The current emblem of France has been a symbol of France since 1953, although it does not have any legal status as an official coat of arms. It appears on the cover of French passports and was originally adopted by the French Foreign Ministry as a symbol for use by diplomatic and consular missions in 1912 using a design drawn up by the sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain.
In 1953, France received a request from the United Nations for a copy of the national coat of arms to be displayed alongside the coats of arms of other member states in its assembly chamber. An interministerial commission requested Robert Louis (1902–1965), heraldic artist, to produce a version of the Chaplain design. This did not, however, constitute an adoption of an official coat of arms by the Republic.
Technically speaking, it is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not respect heraldic rules—heraldry being seen as an aristocratic art, and therefore associated with the Ancien Régime. The emblem consists of:
A wide shield with lion-head terminal bears a monogram "RF" standing for République Française (French Republic).
A laurelbranch symbolises victory of the Republic.
The fasces is a symbol associated with justice (from Romanlictor's axes, in this case not fascism).
In September 1999, the French government adopted a new identifier incorporating the Republican motto, the colours of the flag, and the Republic's personification, Marianne.
The logo of the French government
The symbol is used on plaques marking French consulates
