France unveils new Marianne postage stamp

PARIS, July 13 (AFP) – France on Tuesday unveiled the country’s new standard postage stamp, which bears a stylised version of “Marianne” – the symbol of the republic – in the form of a red flower.  

Following a nationwide contest, President Jacques Chirac chose 49-year-old Thierry Lamouche’s design – with Marianne’s face turned toward the sky – from among 10 final entries.  

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, Jean-Louis Debre, unveiled the winning drawing on the steps of the National Assembly.

The stamp will go into circulation from January 1, 2005.  

Marianne has been the anonymous female image of France since the revolution, when a replacement was needed for the toppled crown. She has been at different times bare-breasted warrior and virtuous mother-figure.  

Since the 1960s, a succession of celebrities including Brigitte Bardot and Catherine Deneuve have supplied the features for France’s heroine.