| Type: | organization |
| Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs de France | |
| Caption: | Guides and Scouts of France |
| Country: | France |
| F-Date: | 1964 |
| Members: | 17,000 |
| Chiefscouttitle: | President |
| Chiefscout: | Yannick Daniel |
| Website: | http://www.eedf.fr |
Éclaireuses et Éclaireurs de France (Guides and Scouts of France, EEdF) is an interreligious and coeducational Scouting and Guiding association in France. The first interreligious Scouting groups in France were founded in 1911, and interreligious Guiding started in 1914; both movements merged in 1964 forming the EEdF. The association serves today about 17,000 members of both sexes.
EEdF is a member of Scoutisme Français and through this federation also a member of both the World Organization of the Scout Movement and the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts.[1]
The bow and arrow were chosen as emblems by the founders of the Eclaireurs de France in 1911. The trefoil is for the girls and women. The four colours (orange, green, red, blue) represent the four age groups.[2]
In 1911, two interreligious Scouting organizations were founded in France: the Eclaireurs de France (EdF) by Nicolas Benoit and the Eclaireurs Français (EF) by Pierre de Coubertin. Three years later, the first Guide groups emerged. They formed the Fédération des Eclaireuses (FEE) in 1921. In the same year the EdF started the Cub Scout section; Rovering followed in 1926.
In the 1930s, André Lefèvre, chief of the Eclaireurs de France, set up a training camp for 60 Scoutmasters from all over French Indochina.
During World War II, the EdF was among the founding members of the Fédération du Scoutisme Français in 1941. In 1947 some leaders left the EdF for its laical attitude and founded the Eclaireurs Neutres de France with a more positive position to religion. Despite this the membership of the EdF reached 50,000 Scouts in 1948.
The Eclaireurs de France and the Fédération des Eclaireuses started a process of mutual approach in 1949. This led to joint national jamborees and finally led to the merger of the EdF, the EF and the FEE in 1964 under the name Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs de France.
In 1989, five local groups left the EEdF forming the Fédération des Eclaireuses et Eclaireurs.
The EEdF has formulated five core values that are fundamental for the whole association:[3]
The association is divided in four sections, distinguished by ages, and a fifth one for leaders:[4]
The EdF were one of the few Scouting associations who were allowed to use the Alternative Promise by Robert Baden-Powell. This led to grave turbulences in the 1950s[5] and finally to the introduction of a religious formula which may be used by the Scouts and Guides but is not an integral part of the Scout Promise.