For 90 percent of French-speaking Swiss, the national holiday is either important or very important, a poll published on Wednesday by the Demoscope opinion research institute has found.

Those living in German-speaking part of the country are somewhat less likely to be moved to wave the flag. Among them, 79 percent said August 1st was an important day to them.

Patriotic values are generally more important to French speakers, according to Peter Rothenbühler, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Le Matin.

“It’s a way that the French Swiss can distinguish themselves from their big neighbour, France,” the bilingual editor told the online news website 20 Minuten.

Men were more likely to report patriotic feelings than women, the researchers found.

However, most people will be celebrating the national holiday on Monday privately. While 31 percent of those in French-speaking Switzerland said they would attend a public event or celebration, among Swiss Germans, only 21 percent reported having similar plans.

Regarding the national anthem, 39 percent said they knew the words to at least the first stanza, while 44 percent admitted not knowing any of the lyrics at all.

The survey, carried out in mid July, asked the opinions of 505 people in the French and German-speaking parts of Switzerland over the age of 15.