Spotlight on: Made in France Ponies
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French Reverse Bowtie used courtesy of BridgetsMum
Nestled in among the other European made ponies, between the eccentric Spanish and plentiful Italians, lie the made in France ponies, one of my own personal favourites. Made only for a short period in the 1980s, there are not that many of them compared to some other countries, though they encompass some of the most popular sets. Although not all ponies in French packaging are made in France, all ponies made in France will be found on French cards. They vary from similar to the US release, to the downright bizarre!
What makes them so special?
As with many of the variants made in other countries, French ponies were only sold in a very limited area. This has led them to be quite hard to find on the second hand market, though there are more around now than there used to be. There are also some beautiful variations on existing ponies, like the fact that Windy is blue, Moondancer has light pink hair (like her US baby), and also a pink bowtie with blue hair!
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Hong Kong (left) and French (right) Moondancers
French ponies tend to have good quality plastic, paintwork and hair. Their hair is not the type to go particularly dry, though it can sometimes get a little like this. Their symbols are always non-glittery; some had metallic paint, while others have ordinary paint in similar colours. The earth ponies only have normal paint.
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French ponies are ALWAYS stamped Made in France. They are, however, slightly unusual in that the writing is circular around the hoof, rather than in a straight line. This looks rather stylish if you ask me!
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What ponies are there?
There were only three proper sets of ponies ever made in France, however, there are some variations as well!
Rainbow Ponies (Les poneys arc-en-ciel)
Parasol
Quatre Vents (Windy) - blue
Pierre de Lune (Moonstone)
Ballerine (Skydancer)
Plein Feu (Sunlight)
Starshine
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Starshine and Skydancer used courtesy of Roswita
Unicorns and Pegasi (Les poneys danseurs)
Clair de Lune (Moondancer) - light pink hair
Meteore or Etoile Filante (Glory) - cyan tail
Meteore or Etoile Filante (Glory) - purple tail
Crepuscule (Twilight)
Soleil (Sunbeam)
Ritournelle (Medley)
Luciole (Firefly)
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Sunbeam and Twilight used courtesy of Roswita
Earth Ponies (Les poneys charmant)
Coquillage (Seashell)
Bulle (Bubbles)
Rose (Cotton Candy) - normal
Lilas (Blossom) - blue
Pomme (Applejack)
Noeud Papillon (Bowtie) - normal
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Seashell and Bowtie used courtesy of Roswita
Hybrids
Cotton Candy (shy pose, blue hair)
Bowtie (pink body, blue hair)
Bowtie-Sunlight (Bowtie body with Rainbow hair)
Cotton Candy-Twilight (strange oddity - Cotton Candy body with unpainted Twilight head)
Windy (Lilac hair with yellow streak)
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Cotton Candys used courtesy of Roswita
Where were they sold?
French ponies were sold only in France, however, due to the popularity in Europe of that country as a holiday destination, there are a few to be found elsewhere.
How were they sold?
The French ponies were sold on cards, similar in style to those used by the US for the same ponies (though obviously written in French). The hybrid Cotton Candy-Twilights were sold near the factory in flea markets, for a low price! (information on this from EtoileBleue)
Pictures of French Rainbow ponies on card can be seen on Taffeta's site here.
Not all ponies on French card, however, are made in France. A lot of the earlier ones are made in Italy, and the later ones are made in Hong Kong or China. Made in France ponies make up only a small portion of the ponies sold in France.
How much do they cost?
French ponies can really vary in price, depending both on the pony and the demand at the time. Typically, Les Poneys Charmant tend to be the least expensive, especially Bubbles and Seashell. These are probably the most plentiful, but it is hard to know for sure. Bubbles and Seashell can sometimes be found for under $30, though not always. The other four Earth ponies in that set tend to go more in the $40-60 range. They are also fairly common, as far as French ponies go, however they are usually more popular.
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French applejack courtesy of Roswita
Of the Rainbow ponies, Windy tends to be the most expensive, sometimes going for up to $100. Moonstone is also on the slightly higher side. The other four Rainbow ponies tend to be in $40-60 range, but they can occasionally go up to $70, and there can be bargains to be found!
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French Moonstone and Windy used courtesy of Roswita
The unicorns and pegasi perhaps vary the most. Although Twilight, Medley, Firefly and Sunbeam will usually go in the $60-80 range, Glory can often go higher, and it's not at all unusual for Moondancer to go for over $200! I personally would put this down to her distinctiveness, for she is noticeably different to the standard version. The same would also apply to Windy, though without quite the same force.
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The hybrid-type ponies, being much harder to find, will go for significantly more money, but it is hard to know exactly how high as there have been so few (if any) for sale recently. With the exception of the Cotton Candy-Twilight hybrid, I would say at $200 each minimum.
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Bowties used courtesy of BridgetsMum
Trivia
- Cotton Candy and Bowtie have the most variants in France, with three each (including hybrid-types)
- The Cotton Candy-Twilight hybrids were sold on a flea market! There are at least 11 in existence.
- Although the ponies do have French names, at least the Rainbow and Earth ponies were sold with the English names.
- The factory was located near Paris, in ˜Le Blanc Mesnil (Thanks EtoileBleue!)
- Blue haired Cotton Candy appears on a number of pieces of merchandise in the UK made by Salters, though she was never sold here.
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Useful weblinks:
Etoile Bleue's fantastic French page the best source of French information online
Taffeta's French Ponies Page
Into the Sea
My special thanks go to: EtoileBleue, BridgetsMum, Roswita, Rochi and Taffeta 
I couldn't have done it without you!
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Group shot courtesy of Roswita
Now, time to show your own Frenchies!
(edit to add add watermarked pictures love pkw )
