Good for shielding your eyes, or warming your feet? The famous beret of the French mountain infantry is more than just a stylish headpiece.
Synopsis
The French Army’s Chasseurs Alpins (‘Alpine Hunters’ in English) wear a distinctive piece of headgear: an oversized beret they call la tarte, or ‘the pie.’
In this piece, 1st Lieutenant Clement from the 27th Brigade Chasseurs Alpins unit explains the various uses of la tarte, from keeping your feet warm to protecting your eyes from the sun. Clement and his fellow mountain infantry soldiers deployed to Rena, Norway for Exercise Brilliant Jump 22, which tested the ability of the very high-readiness component of the NATO Response Force.
Following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, hundreds of French troops – including the Chasseurs Alpins –have been deployed to Romania to reinforce the Alliance’s east.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN)
—SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH—
1st Lt Clement
‘This hat, this big hat is called a 'tarte', a pie.’
— TEXT ON SCREEN —
WHY THEY WEAR THAT
The French mountain infantry beret
GRAPHIC:
1st Lt Clement
27th Mountain Infantry Brigade
‘The first thing you need to know about this hat is that the size is not about your head, but about your feet.
Because when you're in a really cold environment, you can put your feet inside the hat, to make it warmer.
You can use it to prevent from the sun.
For example, you see the sun come from this side you can just go that way.
You can put some newspaper inside
to prevent from the rock going down when you're climbing a mountain.
You see you can put it every way we want,
on the back of your head, on the front of your head, on the side.
And when you need to sleep,
for example, you can put it there.’
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