Let impure blood | Water our furrows

The above lusty crimson lyrics are from the refrain of La Marseillaise, the French national anthem, written by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, a tepid Republican and "a rather poor composer". Originally called "Chant de guerre pour l'armée du Rhin", the anthem has been kicking around since 1792:

The song was taken up by the fédérés (volunteers) from Marseilles* who took part in the Tuileries insurrection on August 10, 1792. It proved so successful it was declared a national song on July 14, 1795.

The Third Republic (1879) established it as the French national anthem, and in 1887 an "official version" was adopted by the Ministry of War following the recommendation of a specially-appointed commission.

Its status as the national anthem was reaffirmed in the 1946 and 1958 Constitutions (article 2).

A law passed two years ago made insulting the national hymn an offence punishable by a fine of €7,500 ($9,910.50). (This solemn protection in law of a French national institution from low behavior is, needless to say, something quite different than the arrant abolition of free expression by yahoo Americans who seek to protect the American flag from material desecration. Needless to say.) And since in France freedoms are most clearly defined by the curtailments of law, the freedoms of French patriotism have recently been further clarified in law (Article L 312-15-1 du code de l'éducation):

AND NOW, CHILDREN, WE'LL LEARN A WAR SONG

As a call to arms, few national hymns are as bloody as La Marseillaise. ... French schoolchildren are to be made to learn the words after a vote by French MPs.

It has taken 10 years for admirers of La Marseillaise to succeed in having it included in the national curriculum.

In 1985 the socialist minister of education, Jean-Pierre Chevènement, failed to gain support for the move, which he said would underline the importance of "republican symbols". At the time critics said the anthem was "a war song" and "xenophobic".

In 2002, a proposal by a rightwing MP, Pierre Albertini, to make schoolchildren learn the anthem was defeated in a parliamentary vote. Mr Albertini and his supporters had been horrified when a football crowd had whistled during the national anthem at a match between France and Algeria.

But some political commentators were less convinced of the merits of the latest vote. "I'm not sure what forcing pupils to sing about 'impure blood' is going to solve in schools, colleges and lycées," one told the French radio station RTL.

Well, yes, La Marseillaise is not the best suited anthem for a nation of xenophobes and pacifist drama queens and poseurs, but the French have invested too much in sheet music to overthrow it for something more germane, maybe this.

* Birthplace of another national musical treasure, Joseph Pujol.