Your stamps will change! Tuesday November 7, 2023 in Boulazac (Dordogne), Emmanuel Macron unveiled the new Marianne called to become the emblem of La Poste stamps, by November 13, 2023. Each year, no less than 400 million units of stamps bearing the image of the woman wearing a Phrygian cap are sold. Work of Olivier Balez, graduate of the School of Graphic Arts and Industries, this “Marianne of the Future” is the result of a careful selection. Indeed, 60 young people from the Universal National Service (SNU) participated in a ranking among 15 artists’ proposals, who had to deal with precise criteria: “The ability of this work to evoke the return to the fundamentals of the Republic, openness to the world as well as the importance of the ecological transition”explained the Élysée in a press release, published Sunday November 5, 2023.
A well-established presidential tradition
As a result, the new modern-style Marianne is surrounded by leaves, wears a flower and has her chin raised, looking towards the future, as Emmanuel Macron wanted. It is tradition in France that the president in office validates the Marianne who will embody his policy and his vision of the Republic. Thus, the woman who symbolizes the Republic has already known 30 variations over 174 years! This tradition dates back to 1977, when Valéry Giscard d’Estaing opted for a Marianne with her gaze turned to the right. Then, François Mitterrand, first socialist president of the Fifth Republic, chose a Marianne turned to the left. The stamps thus followed one another, until the new “Marianne de l’Avenir” which would reflect the values and priorities of President Emmanuel Macron.