French composer. He wrote light opera, initially for presentation at the Bouffes Parisiens. Among his works are Orphée aux enfers/Orpheus in the Underworld (1858, revised 1874), La belle Hélène (1864), and Les contes d'Hoffmann/The Tales of Hoffmann (1881).
The small stars stand for the original provinces of Congo at independence in 1960. The single gold star was said to represent the light of civilization. Effective date: 17 May 1997.