Fête des Classes – Decadal Celebration for all folks

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Last spring, during my stay in Cours-la-Ville, a small town in Rhône Department, which is 80 km. away from Lyon City, I have experienced a true rural life. Cours-la-Ville surrounded by hills, forests and farms. Aside from nature and tranquility that we can’t find in a big city, the town as well provides a unique local festival that is different from ones in other towns.

The sign “Vive les classes en 9” (Long live the 9 classes) was presented at the town square. I thought it was a kind of school fair because of the word ‘classe’. Anyway, I later found out that ‘La Fête des Classes’ is a celebration that is held for everyone who was born in the year ending with the same number as the current year (complicated, right?). To elaborate, we are in 2020, people who are participating this year ‘Fête des Classes’ are ones who were born in 2020, 2010, 2000, 1990, 1980,… and so on. So technically, they turn 10, 20, 30, 40,… years old this year.

From a very little info that exists on the internet, we can mainly find this festival only in the towns in Haut-Beaujolais. To make it easier, the festival is held in the towns in the northern area of Lyon and the towns in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. However, we can find the same kind of celebration in Haute-Bretagne or the northern Bretagne region. My boyfriend who is a native French assumed that the reason they use the term ‘class’ is because it may refer to people who were born in the same year, so they are theoretically in the same class at school.

Again, from a very lean info, ‘Fête des Classes’ can be celebrated differently in each town. Here are some examples of the celebration: greeting elderly people and decedents, celebrating the Mass (liturgy), going on a trip within the region, having a banquet. However, the activities that seem to be indispensable for this festival are the parade and carousing!

On the street where the city hall is located, groups of crowd were gathering on the sidewalks, waiting for the parade to begin. The group of people who seemed to be the most excited about this was small kids and I, because it was going to be our first time seeing this celebration. A wicked military jeep moved slowly along the street with beautiful tricolored flowers – blue, white, red, were huddled in a form of the number 9 signifying the number of the year.

The head of the parade was led by all the babies who were freshly born this year (2019). Believe me; these little babies had no idea what they were doing. So it’s the job of their parents to push their strollers around the town and let them sleep peacefully despite the loud music of the parade.

Babies sleeping while being presented around the town

The next group was the children who were born in 2009. These kids dressed in green fairy costumes, just like angels from the tale. They were giggling and sprinkling small pieces of paper around the area as a symbol of the festivity.

10 years old kids in fairy theme

After the 10-year-old group, you might imagine that it’s a turn of young people at age 20, and that was my expectation as well. However, I really don’t understand the way they arranged the parade. I guess that the prior parts of the parade were reserved for groups of participants who preferred to go back home early, because the next one was a group of grams and gramps at the age of 90. So we can guess quickly (with a calculator) that they were born in 1929! It was not so cool to make these golden-agers walking around the town. They then provided cars which (I believe) were more or less the same age as these seniors. Rounds of loud applause showing respect arose on every meter where the two cars were running slowly. This gave me real goosebumps.

Granny waving to all dwellers

Comparing with Thais at age 80, French people at the same age are more energetic, I would say. These oldsters walked and dressed elegantly in their smart-casual theme. The hats and the purple ribbons made them look adorably chic at their maturity.

80 years old seniors walking dynamically at the parade

Moreover, what we have in front of us now was a group of people who were born in 1949. Their white costumes contrasted strikingly with colourful umbrellas in their hands. Behinds these retirees were uncles and aunties who turned 60 this year, coming in a Rock ‘n’ Roll theme from the 50s. The marching band following behind was playing amusing music in the same theme of these pensioners, which made me want to go down dancing with them.

Such a cool theme they had here

Marching band playing entertaining music

Adjacent to the marching band were fifty-year-old folks who were confronting some technical problem, so left a boy with a sign ‘50 ans’ (50 years old) standing alone. A few minutes later the gang shew up with a Top Gun theme, the trendiest movie in their teen age. I have to admit that their costumes and props were so well prepared that everyone in the square looked at them with an excitement.

What a lonely boy

They really took it seriously

For those who were born in 1959, Star Wars movie might be the coolest thing ever, because these forty-year-old fellas sent out their troop presenting in the street in Cours-la-Ville! To be frank, I’m not a Star Wars fan, so I couldn’t tell which episode they had mimicked. Any fans of Star Wars can let us know by putting some comments under the article, by the way. 😉

Tractor leading the 40 year-old folks

Two little girls joining their parents' parade

Landed back to the earth with the team of allies who were born in 1989, this was more confusing for me because I couldn’t identify their theme. My boyfriend was snickering before explained to me that it was from the famous French comedy movie ‘Les Visiteurs II’. Despite the fact that I’ve never seen or heard of the movie, I can assume how funny it is.

Postman pickup, a unique symbol of ‘Les Visiteurs II’

Can't really tell if the spectators like this theme

And here they are the last group of the parade, the youngsters in their 20th! A number of these hot blood fellas appeared in their Astérix theme, the theme that every French (or people who learn French) is familiar with. And their specific theme was ‘Astérix and Cleopatra’ which I am not sure it’s from the cartoon or the movie since it existed in both media.

20 year-old gang

The juveniles were hugging each other while singing and dancing along the street. To my understanding, that was the end of the parade, but I was wrong. Seeing a little boy in a sport outfit presenting the sign ‘19 ans’ (19 years old), my boyfriend and I looked puzzledly at each other. And they were finally here, all nineteen and eighteen-year-old teens who seemed to be hotter blooded than their twenty-year-old senior since they couldn’t wait for their turn to celebrate ‘Fête des Classes’ in the next year. The teens came along with a Smurfs theme, merrily dancing and singing as much as their senior friends.

'19 years old' sign is kinda of subject here

All 18 years old cubs joining as well the parade

Once the parade disappeared at the corner of the street, all the spectators were gathering in front of the city hall. They were waiting for the finale of the parade that was making a round to say goodbye to us. The sound of music was spreading loudly around the square, as well as the cheering sound. I couldn’t help myself smiling when seeing this friendly atmosphere in front of me, the atmosphere that allowed an old lady dancing with young boys, a grandpa drinking and singing with teens. Besides learning secretly human evolution in each age, this is a chance where we actually celebrate together without any boundary of age.  

People gathering in front of the city hall to see the last 'show'

After-parade party

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