I thought left wing and right wing came from the French?

Good question on the red and blue, dxb. It's that way in the US, too. Maybe red comes from Communism? and blue to be as distinct as possible from red?

In other words, I have no clue and am merely "voicing" vague ideas from my junk-drawer memory®. Can anyone with time/inclination look these up? Dr Bill, where are you??