BRETONS UNDER ATTACK
On Monday three Breton activists - Gael Roblin, Kristian Georgeault and Paskal Laize - will appear in a special court in Paris accused of being implicated in the Breton Revolutionary Army (ARB) and the bombing of a MacDonalds restaurant in Quevert in 2000.
Gael was released from prison in 2004, Paskal in 2005, because there was no evidence to link either of them to the Quevert bombing. Gael and Paskal strenuously deny any involvement with the ARB and both served four and five years respectively, in remand, awaiting trial, for a crime neither committed.
Kristian on the other hand does not deny that he was involved with the ARB in the past. He served six years in prison for admitting his association with the ARB. But not a shred of evidence links Kristian to the Quevert bombing.
There are those who will say that there is no smoke without fire. But this would be to misunderstand the motives for the previous trial, to ignore its findings, as well as misundertand the motives for the current re-trial.
After the Quevert bomb went off in 2000 the French state - flailing about wildly and indiscriminately because they didnt know who did it and because public outrage in Paris demanded Breton heads to be cracked - came down hard on ALL activists who supported Breton independence.
Over a hundred Breton activists were arrested in the weeks following the 2000 bombing. Paris was screaming for revenge. Nine prominent Breton actvists were immediately detained without trial. The subsequent trial in 2004 of Gael, Paskal and Kristian was a political show trial with no other purpose than to justify the 2000 crackdown and appease the Paris media that “something was being done”.
Now the Paris prosecutors, egged on by the viciously anti-Breton President, Nicholas Sarkozy, are once again stirring up anti-Breton sentiments.
Brittany is a country of 4 million people - a Celtic country roughly comparable in size to Scotland, Ireland or Wales - with its own indigenous Celtic language and culture. The French government are utterly opposed to the break up the French state and routinely attack Breton activists, as well as trying to suppress the Breton language.
This is another such attack. One of many. If there was any evidence that Gael, Kristian or Paskal had been involved in the Quevert bombing I would not be writing this article. But not a scrap of evidence exists. This is why I would hope that anyone who agrees with the principle of natural justice will follow this trial, raise it where possible/necessary, and send messages of solidarity and support to the three falsely-accused Bretons.
There is a rally today in Rennes to demonstrate solidarity with the three accused.
I was having a conversation with two rench co-workers recently, when we were all working abroad together. at least one of whom consides herself left wing.
I was astounded at the intense level of hostility they displayed towards Bretons, Basques and other peoples within France who maintain any identity other than French, including outright denial that the Basque, Occitan and Breton languages exist. And as you say, they supported extreme state repression of even peaceful and democratic mainifestations of Breton, Corsican and basque autonomy - they expressed very extreme opposition to even the sort of Autonomy that Wales has now.
I have never, ever heard such opinion s from english people in the context of devolution for Scotland and Wales.
It seesm that France has a long way to go in accomodating to the modern world.
Comment by Andy Newman — 15 November, 2008 @ 11:14 am
Earlier this year raids were carried out on left-wing people from Turkey living in Paris, and a number of people are currently in jail. I don’t know about France not accommodating the modern world in this respect - unfortunately, “war on terror” raids are very 21st century indeed.
I don’t know about French law but British “war on terror” law does not specify actual connection to a particular bombing or violent action. Sympathy, presumed or actual, can be enough to be charged with membership of a banned organisation. At present, teachers in British schools are being encouraged to report to the authorities if any of their pupils have any contact or sympathy with “violent extremists”.
Comment by cayansempatizan — 15 November, 2008 @ 11:25 am
So bombing a public place, full of ordinary Breton folk is ok?
Comment by Hospital Worker — 15 November, 2008 @ 12:44 pm
Eh, no it isn’t. Did you actually read the article? The whole point is that there is no evidence of a connection between these activists and the bombing and that this is a political trial.
Comment by Nick — 15 November, 2008 @ 2:35 pm
Forgive the O Level French….mais le futur de la France comme Republique Islamique fait Basque Breton ou le Corse pas tres important!
Comment by Benbow — 15 November, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
Veux-tu lancer une campagne de genocide, pour sauvegarder la Patrie contre le danger integriste?
