[1] The community lives in a Compagnon house known as a cayenne and managed by a mère (mother) or maîtresse (mistress), a woman who looks after the well-being of the residents,[1] of which there are more than 80 in France.
The prerequisite to start a Tour de France is possession of a Certificat d'aptitude professionelle (certificate of professional aptitude).
The aspirant receives a sash and a ceremonial walking staff representing the itinerant nature of the organisation.
[1] Eventually, the aspirant presents a masterpiece (travail de réception or chef-d'œuvre) to the board of compagnons.
A typical weekday for a charpentier (carpenter) would involve a day on-site working full-time for the company that employs the aspirant.
They create many maquettes; these wooden models of a planned project are conceived first through drawings, then assembled in wood.
It illustrates his theory in the early 20th century of the rite of passage, with its successive stages of isolation, marginality, and aggregation into the social body.
As a craftsman's guild, the Compagnonnage was banned by the National Assembly under the Le Chapelier Law of 1791, which was repealed in 1864.
During the German occupation of France during World War II, the Compagnons were persecuted by the Nazi occupiers, who thought they were related to the Freemasons.