At the entrance to the site, the Ukrainian flag flies alongside the European and French flags. The Bordeaux-based company Drapeaux Dejean Marine has gone from a few requests per year to several hundred per day. And this from the morning of the Russian attack, Thursday, February 24. On a daily basis, around ten employees work in the workshop to print the blue and yellow stripes on the huge polyester canvases, but also for the hand cutting and finishing with the sewing machine. The foreman, Isabelle, has worked here for 27 years: “We work overtime to satisfy everyone.” In other words, town halls, associations, and individuals.
Over 1,000 Ukrainian flags produced in two weeks
Normally, this time of year is always very busy for society. Two temporary workers have been recruited urgently to ensure the pace, because the Ukrainian flags are often requested the day before for the next day explains the commercial director, Erwan de Leissègues. “We had not seen this since the attacks of November 15”, he assures. Date of the last order peak.
However, the Drapeaux Dejean Marine company had no never faced such demand for a foreign flag. In two weeks, the team made more than a thousand. “It’s exceptional, at the same time it’s unfortunate, admits the commercial director. For us, it is also an opportunity to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people.”
The price of the flag varies according to the size: between five and fifty euros.
– Elsa Vande Wiele