France · 225th anniversary of the Fête de la Fédération

Issue date22 Jul 2015

Total mintage4,020,000

EU maximum4,000,000

Editions3

Edge lettering2 ★ ★ × 6, alternating upright/inverted

InscriptionRF / 2015

DesignerJoaquin Jimenez

mintMonnaie de Paris, Pessac

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 225th anniversary of the Fête de la Fédération and thus the French National Day as a celebration of the Republic. The design shows a modern sketch of the profile of Marianne, symbol of the French Republic, wearing a Phrygian cap. Beside it appear the cockade above the initials “RF” and a stanza from the poem “Liberté” by Paul Eluard, referring to the motto of the French Republic.

The design

The French national holiday is a day that unites all French people, a day on which the Republic is celebrated. The design is a modern sketch of the profile of Marianne, a symbol of the French Republic, wearing a Phrygian cap. On the right, the cockade is sketched above the initials RF. The year of issue is indicated in the centre of the coin. On the left, the coin bears a stanza from the poem “Liberté” by the French poet Paul Eluard, referring to the motto of the French Republic. The mint marks are located next to this excerpt.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

The Festival of the Federation took place on 14 July 1790 on the Champ de Mars (Marsfeld) in Paris, exactly one year after the storming of the Bastille. It occurred during an early phase of the French Revolution, when an agreement between the monarchy, the National Assembly and the population was still being sought. Delegations of the newly formed National Guards from the French departments travelled to Paris. Tens of thousands of spectators took part in the event; for them, the Champ de Mars was transformed into a large festival site.

During a mass, the commander of the National Guard, Marquis de Lafayette, swore an oath to the nation, the law and the king. Ludwig XVI, for his part, pledged to respect the constitutional order that was emerging. The festival presented France as a community of equal citizens and its regions. However, this vision of a reconciled constitutional monarchy proved short-lived. In the following years, political conflicts intensified; in 1792, the monarchy was abolished.

Since 1880, 14 July has been established by law as the French national holiday. The date allows for a dual historical reference: to the revolutionary upheaval of the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and to the national unity celebration of 1790. The choice of the Festival of the Federation for the 2015 issue refers to this second interpretation, which places greater emphasis on solidarity.

Marianne is not a historical person, but an allegory. The female figure emerged from the political imagery of the Revolution and became an established embodiment of the Republic in the 19th century. Her name deliberately combines a common given name with the idea of the people. The Phrygian cap was also used as a symbol of freedom during the revolutionary period. The French cockade combines blue and red, the colours of Paris, with white.

Paul Éluard’s poem “Liberté” was written during the German occupation of France and published in 1942. Its dissemination through the Resistance closely associated it with the struggle against occupation and political repression. The text names numerous places on which the lyrical speaker writes an initially undisclosed name; only at the end is it revealed as “Liberté”.