Robert Baden-Powell honed his outdoor survival skills at the elite Charterhouse School in Surrey, England, before entering the army.
Proficient in using his surroundings to his advantage, tracking wildlife and hiding, it is no surprise he excelled during his military career, specialising in reconnaissance and cartography.
After his retirement and upon learning that youngsters were reading his book Aids to Scouting, which was intended for soldiers, he adapted his teachings for a younger audience and renamed it Scouting for Boys.
Baden-Powell organised the first scout camp for 20 boys from a variety of backgrounds on Brownsea Island in Dorset, England in August 1907. It was a test to see if youngsters would enjoy a blend of outdoor education, adventure and fun.
The results were resounding and it sparked a movement that developed very quickly throughout the world – and France was no exception.
A young naval officer, Nicolas Benoit, was the first to officially introduce scouting into France after a meeting with Baden-Powell, establishing Éclaireurs de France (EDF) on December 2, 1911 with the motto "Tout droit”.
The year after, an acquaintance of Benoit and founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, established Éclaireurs français, removing the Scout promise and uniform as they were too British. Meanwhile, Elisabeth Fuchs organised the first scout outing for girls.
The first World Scout Conference and Jamboree was held at the Kensington Olympia in London from July 30 to August 8, 1920, uniting 8,000 scouts from 21 countries, with the second hosted in Paris in 1922.
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Most French scouting associations had little to no religious reference until Father Jacques Sevin, a Jesuit priest, co-founded the Fédération des Scouts de France in 1920 with Canon Cornette and Edouard de Macédo and established a training camp at Château de Chamarande in Essonne, Ile-de-France region.
“He was the theorist of French-style Catholic scouting,” said Paul Dupont, associations’ archive manager for Scouts et Guides de France.
“Fluent in English, he met Robert Baden-Powell in 1913 and his book, Le Scoutisme, published in 1922, contains numerous references to Baden-Powell's texts, which he understood and adapted to the Catholic world.”
Paul DupontScouts et guides de France
There are two main international models for scouting organisations: an Anglo-Saxon one and a Latin model, Mr Dupont explained.
The Anglo-Saxon model was developed by Baden-Powell to include young people of al religious denominations, and continues today in the UK with the Scout Association and the Girl Guides Association.
Many French associations adopted the Latin model, however, and are organised according to – at present – six associations of religion or spirituality (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and secular).
Marie Diémer played an essential role in the founding of Guides de France, co-organising the first training courses for girls at the Château d'Argeronne in Normandy during 1922 and 1923 and developing teaching methods for the Jeannettes (8-12 year-olds) and the Guides-ainées (17-19 year-olds).
By 1930, 75,000 Scouts de France and 23,000 Guides de France were registered.
A French scout camp in 1926Scouts et Guides de France
During France's military defeat in 1940, the Fédération du Scoutisme Français was established as an umbrella organisation to preserve the independence of Scouting associations, uniting the Scouts et Guides de France (Catholic), the Eclaireuses et éclaireurs de France (secular), the Eclaireuses et éclaireurs unionistes de France (Protestant), Eclaireuses et éclaireurs israélites de France (Jews), Scouts musulmans de France (Muslims) and Eclaireuses et éclaireurs de la Nature (Buddhists).
Many scout leaders - supported by 2,000 young people - joined the French army to implement Operation Overlord in Normandy in June 1944, and Operation Dragoon in Provence in August 1944, and to fight for the liberation of France.
The scouts put on a display of loyalty on April 22, 1945, when 40,000 young people from its associations marched along the Champs-Élysées with Lady Baden-Powell and General Lafont present.
The Scouts de France and Guides de France merged in 2004 to form Scouts et Guides de France, which now boasts 99,000 members, including 32,500 adult volunteers and 66,000 young people and children.
Incorporating all of the scouting associations in France, there are 200,000 young people involved.
“This is a far cry from the UK, where the Scout Association has 444,000 members and the Girl Guides Association 307,000!” said Mr Dupont.
“The reasons for its success in France were the same as in the UK: an original teaching method, based on confidence in young people's individual abilities, promoting self-education, living in teams, taking responsibility, living in nature, personal commitment and caring for others.
“And Robert Baden-Powell invented an original symbolic framework that had a profound effect on young people: the campfire, The Jungle Book, patrols named after animals, songs, games.”
The main mission of the Scouts et Guides de France is to empower every child to develop and grow, building their own personality and living by the values defined by the Scout and Guide Law.
“Every Scout and Guide association now has a law and a promise. The promise is the commitment made by the young person to live according to the values of this law,” said Jean-Jacques Gauthé, member of the Scout et Guides de France history and memory working group.
“Robert Baden-Powell once said: ‘The Scout Law does not direct by prohibitions, but orientates by positive indications. It is conceived as a guide to action, not as an instrument for repressing shortcomings.’”
Within the Scouts et Guides de France are 990 local associations that regularly meet for events, support one another and participate in the ‘Vis mon camp’ where members can learn about another group’s religion, spirituality and way of being.
At a higher level, through its network in 90 territories, the scouts provide guidance to public authorities on the regulations of outdoor activities for minors and training scout leaders.
Internationally, the organisation represents the scout association at world events such as jamborees and meetings for the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.
“Scouting doesn't teach young people skills, it lets them experience them directly in the field. That's the big difference with school. Scouting is an action lived out in nature, ‘a spirited game’ as Baden-Powell put it,” said Mr Gauthé.
The activities of each scout group are adapted to the age of participants. For example, the Cub Scouts could be taking part in a friendly battle against knights and aliens, and the more mature groups could be involved with beach clean-ups and providing companionship for the elderly.
“What all these very different activities have in common is that they are decided, organised and carried out by the young people themselves, with the help of the adult leaders of the scout-guide units,” said Mr Gauthé.
The Scouts et Guides de France continue to embody the values initiated by Baden-Powell and ties to the Scout Association (TSA) in England are strong, with youth exchanges, sharing of resources and best practice, meetings, as well as dual membership and support for training and camp preparation.
Mr Gauthé said: “After various responsibilities within the Scouts et Guides de France at regional or national level, I strive, with a whole team, to help young people discover that they are the links in a chain that was started in 1907 by Robert Baden-Powell on Brownsea Island.”
British Scouting Overseas offers English groups in France
Looking for an English-language scouting experience? British Scouting Overseas (BSO) is part of the UK Scout Association with headquarters in London.
It exists to support British families living overseas in the provision of a UK scouting programme to expatriate British children and to several British Overseas Territories. Its members have access to the same resources, support and programme as UK-based scout groups.
BSO comprises four ‘districts’ – Northern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East and Rest of the World. France falls under the Southern Europe umbrella and includes groups in Paris, Montpellier and Toulouse.
