Did you know that French President Emmanuel Macron ordered a change so subtle that it went unnoticed for almost three years? Well, what was it? The colour of the French flag!
The red-white-and-blue tricolour flying above the Elysee Palace--and also placed behind Macron at news conferences and speeches--now has a darker navy blue colour rather than the previous bright blue. But why? To honour the heroism in France's past, reported AFP.
The navy blue colour has its roots in tradition - it was then president Valery Giscard d'Estaing who switched the brighter blue in 1976 so that it matched the colour of the European flag which displays yellow stars on a blue background.?
The change had been made on the flags placed behind Macron at speeches from 2018 and then on those flying from the Elysee and other presidential buildings from 2020, a presidential official, who asked not to be named, told AFP on Monday.
The official added that the navy blue colour "evokes the memory" of the heroes who fought in the French Revolution, the trenches of World War I and in the Resistance during World War II.
The change came into notice after being revealed in a book "Elysee Confidential" which was published this Autumn by journalists, Eliot Blondet and Paul Larrouturou. They reported that the decision came from the head of operations at the Elysee, Arnaud Jolens, whom the journalists interviewed for their book. The change cost 5,000 euros (Rs 4,22,485).
"Giscard changed this blue for aesthetic reasons during integration with Europe, but the flag that all the presidents took along with them ever since was not the real French flag," Jolens is quoted as saying.
The Elysee official added that the flag on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris had always had navy blue.
France on January 1 takes on the rotating EU presidency under Macron, a pro-European, while he faces a re-election battle in April.
The presidency of the Council rotates among the EU member states every 6 months. During this time, the presidency chairs meetings at every level in the Council, helping to ensure the continuity of the EU's work in the Council.??
For the latest from trending, head here.