality, brotherhood") is the motto of the French Republic.

The slogan of the French Revolution was Liberté, égalité, fraternité, ou la mort! (Freedom, equality, brotherhood or death!). This slogan outlived the revolution, later becoming the rallying cry of the activists, both militant and non-violent, who promote democracy or overthrow of oppressive governments.

France currently uses the milder version "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" as its National motto. Those 3 words are sometimes associated with the 3 colors of the French flag, but there is no historical connection. Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski borrowed this motto for his film trilogy Three Colors.

The French euro coins for 1 euro and for 2 euros have this motto stamped on the obverse side.