Sesquicentennial of the French Revolution - 2.25 franc

This semi-postal issue commemorates the 150e Anniversaire de la Révolution Française, presenting a powerful historical narrative centered on the historic storming of the Bastille fortress on July 14, 1789. The detailed central vignette depicts the armed citizenry surging across the drawbridge of the stone fortress under a smoky sky illuminated by rays of light that spell out the national motto: "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité". The central scene is flanked by two symbolic Roman fasces topped by Phrygian liberty caps; the left column bears the text "Égalité des peuples et des races" (Equality of peoples and races), while the right reads "Pour la défense des colonies" (For the defense of the colonies). Historically, this 1939 stamp served a vital ideological purpose within French Somaliland, using the sesquicentennial milestone to reinforce revolutionary principles of civic equality and collective defense across the territory during a period of escalating global geopolitical tensions.