Which country uses the white flag as its national flag? Why is it now one of the five permanent members of the United Nations?

As a national flag, the national flag is a national symbol. It reflects a country's characteristics and historical and cultural traditions through certain styles and colors. The design of the national flag needs to be as simple and convenient as possible and impressive at the same time. The original national flag was born in Europe and then spread all over the world.

At present, no country in the world uses a solid national flag, and the white flag is regarded as a symbol of surrender. In ancient times, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, ancient Rome and China used the white flag as the contact signal between the warring parties. The white flag also gives the concept of calling for a truce and negotiation. As time went on, it was finally widely regarded as a sign of surrender.

But interestingly, there was a country in history that used a white flag as its national flag. This country has now become one of the five permanent members of the United Nations, which is France. Someone once joked that France's national flag was a white flag during World War II, which was attributed to France's amazing performance at that time and its surrender at the speed of light, making the world anti-fascist movement more difficult, but this joke did have some basis. Let's look at the history of the French flag.

France is one of the earliest countries in Europe with a national flag. At first, people didn't have the concept of national flag, but under the rule of Louis XIV, the autocratic monarch with the most concentrated power in France, the blue and gold iris pattern of Bourbon dynasty gradually became a symbol of France. Louis XIV himself said a famous saying: "I am the country."

Later, the French royal family began to use white as their symbol, symbolizing purity. When the French king goes on patrol, the army guards will hold a white flag in front of the king to represent the majesty of the royal family, or hold a medal of the Holy Spirit to symbolize holiness.

Because the French army is a royal army, the French army also began to use the white flag as a symbol of military command. Later, the white flag became the symbol of the French navy, and the French government also issued an order prohibiting commercial and private ships from flying the white flag. During the American War of Independence, the French army carried out support operations with a white flag.

However, a few decades later, during the 1789 French Revolution, the Paris National Self-Defense Force designed the tricolor flag that we are now widely familiar with. In the past, the white flag was in the center, representing the French king and symbolizing his sacred position, and the red and blue colors were on both sides, representing the citizens of Paris; By 1794, the tricolor flag was determined as the national flag of the first country in France.

However, in 18 13, after Napoleon's defeat, the first French Empire perished, the Bourbon Dynasty was restored, and the national flag was changed to Iris Citi, which is the pattern we see below.

However, the design of this national flag is very complicated and difficult to describe. Therefore, most French people use the drapeau blanc as their national flag, and the Bourbon dynasty acquiesced in it. The French national signal flag was officially changed to a pure white flag.

Napoleon, who came to power again later, cancelled the white flag of Bourbon dynasty, but its history as a national flag lasted until the July Revolution of 1830, and it was revoked after a hundred years of use. Therefore, France has become the only country that uses the white flag as its national flag.

Later, the French flag changed a lot, but it was basically blue, white and red. During World War II, after France surrendered, its leader philip petain used the tricolor flag with fascist beam and Venus symbol as the representative flag of the regime (but the French flag was still tricolor flag at that time).

In this regard, Charles de Gaulle, the exiled general led by Free France, publicly announced that a red Lorraine cross was added to the tricolor flag as a symbol of Free France. However, after the end of World War II, these symbols disappeared, and the French flag was once again restored to the original tricolor flag, which became the pattern we see now.