Bleu de France (colour)
Bleu de France is a colour traditionally used to represent France. Blue has been used in the heraldry of the French monarchy since at least the 12th century, with the golden fleurs-de-lis of the kings always set on a blue background. A brighter version, based on the blue of the French Tricolour, is used in modern times, particularly in a sporting context. French national teams in all sports will normally use blue as their main colour.
Blue is France's national racing colour; therefore, several French motorsport teams have used it, including Alpine, Amilcar, Ballot, Bugatti, Delage, Delahaye, Gordini, Ligier, Mathis, Matra, Panhard, Pescarolo Sport, Peugeot, Prost Grand Prix, Rondeau, Salmson, Talbot-Lago, Voisin. The two notable exceptions are Citroën and Renault: the former has used red and white, whereas the latter has used yellow and black. Between and Renault F1 cars wore a blue colour not as the national racing colour of France but due to the team´s title sponsor the Japanese brand of cigarettes Mild Seven.
"French blue" has also been in used by the Massachusetts State Police, in uniform and livery, since June 1933, to render troopers immediately recognizable to the public. Since 1944 it has also been in use by Delaware State Police on their uniforms.Race cars in ''Bleu de France''
