The fasces is a bundle of wooden rods bound together around an axe that was carried as a symbol of authority in ancient Rome. It represented the power and jurisdiction of magistrates. After the French monarchy was abolished, the fasces was adopted as a symbol of state authority for the new French Republic to replace royal symbols. Depictions of the fasces from this period often show it accompanying the French flag or motto, though sometimes partially concealed by other icons like the Phrygian cap.

1. A set of rods bound in the form of a bundle which contained an axe. The word fasces means "bundle" and refers to
the fact that it is a bundle of rods, which surrounded an ax in the middle. In ancient Rome, the lictors carried
fasces before consul, praetors and dictators, i.e., magistrates that held imperium (which means that they had the
right to command and interpret the flight of the birds).
Fasces surmounted by a Phrygian cap. Power to the liberated people.
Note: Fasces has also been the symbol of Italian fascist in the 20th century.
The Fasces In France. Once the monarchy had been abolished the new French Republic needed
new symbols the represent the state and its power to replace the old royal symbols such as the
fleur-de-lis and the royal crown.
Liberty and later Marianne provided symbols for the revolutionary
state while fasces provided an ideal
symbol to represent the authority of
the State. It is often hidden away in the
background.
In the depiction on the left it accompanies
two French tricolore flagsand the
national cypher RF. It is just visible behind the wreath.
In the depiction on the right it is less well hidden, this time by a
poster with the new national motto. The axe head is completely
concealed by aPhrygian cap (or Cap of Liberty).

3. Law tablet
Inscribed with the finger of God," the two stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments have
created a
dramatic focus for many images of Moses descending Mount Sinai, including Rembrandt van Rijn's
17thcentury rendition of "Moses Breaking the Tables of the Law." Here Moses holds above his head
two large
black slabs, one partly hiding the other. The front slab is inscribed with the last five commandments,
in
square Hebrew letters, according to the traditional biblical text.
These slabs are reminiscent of engraved stone tablets, with the commandments in Hebrew, that
hung in
Dutch churches after the Reformation. Similar tablets were attached to the walls of British churches,
but
the texts were often in English. Although Rembrandt and other artists have created easily readable
images, archaeological evidence suggests the tablets envisioned in the biblical text would have had
a
strikingly different appearance.
Inscribed with the finger of God," the two stone tablets bearing the Ten Commandments have
created a
dramatic focus for many images of Moses descending Mount Sinai, including Rembrandt van Rijn's
17thcentury rendition of "Moses Breaking the Tables of the Law." Here Moses holds above his head
two large
black slabs, one partly hiding the other. The front slab is inscribed with the last five commandments,
in

5. White
White is the traditional color of the House of Bourbon, who ruled in
France from the late 16th Century until the French Revolution. On the
flag, the color white represents the King.
Red and Blue

6. The red and blue in the flag represents the city of Paris.
Revolutionaries in Paris traditionally flew red and blue. Likewise,
revolutionaries wore blue and red cockades (ribbons) on their hats
when they stormed the Bastille in 1789.
Other Interpretations
Aside from France's official explanation of the flag's colors, you may
find many other interpretations, as well. Some popular but non-official
interpretations include:
 The colors symbolize nobility (blue), clergy (white), and
bourgeois (red), which were the estates of the old regime in
France.
 When the Tricolour was formally adopted in 1794, its colors
symbolized the values of the French Revolution: liberty,
equality, brotherhood, democracy, secularism, and
modernization. Today, that motto has been shortened
to Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, which translates to Liberty,
Equality, Brotherhood.
 One popular interpretation suggests the colors may have also
symbolized important people in French history. Blue symbolizes
Saint Martin (Martin of Tours), a Christian saint with a shrine in
Paris. Red symbolizes Saint Denis, a martyr and saint who was
the Bishop of Paris. White symbolizes the Virgin Mary or Joan of
Arc.