“Père Cent” tradition in Alfort’s Veterinary School (1903? – 1958)
par Julien BUQUET*
*Docteur Vétérinaire, email jbuquet@gmail.com
Communication présentée le 16 novembre 2013
Appearing in the army in the XIXth Century to mark the coming end of military service, the Père Cent (“Father One Hundred”) embodied the hundredth day before the liberation of conscripts. Among veterinary students, only those of School of Alfort celebrated Père Cent, from 1903-1910 (?) to 1958, as the last exams of the fourth year approached. The article – the result of a survey among witnesses – highlights this forgotten rite of passage, with its fancy dress parade, songs and symbolic killing of Père Cent.