They went from producing four to five Ukrainian flags a year, to more than a thousand in a matter of days. In France, flag manufacturers have been overwhelmed by requests, mainly from local authorities, since the start of the war in Ukraine.
“The day after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we had the first requests for flags, says Arnaud de Leissègues, boss of the company Drapeaux Dejean Marine in Bordeaux (Gironde). And from the following Monday, on the fourth day of the conflict, we went to more than 100 daily requests, whereas, I won’t hide it from you, the Ukrainian flag, we didn’t do it every day. »
“There are even town halls that have sent us drivers”
Flag makers may experience peak orders, for football matches, or for trade unions before major protests. But for a foreign flag, “it’s completely new,” says Éric Borney, boss of a family business with around thirty employees based in Argentan (Orne).
“We are overwhelmed by local communities, continues Arnaud de Leissègues, there are even town halls which have sent us drivers to come and collect the flags. “A request that does not weaken. “Yesterday we had 200 orders, today we had around a hundred… They come from all over France, from Strasbourg to Saint-Jean-de-Luz via Bordeaux or Angers. Generally, these are orders for 10 to 30 flags, but it can go up to 50. We are trying to respond to this emergency, to ensure that town halls and individuals are equipped, but it is not easy and it usually takes a little time anyway. »
Customers who “want to be delivered very quickly”
At the same time, the Bordeaux company, which has around fifteen employees, must continue to supply the other orders from its customers. “We work overtime, I went to find temporary workers, but we are struggling because everything is done at home. »
To make a flag, “we start with a roll of white fabric, on which we print, then we heat the fabric to fix and reveal the color, finally the seamstresses cut the rolls manually, and then we go to sewing, detailing Arnaud de Leissegues. It takes a minimum of 24 hours to print and heat it. Afterwards, the production capacity varies according to the size of the flag. Between a small table flag, or a tifo for Girondins supporters, it’s not the same. For the Ukrainian flag, we are usually asked for sizes of 100×150, 150×225, 200×300…”
The SME Borney had to “organize itself so that people are delivered within 72 hours, four days maximum, because they want to be delivered very quickly”, a requirement to which the company must only “very rarely ” to face.