[1] The song's composer, Charles Dumont, states in the book Édith Piaf, Opinions publiques, by Bernard Marchois (TF1 Editions 1995), that Michel Vaucaire's original title was "Non, je ne trouverai rien" (No, I will not find anything) and that the song was meant for the French singer Rosalie Dubois.
According to journalist Jean Noli, in his book Édith (Éditions Stock 1973), when Dumont and Vaucaire visited Piaf's home at Boulevard Lannes in Paris, on 24 October 1960, she received them in a very impolite and unfriendly manner.
On that day she was furious that her housekeeper Danielle had arranged a meeting with the two men without informing her, so she let them wait an hour in her living room before she appeared.
Dumont sang Non, je ne regrette rien, to which Piaf reacted extremely positively, saying "This is the song I have been waiting for.
[2] At the time of the recording, France was engaged in a military conflict, the Algerian War (1954–1962), and the 1st REP (1st Foreign Parachute Regiment)—which backed the failed 1961 putsch against president Charles de Gaulle and the civilian leadership of Algeria—adopted the song when their resistance was broken.