Le Bleuet de France

Le Nouveau Bleuets de France

This year will be my first Remembrance Day not in England (it was also my first Bonfire Night not in England - the silence was very strange).

Charly received a package the other day which was full of 'Les Bleuets de France'. He's taken it upon himself to be a 'Bleuet' seller - being in the French military it's something of great importance to him.

Anyway, it turns out that France commemorates the 11th November here too! 

Thinking about it, it makes complete sense - they were involved in the World Wars too, they lost thousands of soldiers too... but it just never crossed my mind!

In France, 11th November is called ‘L’Armistice de la Guerre (1914-1918)’ or ‘The armistice of World War I’. (The French also have a second commemoration day on 8^th May, the anniversary of the German surrender in World War II, known as ‘VE Day’ or ‘Victory in Europe Day’). It's also a Bank Holiday in France, so no school or work!

I feel I have a British obligation to explain to anyone not from UK or Canada, that we wear poppies as a symbol, 'lest we forget’ the soldiers who died in the World Wars. The poppy is the symbol for us in Great Britain because poppies grew in the fields the year following the battles where the ground had been churned up, and lots of men had died. There's also a famous poem called 'In Flanders Fields' by John McCrae.

*EDIT: I found out from the Jamaican Language Assistant that they wear poppies in Jamaica too - perhaps it's something lots of the Commonwealth states do??*

British Poppies

In France, they wear ‘bleuets’ (pronounced ‘blew-eh’) rather than Poppies. The Bluet is actually a cornflower - a blue wildflower often found in the countryside, sometimes considered a weed. The cornflower is thought of as a delicate, peaceful flower and is said to be ‘the bringer of a message of peace’ – a little bit like the white dove is. The bleuet was found on the battlefield too – and it carried on flowering even throughout the fighting.

The use of Bleuet de France (as a badge/charity item) actually came before the Poppy. During WW1, in 1916, nurses, war widows and wounded soldiers, handmade Bleuet from tissue paper, and later fabric to sell to raise money for hospital supplies to help wounded soldiers. Nowadays, they help to support war veterans (people who have fought in wars and survived), just like the Poppy.

Le Bleuet de France
2012  version (Fabric)

The brand new uniforms of the French soldiers for World War I were also blue and so their nickname was ‘bleuets’, even before the flower was sold.

There are some different designs of the bleuet de France, but they all mean the same thing. The new 2014 design of the bluet is also a reminder of ‘National Order of Merit’ (Ordre National du Merite) which is a special French military award. The 2012 version is made from fabric and a small bead.

The French also have a poem about their war flower symbol, called ‘Bleuets’ written in 1916 by Alphonse Bourgoin (it rhymes in the French version!):

These here, these little Bleuets,

These little bluets, the colour of the sky.

They are handsome, happy and stylish

Because there is no fear in their eyes.

Merrily, go forward,

Go on my friends, so long!

Good luck for you, our little blues.

Little bleuets, you are our hope.

Les voice les p’tits « Bleuets »

Les Bleuets couleur des cieux

ls vont jolis, gais et coquets

Car ils n’ont pas froid aux yeux.

En avant partez joyeux ;

Partez, amis, au revoir !

Salut à vous, les petits « bleus »,

Petits « bleuets », vous notre espoir ! »

So this year, I'll be sparing a thought for all the people around the world (particularly in Britain and France) - and remembering about all the soldiers that died in the World Wars.

Real 'Bleuets' or 'Cornflowers'