14th July 1795; "La Marseillaise" ("The song of Marseille") becomes the national anthem of France. It was written and composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in 1792 and adopted in 1795 as the nation's first anthem. It is also the first example of the European march style of anthem.

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle wrote "La Marseillaise" in Strasbourg on 25 April 1792. Its original name was "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" ("War Song for the Army of the Rhine") and it was dedicated to Marshal Nicolas Luckner, a Bavarian-born French officer from Cham. It became the rallying call of the French Revolution and received its name because it was first sung on the streets by volunteers (fédérés) from Marseille upon their entry into Paris on 30 July 1792 after a young volunteer from Montpellier called François Mireur had sung it at a patriotic gathering in Marseille and the troops adopted it as the marching song of the National Guard of Marseille. A newly graduated medical doctor, Mireur later became a general under Napoléon Bonaparte and died in Egypt at 28.

The song's lyrics reflect the invasion of France by foreign armies (from Prussia and Austria) which was ongoing when it was written; Strasbourg itself was attacked just a few days later. The invading forces were repulsed from France following their defeat in the Battle of Valmy. "La Marseillaise" was screamed during the levée en masse and met with huge success

The Convention accepted it as the French national anthem in a decree passed on 14 July 1795, making it France's first; but it was then banned successively by Napoleon I, Louis XVIII, and Napoleon III, only being reinstated briefly after the July Revolution of 1830. During Napoleon I's reign Veillons au Salut de l'Empire was the unofficial anthem of the regime and during Napoleon III's reign Partant pour la Syrie. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries "La Marseillaise" was recognised as the anthem of the international revolutionary movement and in 1871, it was adopted by the Paris Commune. Eight years later in 1879, it was restored as France's national anthem, and has remained so ever since.

"La Marseillaise" was arranged for soprano, chorus and orchestra by Hector Berlioz in about 1830. Franz Liszt wrote a piano transcription of the anthem. During World War I, bandleader James Reese Europe played a jazz version of "La Marseillaise", which can be heard on Part 2 of the Ken Burns TV documentary Jazz. In Peru and Chile, both the Partido Aprista Peruano and the Socialist Party of Chile wrote their own versions of "La Marseillaise" to be their anthems.

Allons enfants de la Patrie,         Come, children of the Fatherland (Homeland),
Le jour de gloire est arrivé !         The day of glory has arrived!
Contre nous de la tyrannie,         Against us of the Tyranny's
L'étendard sanglant est levé, (bis)     Bloody banner is raised, (repeat)
Entendez-vous dans les campagnes     Do you hear in the countryside
Mugir ces féroces soldats ?         Those ferocious soldiers roaring?
Ils viennent jusque dans vos bras     They come up to your arms
Égorger vos fils, vos compagnes !     To slaughter your sons and wives!
     
Aux armes, citoyens,             To arms, citizens,
Formez vos bataillons,             Form your battalions,
Marchons, marchons !             Let's march, let's march!
Qu'un sang impur             May be an impure blood
Abreuve nos sillons !             Water our furrows!
     
Que veut cette horde d'esclaves,     What does this horde of slaves,
De traîtres, de rois conjurés ?     Of traitors and conjured kings want?
Pour qui ces ignobles entraves,     For whom are these ignoble trammels,
Ces fers dès longtemps préparés ? (bis) These long-prepared fetters? (repeat)
Français, pour nous, ah ! quel outrage     Frenchmen, for us, ah! What outrage
Quels transports il doit exciter !     What fury it must arouse!
C'est nous qu'on ose méditer         It is we whom they dare plan
De rendre à l'antique esclavage !     To return to ancient slavery!
     
Aux armes, citoyens...             To arms, citizens...
     
Quoi ! des cohortes étrangères         What! Foreign cohorts
Feraient la loi dans nos foyers !     Would make law in our homes!
Quoi ! ces phalanges mercenaires     What! These mercenary phalanxes
Terrasseraient nos fiers guerriers ! (bis)     Would strike down our proud warriors! (repeat)
Grand Dieu ! par des mains enchaînées     Great God ! By chained hands
Nos fronts sous le joug se ploieraient     Our heads would bow under the yoke
De vils despotes deviendraient         Vile despots would become
Les maîtres de nos destinées !         The masters of our destinies!
     
Aux armes, citoyens...             To arms, citizens...
     
Tremblez, tyrans et vous perfides     Tremble, tyrants and you traitors
L'opprobre de tous les partis,         The shame of all parties,
Tremblez ! vos projets parricides     Tremble! Your parricidal schemes
Vont enfin recevoir leurs prix ! (bis)     Will finally receive their prizes! (repeat)
Tout est soldat pour vous combattre,     Everyone is a soldier to combat you
S'ils tombent, nos jeunes héros,     If they fall, our young heroes,
La terre en produit de nouveaux,     The earth produces new ones,
Contre vous tout prêts à se battre !     Against you, all ready to fight!
     
Aux armes, citoyens...             To arms, citizens...
     
Français, en guerriers magnanimes,     Frenchmen, as magnanimous warriors,
Portez ou retenez vos coups !         Bear or hold back your blows!
Épargnez ces tristes victimes,         Spare these sorry victims,
À regret s'armant contre nous. (bis)     Arming against us with regrets. (repeat)
Mais ces despotes sanguinaires,     But these bloodthirsty despots,
Mais ces complices de Bouillé,         But these accomplices of Bouillé,
Tous ces tigres qui, sans pitié,      All these tigers who, mercilessly,
Déchirent le sein de leur mère !     Rip their mother's breast!
     
Aux armes, citoyens...                  To arms, citizens...
     
Amour sacré de la Patrie,                  Sacred love of the Fatherland,
Conduis, soutiens nos bras vengeurs  Lead, support our avenging arms
Liberté, Liberté chérie,                      Liberty, cherished Liberty,
Combats avec tes défenseurs ! (bis) Fight with thy defenders! (repeat)
Sous nos drapeaux que la victoire    Under our flags, shall victory
Accoure à tes mâles accents,           Hurry to thy manly accents,
Que tes ennemis expirants             Shall thy expiring enemies,
Voient ton triomphe et notre gloire !     See thy triumph and our glory!
         
Aux armes, citoyens...                    To arms, citizens...
     
(Couplet des enfants)                    (Children's Verse)
Nous entrerons dans la carrière[3]   We shall enter in the (military) career
Quand nos aînés n'y seront plus,    When our elders are no longer there,
Nous y trouverons leur poussière     There we shall find their dust
Et la trace de leurs vertus (bis)        And the trace of their virtues (repeat)
Bien moins jaloux de leur survivre   Much less jealous to survive them
Que de partager leur cercueil,         Than to share their coffins,
Nous aurons le sublime orgueil       We shall have the sublime pride
De les venger ou de les suivre        Of avenging or following them
     
Aux armes, citoyens...                    To arms, citizens...