Figure 1.--Here we see a French Catholic Scout troop in 1948. We believe it is a Scouts de France (SF) troop. Priests played aole in these troops, but we rarely see nuns. It was a coeducational troop. Notice the berets and white knee socks. Notice the various ways the berets are worn. Very few of the girls wears their berets at a slant like many of the boys do. Put your cursor on the image to see the rest of the troop.

Like many European countries, there is no single country-wide association in France, but instead several different associations. The different associations are divided largely on religious lines and some secular groups. Catholic prelates were initially suspicious of the early Scouting movement, seeing it as largely Protestant in character. The Scouts in Britin grew out of the Protestanht Boys' Brigade organization. They wanted their own separate Catholic association that they could control. There were also differences among the various associations as to how Scouting should be approached. Foreign readers should note that in France, any one can use the word Scout to create his or her own association. While an American Federal law reserves the term Scout to the Boy Scout Association, such a law was never passed in France and many other countries. Many French individuals and groups have creating small Associations, many of which havre not lasted long periods. Scouting can refer to Scouting based on the principles of Baden-Powell or to ones own personal principles. You could, for example, create a Fascist association and call it a Scout group if you wanted to do so.