Should France change her national anthem?

Campaigns are periodically mounted by more or less louche individuals to change the words of La Marseillaise, France’s national anthem. I personally see nothing wrong with the words of that anthem, which reflects the context at the time it was composed and, to a lesser extent, the rather tense moment when it became France’s official anthem ¹.

I’m less happy with La Marseillaise’s music. It’s a bit too fast to be dignified in non-military ceremonies. M Giscard d’Estaing tried to mitigate this issue by ordering it to be played at a slower tempo. The result, unfortunately, was a tune that had lost its martial entrain without having become in any way majestic. M Mitterrand was probably right to revert to the original version—although this may seem paradoxical, since his wife, Madame Danielle Mitterrand, was a prominent campaigner for a change in its words.

My contribution to this debate is an alternative suggestion: rather than changing the words of La Marseillaise, why not bring back Partant pour la Syrie², which was France’s National Anthem during the Second Empire? The music is magnificent, the words are quite dignified and beautiful:

Partant pour la Syrie
Le jeune et beau Dunois
Venant prier Marie
De bénir ses exploits.
Faites, reine immortelle,
Lui dit-il en partant.
Que j’aime la plus belle
Et sois le plus vaillant.

Il trace sur la pierre
Le serment de l’honneur,
Et va suivre à la guerre
Le comte, son seigneur.
Au noble vœu fidèle,
Il dit en combattant :
Amour à la plus belle,
Honneur au plus vaillant.

On lui doit la victoire,
Vraiment, dit le seigneur.
Puisque tu fais ma gloire,
Je ferai ton bonheur.
De ma fille Isabelle
Sois l’époux a l’instant,
Car elle est la plus belle
Et toi le plus vaillant.

A l’autel de Marie
Ils contractent tous deux
Cette union chérie
Qui seule rend heureux.
Chacun dans la chapelle
Disait en les voyant :
Amour à la plus belle,
Honneur au plus vaillant.