According to history, this flag was adopted during the early days of the French Revolution, to combine white from the traditional flag of the monarchy with red and blue from the arms of Paris. It is thought that the Marquis de Lafayette was responsible for inventing the red, white, and blue cockade which soon became compulsory for revolutionaries in 1789. The flag went out of use with Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, but was brought back in 1830 and has remained in use ever since.