The Besançon Crèche 
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The Besançon crèche is a puppet show about the Nativity which emerged towards the end of the Ancien Régime. In
Besançon just before the Revolution, a puppeteer put on a popular show by adding characters drawn from local society
to the traditional Nativity figures. The satiric character Barbizier personified the resistance of the Francs-Comtois to France’s assimilation policies and the battle against the abuses of power and wealth. He thus became the spokesman for regional cultural identity. |
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The Besançon crèche was banned during the Revolution and gradually became less of a vehicle for social criticism than a
children’s show by the end of the XIXth century. The words, handed down orally, were written down in 1865 by
Abbé Bailly; several years later a show where young people took on the traditional roles of the puppets was staged. The Besançon crèche continues to be performed today. |
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