Liberté, égalité, fraternité French for “liberty, equality, fraternity”, is the national motto of France ….. are contained in the German motto “Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit” (unity and justice and freedom), taken from the German national anthem. Debates concerning the compatibility and order of the three terms began at the same time as the Revolution. It is also the motto of the Grand Orient de France and the Grande Loge de France. The first to have made this motto was Maximilien Robespierre in his speech “On the organization of the National Guard” (French: Discours sur l’organisation des gardes nationales) on 5 December 1790, article XVI, and disseminated widely throughout France by the popular Societies.