According to Larousse (and wordreference) , as an adjective for the colour purple, either violet or pourpre is correct. Pourpre is not being accepted as a correct alternative in the lesson for 'a purple broom', only « un balai violet » is accepted.
I know that some may reserve « pourpre » for a darker red, "short" of purple - colour perceptions and names are always subjective.
Bonjour Maarten,
As you mentioned, ‘pourpre’ is most of the time the equivalent of ‘crimson’ and not ‘purple’. I don’t know if you have ever seen the French film “les Rivières Pourpres”, translated as “The Crimson Rivers”, with Jean Reno.
‘Pourpre’ as ‘purple’ is only used in a few very specific contexts such as:
son visage est devenu pourpre = his face turned purple
I hope this is helpful.
Bonne journée!
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