French Beret Black - Volontaires Nationaux - Le Béret Français

The vintage edition of the Béret Français includes a magnificent beret with an interior lining, its red cabillou, and an original vintage badge from the 1930s.

The berets are 100% made in the Béret Français workshop in Bayonne (64). They are 100% Merino wool from Arles, spun in the Pyrenees. This sheep is a French variety raised in the PACA region around the city of Arles. The wool is harvested twice a year. The Vintage edition, in addition to its badge and lining, has a heavier wool weight than the classic beret. Its cabillou is red.

Berets come in one size, the adult beret plate measures 28 cm. This beret will fit head circumferences from 54 cm to approximately 60 cm.

The original embroidered badge sewn onto the lining is that of the 1930s movement known as the Volontaires Nationaux. The Volontaires Nationaux were the youth wing of the Croix de Feu, a Great War veterans' movement that became a mass movement (700,000 members) of patriotic, right-wing and social France.

In order to grow, the initially very elitist Croix de Feu movement (open only to veterans who had received a combat distinction) gradually opened its doors to other veterans of the "Der des Der", then to their children and finally to all, in order to spread throughout society the spirit of resilience and cohesion born in the trenches. The Volontaires Nationaux were the culmination of this process: a politically engaged youth movement, at the heart of humanitarian action and consistently far removed from violent acts (which distinguished it from many other youth movements of all persuasions).

The rise to power of the Front Populaire in 1936, which had campaigned for years denouncing the Croix de Feu, led to the forced dissolution of the latter and their Volontaires Nationaux.

The company Le Béret Français has held the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label since 2016

Since its creation in 2005, the EPV label has highlighted unique companies that know how to reconcile innovation and tradition, craftsmanship and creation, heritage and the future, the local and the international. This State label is attached to the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, and is awarded by regional prefects.

Awarded for a period of five years, the EPV label brings together manufacturers sharing a certain vision of the activities their company should pursue: an entrepreneurial vision in which the respect for the historical and heritage character of the company, its know-how and tools in no way conflicts with, but rather nourishes, the quality of production, the harmonious relationship with local partners, innovative approaches and the high technical standards of production.

It is the only State label awarded to a company for the entirety of its activity, guaranteeing the excellence of its craftsmanship.

EPV-labelled companies are ambassadors of French artisanal and industrial excellence throughout the world. As committed actors in a responsible economy, the men and women of the Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant embody and keep alive French know-how while cultivating shared values of respect, excellence and innovation. Through their creativity and high level of technical expertise, the Entreprises du Patrimoine Vivant deploy cutting-edge skills in fields with strong international resonance, in which France enjoys solid recognition: fashion & luxury, decoration, art de vivre, gastronomy, heritage.