Travaille-tu pour Radio Paris? Sale facho.
(”Radio Paris ment
Radio Paris ment
Radio Paris est allemand” c.1943)
Comment by cayansempatizan — 15 November, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
#1 “I was astounded at the intense level of hostility… towards Bretons, Basques and other peoples within France who maintain any identity other than French, including outright denial that the Basque, Occitan and Breton languages exist.”
A very strong unitary nationalism is taught in school, so it’s hardwired in for a lot of people, even in those way to the left of the average Brit on other issues - or used to be.
Comment by Strategist — 15 November, 2008 @ 8:08 pm
No difference really with England ruling Wales Scotland and Ireland Wales has a language of it’s own and an English Labour party in office.
the fact is France will not allow the break up of France the same as England, it’s a problem when countries see themselves as rulers.
Comment by Robert — 16 November, 2008 @ 12:42 pm
#8 “an English Labour party in office”, the last time I looked it was a BRITISH labour party in office, with a Scottish PM who allows MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales to vote on matters that effect ONLY the ENGLISH.
SO NO AN ENGLISH LABOUR PARTY DOES NOT RULE WALES, SCOTLAND, NORTHERN IRELAND.
There is a Scottish labour party, a Welsh labour party but NO English labour party or are you one of those professional victims of the English.
As for England not allowing the break up of Britain get the mass murderer Gordon Mugabe Brown to give the English a referendum and you will soon see WE THE ENGLISH DO WANT THE BREAK UP OF BRITAIN and the sooner the better, it is the welsh and the scottish who do not want the break up to happen NO BALLS, NO GUTS, NO BACKBONE to go it alone.
Comment by Quo Warranto — 16 November, 2008 @ 9:35 pm
“So bombing a public place, full of ordinary Breton folk is ok?”
Soon after that bombing, a lot of breton cultural activists gathered in Rennes to demonstrate that “Brittany is Life” (according to their own terms). I wasn’t one of them cos i don’t think I have to demonstrate that I don’t agree with bombing people just because i’m breton and that other bretons were supposedly involved in that bombing. Did the french army demonstrate after that people attending to a military show were wounded last july? Did the government asked the army to declare that “Army is Life”?
A young girl died in 2000 and nobody’s been found guilty. This is what matters! And French Justice isn’t looking for suspects they’re just trying to convinced breton people that they’re all guilty for that crime.
Please stop dropping this kind of hints. I think that you don’t really get the point Hospital Worker and me low level english won’t help you understand I’m afraid. France is killing my people, assuming that we don’t really exist, except as terrorists… btw, ever heard about “La Terreur”? This is how the real french history begins…
Comment by Tosaka — 16 November, 2008 @ 10:05 pm
“France keeps flouting the fundamental rights of Brittany”
The Breton language is part and parcel of the World Heritage and the only continental language of Celtic origin still used by over 1.5 million people in the early 2Oth century.
Nowadays, 250.000 speakers still use Breton despite no official recognition of the languages by the French authorities and a veto to teaching Breton all over Brittany.
Moreover, during the 1940’s, under the aegis of the government led by Maréchal Pétain, Brittany was deprived by law from Nantes city and the Loire-Atlantique départment. Since then, the French authorities have always refused to reconsider this “amputation” and “decentralisation laws” have validated these Regional administrative limits, transferring both Nantes city and the Loire-Atlantique départment to a new region called “les Pays de Loire”.
The residents in Loire-Atlantique and the other Breton départments claim Brittany be re-united.
Comment by Iffig — 16 November, 2008 @ 11:00 pm
#11 “250.000 speakers still use Breton despite no official recognition of the languages by the French authorities and a veto to teaching Breton all over Brittany.”
Tell us more, please. What do you mean by “veto”? How does that work?
Comment by Strategist — 16 November, 2008 @ 11:49 pm
Well Robert - any response to the very accurate comments by Quo Warranto?
thought not - It doesn’t fit with your pathetic victim status.
