The "Chant du Départ" (French for "Song of the Departure") is a revolutionary and war song written by Étienne Nicolas Méhul (music) and Marie-Joseph Chénier (words) in 1794. It was the official anthem of the First Empire. It is also the regional anthem of French Guiana.
The song was nicknamed "the brother of the Marseillaise" by Republican soldiers. It was presented to Maximilien Robespierre, who called it "magnificent and republican poetry way beyond anything ever made by the Girondin Chénier."
The song was first performed by the orchestra and choirs of the Music academy on 14 July 1794. 17,000 copies of the music sheets were immediately printed and distributed in the 14 Armies of the Republic. Its original title was Anthem to Liberty; it was changed to its present title by Robespierre.
The song is a musical tableau: each of the seven stanzas is sung by a different character or group of characters:
The song survived both the Revolution and the Empire, and is still in the repertoire of the French Army. Valéry Giscard d'Estaing even used it as his campaign song for the presidential election of 1974. As a president of the Republic, he would often have it played by troops, along with the Marseillaise.