Dupont and Dupond? Almost. On January 19, Emmanuel Macron and his Minister of the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, visited the Cherbourg military base to make traditional annual greetings. Once the formality was settled, they invited themselves to the canteen of the premises to sit down alongside the young people of the department who had completed their universal national service (SNU). On the menu ? Unifying speech, gourmet salad, frozen fries, cordon bleu and fromage blanc. Enjoy your meal’ !
Since we’re talking cordon bleu, let’s talk about the mystery surrounding the name of this dish. Two versions oppose each other. The first refers to the creation, by Henry III, at the end of the 16th century, of the Order of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic organization intended to fight against the Protestants. Its eminent members wore the Maltese cross hung on a blue ribbon. Over time, the cordon bleu would have lost its religious dimension to become a sign of distinction and taste, even culinary. The other version, more clear, refers to the chefs’ use of blue cords to bind the cutlets and hold the stuffing.
Beyond the dishes served, this beautiful table allows us to observe two French uniforms in action. Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu are dressed in that of the French political class, in force since La République en Marche came to power in 2017: navy suit, navy tie, white shirt. The young people from the SNU wear the one designed in 2019 by high school students from Tourcoing, under the aegis of Gabriel Attal, then in charge of this file: navy pants, navy sweatshirt, white polo shirt. The consistency is total. Boredom too.
In the uniform department, let’s now focus on that of this female firefighter. Tray in hand, helmet on her elbow, she wears the traditional firefighter sweater on her back. Navy blue with a round collar, this one is recognizable by the red stripe crossing its torso. But why this gang? Initially introduced on firefighters’ pants, then declined on sweaters, it appeared in 1825 with a specific aim: to distinguish the uniforms of firefighters and thus dissuade them from wearing them on a daily basis, in civilian life.
Is this Macron’s speech? Or forgetting his white polo shirt? This SNU volunteer is in any case in such a state of consternation that he placed the palm of his hand on his face, thus practicing a “facepalm”, according to the established borrowing. It was on May 5, 1996 that it was first used on an obscure Internet forum: “Christie facepalmed. ‘Well, her hair was red this morning, right? It’s blonde now. You figure it out.” » Which can be translated as: “Christie facepalmaed. “Her hair was red this morning, wasn’t it? They are blonde now. It’s up to you to understand why.” »