The forges closed their doors for the summer holidays at the same time as the fencing events in Tokyo ended.
The Blaise Frères company, the only French forge of swords, foils and sabers located in Chambon-Feugerolles (Loire), has, somewhere, participated in the harvest of tricolor medals (2 in gold, 2 in silver, 1 in bronze).
"We are happy when the French team wins because we are a French company and we are a partner of this team", rejoices Martine Moulin, commercial and administrative director of the company.
And to add: “For us, the Olympics are important because they create a craze among young people.
It makes them want to practice this sport, as we saw in London with swimming.
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A culture of secrecy
The company, founded in 1885, has since the 1970s become the market leader in fencing blades.
To maintain its position, it cultivates a culture of secrecy in its manufacturing processes.
Only French shooters had the right to come one day to choose their weapons: “We make them to measure according to the hardness, flexibility and folding that they want.
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A luxury when we know that Blaise Frères supplies between 92 and 95% of Olympic athletes. Who, they, do not have the right to this preferential treatment. “It's true that we're super happy for French fencing. But since other countries also use our blades, we tell ourselves that basically, Blaise Frères wins every time, ”laughs Martine Moulin.