Breton nationalism: Encyclopedia - Breton nationalism

Breton nationalism

Breton nationalism refers to two forms of nationalism concerning the area of Brittany in France. To many Bretons, "nationalism" is the nationalism of stateless people, whilst to many French, the nationalism of the nation state would take precidence.

As such, many Bretons would describe their form of nationalism as a wish to acquire more power in the United Nations, and to obtain the right to self-rule. This may or may not include complete independence from France. Language rights are also important, with Breton and Gallo speakers seeking equality with French language in the region or, in some more extreme cases, the replacement of French entirely.

To French nationalists, Brittany would be considered an integral part of France. This could include a range of views, from allowing Brittany a devolved government to curb wishes for independence through to the extremes of banning Breton nationalist parties entirely and the Breton and Gallo languages.

As always in human affairs, the population of a given area or nation will embrace a wide range of opinions, with the majority holding views somewhere in the middle.

Breton nationalism - Politics

Breton nationalist politics can differ from other forms of nationalism, such as that of Wales or the Basque country. For instance, it is only one part of the Breton political movement, with the principal Breton party, the UDB, classed as regionalist rather than nationalist by Parisian electoral analysts for seeking devolution rather than self-rule or full independence.

Brittany has not been granted devolved powers as seen with the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in the United Kingdom, or with self-rule within the larger state, as in the Basque Country in Spain. This means that nationalist politics occurs only at the local and national levels, although the Breton nationalists are currently unrepresented in the national government in Paris.

Parties with a Breton nationalist agenda include those seeking automony, such as the UDB or the Parti Breton, several federalist groups and anarchists such as Treger Disuj.

Breton nationalism - Culture

Breton cultural movements are diverse and include many more active participants than the political parties with a Breton agenda.

The name Breton movement, or Emsav in Breton (which means uplifting, renovation), is used to group the major Breton political and cultural movements. Some feel the term (or the movements themselves) does not adequately reflect the diversity, internal divisions and conflicts within Brittany.

Traditionally, the history of the Breton movement is split into three periods, 1st Emsav being the birth of the Breton movement in 1914, 2nd Emsav covering the period 1914-1945 and 3rd Emsav for the post-war movements.

Breton nationalism - Economic nationalism

Small-business owners have formed groups to defend the interests of small and medium sized businesses in Brittany. The label "Produits en Bretagne" is now used by them in order to create and advance the image of Brittany in other countries.

In 2001, TV Breizh was created. The channel is entirely Breton. The Breton language is also spoken for a few hours on the public television station France 3 region Ouest. This degree of linguistic support was unthinkable in France a generation ago.

In 2004, a regional mobile telecommunications operator was set up with the name Breizh Mobile to serve the area.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Breton nationalism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki