The Marchands de l'eau (hanse parisienne des marchands de l'eau) were a corporation or guild established by royal privilege in 1170 with the right for commercial navigation on the Seine between Paris and Mantes.

When the French Revolution abolished the nobility by the decree of 20 June 1790, it simultaneously disallowed all emblems or coats of arms.

In the Letters Patent of Louis XVIII in 1817, the coat of arms of Paris was restored in its traditional form,[2] except for the chief, where the fleur-de-lis were replaced by the three bees used by Napoleon (attributed to the Merovingian kings, especially Childeric I).

Additions made to the full achievement of the coat of arms in modern times include three badges, for:[3] Fluctuat nec mergitur ("[she] is rocked [by the waves], but does not sink"; French: Il est agité par les vagues, mais ne sombre pas[5] or Il est battu par les flots, mais ne sombre pas[6]) is the Latin motto of the city of Paris.

The motto originates as an abbreviation of a longer Latin distich, This verse is medieval, attributed to either Pope Gregory IX or Pope Innocent IV in the context of the war against Frederick II, in which Frederick had destroyed the Genoese fleet.

The coat of arms is to be found on many Parisian public buildings, including the Hôtel de Ville, the mairies of the 20 arrondissements, the train stations, the bridges, and primary and secondary schools, and la Sorbonne.

It was also represented on a postage stamp issued in 1965, the 0.30 franc "Blason de Paris".