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The Matrix actor, who will host the opening ceremony at the Cannes Film Festival later today said he thought the lyrics to the anthem were "appalling".
He told RTL Radio: "I am extremely upset that nobody says it's time to change the lyrics of La Marseillaise, which are from another time."
Mr Wilson described the lyrics as "terrible" and "bloodthirsty", and said: "When I hear the line, Let impure blood water our furrows, I am amazed that we continue to sing it."
His comments come after right-wing politicians criticised justice minister Christiane Taubira for remaining silent while La Marseillaise was played during a ceremony commemorating the abolition of slavery at the weekend.
She later said that she did not believe in "karaoke on a public platform" - which prompted Front National leader Marine Le Pen to demand Ms Taubira's sacking.
Others leapt to Ms Taubira's defence, pointing out that many others did not sing.
Education minister Benoît Hamon, pointed out that he had been standing next to Ms Taubira and had also remained silent. "Why are they attacking Christiane Taubira and not me?" he asked.
Mr Wilson is the latest to demand a change to the words of the French national anthem. Victor Hugo proposed a new version, as did Jean Jaurès, Serge Gainsbourg and Abbé Pierre.
And singer-songwriter Graeme Allwright has written alternative lyrics, which can be found here.
La Marseillaise Translated:
Arise children of the fatherland
The day of glory has arrived
Against us tyranny's
Bloody standard is raised
Listen to the sound in the fields
The howling of these fearsome soldiers
They are coming into our midst
To cut the throats of your sons and consorts
To arms citizens
Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows
Reader Comments
I hate all national anthems, they are advertisements for ideals of a corporation. Pick your corporation, I guarantee that there is a song and dance behind it. Actually pick anything and there is a song and dance behind it that plucks the heart strings for sympathy.
Take the movie Armageddon as an example. Remove the love song by Aerosmith from the equation and what do we have. We have a movie about a bunch BP employees who have been commandeered by the all knowing US government to save the world from space rocks just because they look good in tight tank tops while carrying oversized monkey wrenches. And they can fly space ships. My god the song sold the BS.
The point is, we are programmed for these unending pep rallies very early on, so that when everyone stands with their hands over their hearts to glorify war, hatred, boundaries, and violent separation, we don't have an impulse to question it. But man, do we ever feel it.
The really sad part about this particular anthem is the brevity of it. From what I've read, all of the verses about who the enemy is (kings, tyrants, despots, strangers with chains coming in to make slaves of the people) have been removed. This makes the phrase "impure blood" rather open to interpretation (especially when light is shed on the history of racist undertones in, say, French football. Look it up.)
Not only in terms of national anthems or advertising, but in terms of any music we have constant exposure to, we must be diligent in listening to the words. We must put them in context of the world they came from and the world we live in. We must bolster conscious defenses against the endless list of orally appealing subconscious attacks. If we find that the song is not OUR song, we must resist singing along. It is our duty. Remember, just because a song has heart, that doesn't mean we have to give it our souls.
that glorifies the war. So it is time to ask ourselves if La Marseillaise is a good song. I don't think so. Maybe Mr. Lambert is right, after all.
But the alternative lyrics are very, very beautiful.
The impure blood is the blood of the non-noble french people involved in the revolution, aka the singers themselves.
Wilson is an unlearned leftist as most of the known "artists" in this country.