A frame of the sitting president is the only feature required by law in all French mairies.
Other common features such as the French flag and the French republic motto “Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité”, as well as a bust of Marianne, are only customary and left to the mayor's discretion.
The frame of the sitting president has only been mandatory since May 11, 2023 when MPs signed an amendment. The Connexion learned about this little-known French fact after calls to a dozen mairies, where many said they did not feature all four.
Liberté, égalité, fraternité and the bust of Marianne are the most striking of all.
Lillers (Pas-de-Calais), Villeneuve-Le-Roi (Val-de-Marne) and Habsheim (Haut-Rhin) do not have the motto. Many mairies in Alsace, in fact, align with Habsheim for historical reasons. It was possessed by Germany when most mairies added the motto in the late 19th Century. When it became French again, many mairies did not include it.
Steinbrunn-le-Bas (Haut-Rhin) and Arvieux (Hautes-Alpes) do not have a Marianne bust. Steinbrunn-le-Bas’ copy was broken during a renovation in the late 90s and never replaced.
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‘Marianne’ is often depicted wearing the Phrygian cap, a revolutionary emblem of freedom but some are depictions of famous French women such as Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Inès de la Fressange or Laetitia Casta.
portrait of President Macron at the Mairie of Steinbrunn-le-BasMairie Steinbrunn-le-Bas
Their numbers vary by region. The Vaucluse has about 100 busts, the Pyrénées-Orientales 98, the Var 98, the Alpes-Maritimes 80 and Corsica only 30, according to historian Jean-Paul Pellegrinetti. 30 of them were delivered to mayors all around the Cher department in 2018.
Similarly, the French flag is expected to be flown on the mairie considering the building represents the French republic. “Imposing these features would be equated to another form of religious imposition, only a civic one,” said Olivier Ihl, a professor of political science and honorary director at Sciences Po Grenoble. “It is deemed contrary to the neutrality and secular spirit of the State,” he added.
“The Republican tradition would rather leave mayors to decide, in an effort to avoid any confusion between the Republican and a form of institutional cult,” he said.
Several MPs and senators have asked the government to turn some customs into law, to no avail. Christian Bataille, then a Socialist MP representing the Nord, asked in 2015 why the French motto ’ liberté, égalité, fraternité’ was not yet mandatory. He was given an answer a year later, saying it was “a respectful sign” to honour the mayor considering their title.
Laurent Burgoa, a Senator representing Gard, proposed a bill to the French senate in January 2025, requiring the same thing for Marianne busts. It has been under review ever since.
