The Caf «Annuarie» and the patriotic alpinism

di Jean-Paul Zuanon
in Memoria e Ricerca n.s. 19 (2005), p. 103

The French alpine club (CAF) was founded in 1874, a few years after the defeat of Sedan. The club immediately considered it had a patriotical mission, for helping France to become again a great country. So it developped the «caravanes scolaires», tours during which students of high schools learnt to live in a group, to obey and to love their country, discovering the pleasure of walking. The experience lasted for more than forty years. CAF had also very close connections with french army and especially supported the creation of alpine troops, to reply to the threatening italian troops (the «alpini»). A study of the yearbook («Annuaire») shows how these matters were developped in a very insistent.way.