"Curved way, straight mind"... Do you know the history of these French currencies?

In the 15th and 16th centuries and in order to be recognizable on the battlefields, the families of the nobility began to adorn themselves with coats of arms.

The objective is to distinguish themselves from other families and thus demonstrate strength, power and family identity.

These coats of arms, accompanied by mottos, are also affixed to the cities placed under the authority of the "great families".

From then on, the free cities also began to equip themselves with coats of arms and mottoes, and everywhere in France Latin or Greek formulas appeared.

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Whether they come from historical events or are the result of territorial specificities, the mottoes of cities conceal unpublished anecdotes.

The editorial staff guides you through this linguistic maze.

Lyon: "

with luck as a companion and courage as a guide

"

Having become a city under the name of “Lugdunum” in 43 BC, Lyon naturally retains traces of its Roman past, starting with one of its mottos: “

”.

After the conquest of the territory by the Governor of Gaul, Lucius Munatius Plancus, and his army, the famous orator and Roman lawyer Cicero would have, according to the archives of the Bnf of the

(1839), addressed these words to him, literally meaning "

".

Angoulême:

"what makes me strong is the loyalty of my citizens"

Famous for its comic strip festival, the prefecture of the Charente department was also a powerful supporter of the throne of France during the medieval wars against England.

Stamped with a royal crown, marked by the fleur-de-lis, the motto covers the coat of arms with these few words: “

”.

Awarded by King Charles the Wise, it pays homage to the loyal Angoumois bourgeoisie;

it means “

”, as indicated by the archives of the town of Angoulême.

Fréjus: "

if Julius Caesar gave it his name, Napoleon made it famous

"

The town of Fréjus, located in the Var, is an exception in this list: its famous and historic motto has in fact not been used since the Restoration.

His sympathy for the Emperor Napoleon I was called into question in 1814, following the Restoration and the accession of King Louis XVIII to the head of France.

If Julius Caesar gave it his name, Napoleon made it famous (“

”).

Courbevoie: “

curved way, straight spirit

”

In a bend of the old Roman road going from Paris to Rouen existed a small hamlet of fishermen and winegrowers: the current Courbevoie.

The architecture of the city of Hauts-de-Seine (92) married the sinuosities of the Seine, and its roads were then curved.

This urban geography gave rise to the city's motto "

" (which means "

"), whose author would be the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius (138 -161), according to the city website.