Why is the emblem of France a cockerail?

Answer 1

The former name of France (Gaul) was homonymous in Latin, with the species "Gallus" (the hen and rooster family). In some periods of French history, the rooster as the emblem of the ancestors of the French came back in favour, partly due to nostalgy, partly due to the rejection of monarchic emblems. That was the case under the French Revolution and at the end of the 19th Century, when French history was revisited.

In addition France was a Catholic country, and the rooster was also a Catholic symbol, figuring in the story of St Peter in the Bible; also crowing for the day, it announces the return of the day, as in the resurrection.

Answer 2

The Gallic rooster or the cockerel is actually an unofficial national symbol of France. It has been a symbol of France since the Gallic times. This was because the words cockerel (rooster in US) and Gallic were very similar in ancient French. The association between the rooster and France was developed by the kings of France for the Christian symbol that the rooster represents. The Bible events leading to the denial of Jesus by Peter before the cock crew three times has an influence on this. Also the cockerel is a symbol of Christians watchfulness and readiness. Hence during Renaissance period, the cockerel became a symbol of France as it was a Catholic state.