Emmanuel Macron changed one of the colors on the French flag over a year ago - and barely anyone noticed until now.
The French president's administration quietly switched from Marian Blue to a darker navy on the tricolor back in July 2020.
Per Sky News, nobody gave any explanation for why the swap was made at the time, and it went largely unnoticed until this week, when a member of staff explained it to French news site CNews.
"There are aesthetic reasons, this blue is more elegant," they told the outlet.
But the darker blue also has political implications. As the shade that featured in the flag of the French Revolution, switching back to it is a nod to France's history, or as the staff member said, a way "to revive a symbol of the French revolution."
The navy blue is also the color used by the French navy and many official buildings. In fact, the French state only swapped to the light blue in 1976 - a decision taken by the then-president Giscard d'Estaing so that their flag would match the EU's better.
Because switching back to dark blue distances France from the EU, many are interpreting the change to the flag as an anti-EU statement.
But the member of staff stressed that although it was a "very political" decision, it was absolutely not intended as an anti-EU gesture.
Macron's Elysee Palace did not formally announce the change, but CNews reports that the decision was made on July 13, 2020. As of yet, no French institutions have been ordered to change their flags.
There was reportedly a debate around Macron's decision, with some questioning whether the new flag would clash with the European flag.
Others, meanwhile, were nostalgic for the darker blue flag as the one used during their childhoods.
The change has seen some popularity on Twitter, where a 79% of people voted they preferred the new dark blue.
"It just looks smarter somehow," Tweeted one user.
"The brighter color is nicer but the darker has more meaning so the darker it is," added another.
Other people questioned why the president was making such a slight change to a flag when there are more pressing issues to deal with.
"Solve climate change first, then do flag colors," one person wrote.
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