 The banner read "Heart of Jesus Save France" and on the reverse side Carmelite nuns of Tours embroidered "Saint Martin Protect France".As the French army was victorious in Patay, many among the faithful took the victory to be the result of divine favor.Popular hymns of the 1870s developed the theme of national protection under the cover of Martin's cloak, the "first flag of France".During the nineteenth-century Frenchmen, influenced by secularism, agnosticism, and anti-clericalism, deserted the church in great numbers.