Alpine hunter Hugues Aufray celebrated the 27th BCA installed for a hundred years in Annecy


Military in the 1950s, the singer took part in the festivities celebrating the hundred years of the presence of the 27th Battalion of Alpine Hunters in Annecy.

Special envoy to Annecy

It was one of those days that mark history and hearts. True to military tradition. Strong in symbols and rich in emotions. “ Wasn’t that too long? », asked Colonel Vincent Minguet, after the ceremony which lasted almost 2 hours this Saturday afternoon, including the parade. The corps commander of the 27th Alpine Hunters Battalion (since August 2021) can be reassured. On the sunny lawn of the famous Pâquier located on the edge of the lake, the celebration celebrating the hundred years of the presence of the 27th BCA in Annecy was moving and well punctuated by various great moments, under the attentive gaze of a large public who came to surround the soldiers. current members of the battalion but also several hundred former, engaged or called up military service, all wearing the traditional pie.

Colonel Vincent Minguet, former aide-de-camp to Emmanuel Macron, began by paying homage to the flag of the chasseurs, the first emblem of which was handed over on May 4, 1841 in the courtyard of the Carrousel in Paris from the hands of King Louis Philippe. “ It never fell into enemy hands “, it was recalled, before reviewing the troops, to celebrate the farewell to the weapons of the GBR Gouriou, to evoke the Hunter spirit of the Sidi-Brahim and to honor glorious hunters wounded and / or heroic in recent operations in the Sahel.

The ceremony ended with the traditional squares of the hunters and song of the battalion which were in their time worked for a long time by the conscripts of the contingent on the places d’armes of the Galbert quarters (since destroyed in the city center) and Tom Morel on the heights from Annecy.

The celebrations took place in front of Lake Annecy City of Annecy

The hundreds of elders, grouped by decades (1950-1960, 1960-1970, 1970-1980, 1980-1990, 1990-2000, etc.) had obviously forgotten how marching was done, too painfully worked during their classes, during the parade of the battalion on the avenue d’Albigny then through the old town of Annecy. Applauded by the many locals and tourists, the elders marched in “ brothel covered according to the consecrated expression, behind the young active soldiers, men and women in ceremonial dress and with impeccably regulated steps.

All these “beautiful” people met at the beginning of the evening in the Tom Morel district to share the beer (plus a few) of friendship and for the old ones to remember (necessarily) glorious memories and other feats of arms. Colonel Vincent Minguet laid a wreath of flowers in front of the monument celebrating the soldiers of the 27th BCA who died in the various theaters of operations (notably Lebanon, Yugoslavia, Ivory Coast, Afghanistan, Sahel, Eastern Europe) since its creation on January 30, 1871, had the colors brought up at nightfall and brought a certain Hugues Aufray on stage.

“I am the only singer who has never criticized the military, the police and the gendarmes”

Hugues Aufray

Aged 93, the singer set fire by recounting his military career at the 27th BCA, which began in 1950 at the age of 20, then singing his mythical hit Santiano. “I’m the only singer who never criticized the military, the police and the gendarmes”, he recalled proud of his roots (a lieutenant father) and his time at the 27th BCA. Like all the other soldiers, current or former, gathered for this Saturday of celebration and memories. Once a hunter, always a hunter…



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