On the Atlantic Coast of France a minority group which has had ancient claims to independence seeks once again to be free, alongside its comrades to the South in Corsica. This week we will be talking about the Bretons and their homeland Brittany.
The Bretons migrated from celtic Britain around 500 A.D and by the 10th century they had established an independent state, the Duchy of Brittany. The Bretons played off both the English and French dynasties during the middle ages as they fought for supremacy over the region. However, by the end of the 100 years war in 1453, France was the dominant power over Brittany and in 1547 the Duchy was formally made part of the kingdom of France. Breton nobles asserted a sense of autonomy well into the 18th century, citing a 1532 treaty as giving the region freedom from most taxes.
During the French revolution the religious and rural bretons formed a resistance movement called the Chouannerie against the anti-clerical policies of the central government and especially the levée en masse, the mass conscription of men into the
new Republican Army, and the movement gave the French republic significant trouble
from 1794 to 1800 when the revolt was crushed like the similar Vendée uprising to their south. The French government was merciless, drowning thousands of suspected traitors and clergy in “national bathtubs” like the one at Nantes, the old feudal capital of Brittany. Even at the end of the Republican period in 1815, Brittany did not receive its old feudal privileges again, and it was divided into 5 departments, losing all of the political autonomy it had under the King.
Modern Breton nationalism arose primarily in reaction to the imposition of compulsory schooling by the central government in 1870, which of course included the linguistic imperialism of teaching only True, Parisian French to children. This threatened all of the regional languages and dialects of France, but Breton was uniquely vulnerable because of its depressed economic status. Shipbuilding and fishing continued to grow, but the agricultural population of Brittany shrank dramatically during the 19th century by emigration to the rest of France or abroad. The fight for more linguistic and political autonomy lasted into the 20th century and the World Wars, with a French education minister Anatole de Monzie declaring in 1925, “for the linguistic unity of France, the Breton language must disappear.” Breton autonomy had significant support from those on the hard left and hard right, but during World War Two it was the right wing that gained the movement some infamy. After the quick end of the Battle of France in 1940, Breton politicians entreated the Germans to free Breton speaking prisoners and support an independent state, weakening the French threat to Germany. Initially Germany was interested in the offer and moved 60,000 Breton POWs as well as other linguistic minorities like Corsicans and Flemings to nicer camps, freeing some of them before the official treaty with the new Vichy French State. Unfortunately for the Bretons, German policy towards France changed and they were no longer interested in a puppet state in Brittany. The region remained part of the Northern half of France that was directly occupied by the Nazis until liberation came in late 1944.
Since WW2 and the collapse of the far right, the largest Breton nationalist party is the center-left regionalist Breton Democratic Union, which has a small but real presence in Brittany politics, including a National Assembly and Senate seat. A survivor of the collaborationist period, Yann Fouéré helped form the violent wing of Breton Nationalism although instead of the reactionary language used in his youth, Fouéré couched the conflict in terms of anti-Imperialism. Like their Corsican contemporaries, the Breton Nationalist movement tried using violence to further their cause, mainly done by the Breton Liberation Front in a series of (bloodless) bombing attacks between the 60s and 90s. The most famous attack was the 1978 bombing of the Palace of Versailles, causing millions of dollars in damages to the priceless museum and injuring one guard. On the other hand, Breton nationalists like Alexis Gourennec founded the Brittany Ferries company in 1972 with a coalition of farmers to put their money where their mouth is and reinvigorate the economy of the region. In the midst of all these electoral, cultural and violent protests, the French State finally made significant changes to its anti-Breton policies. Breton names, which had been banned since the Revolution, were allowed again in 1966. For local education, a 1975 law was passed giving Breton among other minority languages some breathing room against Parisian French in schools. Breton has still been shrinking since then, although there are some signs of a revival in young speakers which could save the language from extinction. Only about 200,000 people speak the language now out of the population of 5 million of the former Duchy of Brittany.
According to polls (and judging by the electoral success of Breton nationalist parties in France), it appears that no more than 1 in 6 Bretons wishes for more autonomy from France and only a tiny minority favor full sovereignty. Unlike Corsica it has no active nationally conscious majority, and thus it is unlikely that Breton Nationalism will soon achieve its goal of returning to its old, cherished independence or its guarded autonomy. Still, just as with the linguistic revival, there seems to be an increase in interest in Breton independence and Springtime of Nations supports its self-determination just like so many other captive nations. Long live Brittany and may 1000 flowers bloom!