The collection of military objects represents a significant number of enthusiasts. According to an IFOP survey last year, 7% of French people collect military objects. At the top of the table, we find the collectors of postage stamps, 40% of philatelists, of advertising objects, 40% also, some of whom still collect pins, these are the philopinists. Then come lovers of coins, postcards, old books, records, playing cards, miniature vehicles, watches… There are even “sneacker addicts”, trainer collectors, 4% all the same!, but these are more speculators because some brands sell for a very high price. In all, the IFOP estimates that 80% of French people collect or have collected one day at least one type of object. This survey also reveals the danger of collections, causing, for 7% of French people, a break in the couple. And at least arguments, for 32%, because of the place that collecting takes in the house, or the money or time injected into this passion.
It takes up less space in your cupboards: you can collect souvenirs from the former industrial sites of Boussac in the Vosges. The Vincey factory, where this military scholarship takes place, is one of the most beautiful sites. To visit the history of Boussac textiles is to visit part of the industrial history of the Vosges, which has left its mark on many Vosgiens, some of whom remain attached to “Monsieur Marcel” (this is how Marcel Boussac was called, the founder). In the 1970s, before the Boussac empire collapsed, 25,000 Vosgiens worked for him in 65 factories, that is to say 7% of the population. Basically, one Vosges family out of 7 lived thanks to Boussac who had developed the concept of paternalism, the worker was his property. Boussac developed in-house crèches, nurseries, summer camps, dispensaries… At Nomexy, which was the group’s last factory to close, Boussac even had its own radiology department. We understand better, when all that has collapsed, the power of chaos. The Vosges took a long time to recover.
