| The savage
events left their mark on the minds of those who lived through them. Today this memory is a convenient springboard for ideological confrontation. Anyone who dares to mention the massacres carried out by the Convention or to utter any reservations about the "great social advances" of the Revolution exposes himself to being catalogued as a reactionary, a Vichyist etc |
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| .This
is why many Vendeans are reluctant to admit to being descendants of "chouans",
especially if they sympathise with leftist - "progressive", of course -
ideas.However, today the Wars of the Vendée make the tills ring - in fact they are an
important economic part of tourism in the département. But modern pilgrims don't
necessarily head for the large memorial centres to pay their homage. The famous Puy du Fou
son-et-lumière show has made a huge contribution to widening awareness of the Vendée
uprising. This universal recognition has helped the fac4s of history to be acknowledged -
to the annoyance of leftist "thinkers". For, not only has the spectacle drawn
millions of visitors, but it receives no subsidy whatsoever - something which could almost
be seen as proof that it is a rearguard action :-) Nobody can forgive another's success,
and plenty of fury has been unleashed against Philippe de Villiers and the Puy du Fou
Association, with "Deschiens"-type entertainers classifying the average Puy du
Fou spectator as little short of moronic. The picture at the top of this page comes from a book entitled "La Vendée Autrement Dite" ("The Vendée - in other words"), published by Geste Éditions. Boasting about their even-handedness, and wrapping their findings in sociological jargon, its authors strive to show that present-day oral memory is based on legends and stereotypes, picked up and kept alive on a grand scale by Vendean worthies. Many Vendean cafés, restaurants and businesses bear the "chouan" symbols in their logos or on their shopfronts. This iconography, as a form of identity or - in the case of the cafés and bars frequented by tourists - for purely commercial reasons, is categorised by the authors of this work under the general, almost derogatory term of "chouannités". |
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