Cornflower – 100 Years Since the End of the First World War

For a hundred years the cornflower has represented remembrance and solidarity in France. It emerged as a gesture of support for veterans returning from the First World War of 1914–1918 and quickly became a symbol of the entire French nation. Today the "Bleuet de France" continues its traditional mission of providing moral and financial support to veterans and victims of past and present conflicts, as well as victims of terrorism. The cornflower occupies the centre of the coin, surrounded by the inscription "Le Bleuet de France, fleur de mémoire et de solidarité". The dates "1918–2018", the abbreviation "RF" ("République Française"), and the mint mark are also struck.

When the First World War ended in 1918, hundreds of thousands of French soldiers returned from the trenches - physically and mentally scarred, often without any means of income. Out of this situation came the idea of selling cornflowers to raise funds for veterans. The cornflower - in French "bleuet de France" - was no arbitrary symbol: its blue was seen as the colour of the uniforms worn by the young recruits of 1914, and it was one of the few plants that thrived in the churned-up soil of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Since the early 1920s, a non-profit organisation, the Office National des Combattants et Victimes de Guerre, has coordinated the annual sale of the small blue flower. The proceeds still go today to war invalids, veterans and bereaved families.

Over the decades, the cornflower became France's official national symbol of remembrance - comparable to the poppy in Britain. On key days of remembrance, especially 11 November, the anniversary of the 1918 armistice, the French president, dignitaries and citizens wear the cornflower as a quiet gesture of remembrance and solidarity with the victims of war. The motif thus stands for a living culture of remembrance firmly anchored in French public consciousness. To mark the centenary of the armistice, France issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2018 that takes up this symbol, cultivated for a century.