[1] The Tricolore was officially unveiled in December 1997, being the first colorized ball used in a FIFA World Cup.

[2] The tricolour flag and cockerel, traditional symbols of France were used as inspiration for the design.

The design of blue triads decorated with cockerel motifs was adopted to represent the colours of the flag of France.

More than twenty roughs had been proposed by the Adidas design team before the definitive version was approved.

The Gallic rooster and the TGV were some of the symbols chosen to represent the French identity on the ball.