Fanfare!

French are Fous for Marching Bands

Who knew the French were such fans of these moving music-makers?

I thought the US was ground zero - and the peak - for this kind of entertainment, what with our football half-time celebrations.

Nope.

Marching bands - les “fanfares” in French - have their roots in the military - as parades of troops on holidays. Before that, they had an even more practical origin story: fife and drum were a way to signal soldiers what to do on the field of battle (especially when rifles came into use and all the smoke they generated meant no one could see!).

Every year, Antibes has a whole weekend dedicated to les Fanfares. Bands come from all over the country. Not sure it’s always Easter weekend - but seems somehow an appropriate way to raise spirits (get it, like the resurrection).

Here are clips of three bands. Very different. Who do you like best? (the 3rd video offers a mini-movie of the cathedral, ramparts, Mediterranean, Picasso Museum).