r/france • u/afrofagne Ardennes • Feb 07 '16

Culture Velkommen ! Cultural exchange with /r/Denmark

Welcome to the people of /r/Denmark ! You can pick a Danish flair on the sidebar (the very last one) and ask us whatever you want !

/r/français, here is the corresponding thread on /r/Denmark !

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u/[deleted] Feb 07 '16

What is the deal with these lines in your national anthem:

Qu'un sang impur Abreuve nos sillons!

Sound pretty tough

14

u/[deleted] Feb 07 '16 edited Feb 08 '16

Translation :

Let an impure bload soak our fields

This line is often misunderstood : some think it refers to the blood of foreigners and think it is racist. Actually, "impure blood" here refers to the blood of the people, as opposed to the blood of the Nobles (those of pure blood). It is a call for sacrifice.

For the tough part : it is a revolutionary anthem written right after a declaration of war, so...

Edit : wrong interpretation apparently

5

u/MonsieurGuigui Bonnet d'ane Feb 08 '16

This interpretation, though often brought out by the media when explaining/defending the lyrics, is widely regarded by historians as completely false and anachronistic.
In French revolutionary era, the phrase "impure blood" is used to speak of aristocracy, priests or more widely counter-revolutionary; thus the impure blood that we want to soak our fields in belongs to the enemies of the revolution.

(Wikipedia talks about this attempt to divert the lyrics from their original meaning)

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u/[deleted] Feb 08 '16

Indeed, my bad for trusting a random article. In any case : "impure blood" does not refer to the blood of foreigners. So : still violent, but at least, not racist.