French Anthem Too Bloodthirsty?
Reuters
PARIS — French traditionalists on Monday rushed to defend their national anthem, the “Marseillaise,” after an opinion poll showed 40% of the public think its words are too bloodthirsty for modern times.
The rousing march, written at the height of the French Revolution, has offended liberals who say it revels in the corpses of foreign enemies strewn across the battlefield.
But such charges of belligerence and xenophobia failed to impress right-wing former Police Minister Robert Pandraud, who announced the founding of a committee to defend it.
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