This Faluche has been saved on eBay.

Its circular ribbon is a green watered satin, a sort of fabric sometimes used on old faluches, with 6 silvered and golden stars with laurels between each of them ; some laurels are missing. On the velvet, there are the letters ACEP. About the emblems, there are a lot of heraldry (Toulouse, Paris, Lille, Strasbourg, Pau, Flanders...), some scout and religious pieces, and numerous memories from Belgium, Switzerland, Germany or USSR.

The student associations emblems are :

• An emblem from the Lille Student Union  (U.E.L., on a green velver ribbon),
• An emblem from the Association Club of the Lille Pharmacy Students (A.A.E.P.L.),
• An emblem from the Christian Strudent Youth (J.E.C.),
• And an emblem from the French Catholic Students Federation (F.F.E.C.).

U.E.L.

A.A.E.P.L.

J.E.C.

F.F.E.C.

There is also some students emblems : a Rhô, a lyre and a teared money, embodied by a French State money from 1942, tied on a Dauphinée emblem, the Grenoble Province.

Rhô and Lyre

Teared money

Finaly, and most importantly, a named badge in the name of  « Miss S. Denjean ».

This informations, couple with the circular ribbon, disallow some lingering doubt about the student's pathway : the Pharmacy.

After having consult and dissect the INSEE death data⁰ (INSEE is the french statistics institute), it appears that her first name should be Simone or Suzane. After torturing Google, our Simine begins to appear. Birthed in 1927 in Cahors, she won a school prize when she was 12 at the Lycée Clément Marot¹, where she has been graduated when she was 18 in 1945¹⁰, before she entered the Pharmacy College. Later, she ran a pharmacy from 1971 to 1990² after having practised at Lauzerte³ between Agen and Montauban (east south of France). She has been part of a lot of associations, including the prestigious Society of Pharmacy History from 1987 to her death in 2017⁵.

Revisit now the A.C.E.P. In the beginning of the 30's, some Paris students founded the Catholic Pharmacy Student Association of Paris (A.C.E.P.P.). This association aim to promote moral, social and professional schooling of pharmacy students and interns. and to promote friendship among them⁶. It sarry out charities to poors, needys and war prisoners espescially during the second global conflict. ^7,8. Four years laters, in September 1938, the A.C.E.P.P. founded the Catholic Pharmacy Student Association (A.C.E.P.), intended to have a more national impact⁹.

From friday 22 to the monday 25 april 1949, the Catholic French Pharmacists Association managed its annual congress at Lille. The subject of this congress was « the youth graduated and the profession future. » as it was decided at Nantes a year before¹¹. The A.C.E.P. is obviously invited. 80 pharmacy students, welcomed by the Catholic Students Club from Lille, are present with all the pharmacy cream : Ministry representatives, Deputies, Presidents of Pharmacy local Orders, Universities representatives, etc…¹² Among the students of the A.C.E.P., whe know the presence of its presidents, Mr Molinié from Paris, and also that Mr. Robinet, from Montpellier, was there. The sunday, they made an excursion at Bruges before the closing speeches that happend the monday¹³.

Simone was 22 and already at the College at this moment and all those elements appear on her Faluche. We can see the U.E.L. and the A.A.E.P.L. emblems from Lille, but also a Flanders heraldry and a religious medal from Bruges, reminding the Pharmacists visited its Cathedral.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to found her college city at the moment from her Faluche. Researches are in progress, and the information will be given when it will be known. Just next to the emblems from Lille, is the badge with her name, that she probably weared during the Congress. This badge is on a Red and Blue ribbon, so we can imagin that there are her College city coulours ; so maybe Bordeaux, Toulouse or even Paris. but this remains only a theory.

The big J.P.F. brooch is also a mystery. There is the year 1967 on it. Maybe is it an attempt to found a catholic version of the National Association of the France Pharmacy Students (A.N.E.P.F.) founded in 1968.

During all her live, Simone was part of numerous associations. : the Lot Society of Literary, Scientifics and Artisics Studiesfrom 1961³ tor her death in 2017¹⁴, Tarn and Garonne Archreologic Socitety from 1965¹⁵ to 1970¹⁶, President of the Old Lauzerte Friends in 1970¹⁶, Treasurer then President of the Cahors Choir in 2000¹⁷, on the Board of the Lot section of the Cancer Nation League until her death¹⁸, and of course the Society of Pharmaceutics History.

We can also see memory pins from Moscow, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Switzerland mountains, Germany, or even from an antcien bishop from Cahors beatification.in 1981¹⁹. All these pins show us that Simone kept her Faluche during a very long time, probably all her life, and continued to pin on it the memories of her journeys.

The presence of a lot of religious emblems on the Simone's Faluche reminds us the importance of not dissociating a thing from its context. Before 1968, the Faluche tradition was not apolitical, irreligious nor workers union related. It was not particulary political, religious or workers union related either. It was simply the emblem of the students and just like its wearer. It's later during the 70's/80's that those dividing morals were banned to promote the harmony between the students and the unity of the French Student Folklore. 

Gallery

Avertissement

We must stay cautious about all the informations told before. At the moment i write fhis study, nothings shows certainly that Simone was part of the A.C.E.P. The same way, it is impossible to guarantee that this Faluche was hers. All is possible. By example, she could have offer her badge to another delegate who might have put it on his own Faluche. The made conclusion are based of my own conviction after having corroborate all the discovered elements and after having evaluate the realism degree of the different possibilities. If new informations are discovered, this article will be updated. 

Remerciements : 

Special Thanks to Emilie C. from Valenciennes, who was part of major discovering about the analysis of this Faluche. Thanks also to Hervé Giraud and Eric Météyé from Estudiantinneries and to Ludovic Grégoire from the Students Traditions Belgian Museum for having endured my questions and for their interristing thoughts. Thanks to Judith M., François G. and à Kévin S. for their proofreading.

Sources :