Schoolchildren from across Brittany marched through Roazhon (Rennes), the Breton capital, on Saturday (May 17th) joined by a range of organisations representing the Breton cultural movement in support of the Diwan Breton immersion schools. Despite being voted several times as one of the “best schools in France”, Diwan faces financial difficulties following a decision by the French Government to reduce the amount of subsidised contracts for 2025.
Speaking at the launch of the march, Diwan President Anne-Sophie Brats underlined how community support for initiatives promoting the transmission and use of the Breton language were under threat because of the failure of some town halls to comply with the Molac Law regarding the payment of the school package to Diwan, as well as a failure to comply with the State-Region agreement.
In his speech ELEN Secretary-General Davyth Hicks highlighted how France continues to regularly contravene international human rights law regarding its treatment of Breton and how various town councils were breaking French law, and therefore the EU Rule of Law, by not complying with the Molac Law on funding Breton education.
“ELEN will do everything in its power to get France to catch up to the 21st century where most modern States and the EU celebrate and support their territorial languages, and our shared European cultural heritage. We expect to see Diwan have an adequate public statute and to be supported by the State education system. Immersion education is normal in Wales, Scotland, Basque Country and Catalonia. It needs to be normal here in Brittany.”
In her speech (by video) ELEN President Elin Haf Gruffydd Jones said: “We know—from indisputable scientific studies—that immersion models for languages like Breton, or my own language, Welsh, are the most effective in giving pupils and other students the best bilingual skills when they leave school.”
Many at the demo expressed their frustration at the French Government’s continuing efforts to undermine the Breton language comparing it to the recent news from Catalonia where the government will be spending 200 million euros this year to increase social usage and aim to increase speaker numbers by 100,000 per year, as well as the Spanish Government’s support for La Bressola in North Catalonia, and for EU official status for Catalan, Basque and Galician. In addition, Breton activists praised the new Welsh Education Bill which aims to ensure that every child in Wales will be fluent in Welsh.
ELEN will be working closely with Diwan to help resolve the financial crisis and to ensure this vital network’s viability for the long term.