Comment by Francis — 17 November, 2008 @ 7:13 am
Hello, I’m breton, but not nationalist, member of the New Anticapitalist Party. First of all, the bombing killed a young female worker, that’s the shame. Then the target: Mac Donald’s, corresponds with the new altermondialist course of the nationalists. All involved were linked with this “army”. Nobody in this “army” had the gutts to assume responsability to free their comrades. They sell us the theory of a spanish “guardia civil” commando, nobody believes it. What everybody thinks is that they did it but the police is so stupid they have no evidence. Then they are great in managing solidarity. One point is very important as exposed by comments: the hardcore french nationalism taught in french schools and the importance of this drug in the working class. One party is particularly explicit on these matters, the new “POI” of the lambertists, but no one escapes.
Comment by Torr e benn — 17 November, 2008 @ 7:29 am
The French Revolution was a FRENCH revolution.
That’s why it returned so easily under Napoleon to theImperial Vision of former Royals. This happened to Cromwell (Ireland) and ‘New Labour’/New Tory, which Blair sold to Thatcherism. NL has no interest in social justice nor much in democracy; hence no devolution except when Labour seats are perceived to be at risk to nationalists.
Comment by julyan holmes — 17 November, 2008 @ 9:30 am
The FRENCH revolution was FRENCH.
That’s why it returned so easily under Napoleon to the old Royal imperialism.
Probably every revolution does the same.
Comment by julyan holmes — 17 November, 2008 @ 9:35 am
250.000 speakers still use Breton despite no official recognition of the languages by the French authorities and a veto to teaching Breton all over Brittany.”
Tell us more, please. What do you mean by “veto”? How does that work?
First:my opinion is not what you may ear all around, because I’m neither french nor breton nationalist. 250 000 people are over 60 years old. Their use of breton is intimate and they demand nothing (radio, tv, public signals) because (thanks the state), it is not “convenient” to use another language in France, which is said to immigrant too, at school for instance. On the other hand you have around 10 000 activists that learned breton and make much noise for schools and social use : polls say 80% of the people want to “save” the language. But you don’t observe any move toward the schools or after work training. French state is forced to open bilinguals classes (50% in breton) but it is the first system of the 3 third: 10 000 pupils in state, catholic church and “Diwan” schools. Today press say only 13 teachers volunteer for 50 jobs.
It’s not all like victimization says. Our party members (NPA) as parents, are usually fighting to open state classes in breton. But others, older and breton speakers, don’t even understand it. And there’s another problem: why open classes in the eastern half of Britanny where breton were never spoken or desapeared in the 12th century. I think there is like an unconscious will of delimiting “breton” by the use of the language and it concerns a small minority : 20% in the west. Are we all french except the language activists?
Comment by Anonymous — 17 November, 2008 @ 9:53 am
“Are we all french except the language activists?”
This is a good question to raise, becasue of course the same issue has arisen in Wales, where many who self-identify as Welsh have little or no Welsh language.
Comment by Andy Newman — 17 November, 2008 @ 10:00 am
Aye, they are all as pure as the driven snow, just like Garikoitz Aspiazu Rubina who has just been captured - I’m sure we will see solidarity from the usual suspects when he goes on trial. Scum to a man.
Comment by Polar Star — 17 November, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
ARB & Emgann are not the most pleasant organisations, see http://bataillesocialiste.wordpress.com/2008/02/03/retour-sur-emgann/
Comment by Entdinglichung — 17 November, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
Williamson doesn’t care who it is - if it waves a flag and speaks a minority language it must be OK.
BTW why is he being allowed to contribute to this socialist blog - not so long ago he was justifying scabbing so council workers didn’t upset his precious SNP. Bourgeois nationalist tripe.
Comment by Doug — 17 November, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
I would like to reply to comment number 20. Of course Emgann and ARB are not fighting for the working class of Britanny. What it is condemned in this article (see link)is from the Lcr to accept some Emgann activists on their local lists. People we meet in all local struggles with correct attitudes. For those (french nationalist) socialists we should build with them a wall around them for the only reason that they are “breton nationalists”, of course linked to the nazis. It is for those people simply obscene to pretend rejecting french sovereignty over Britanny. France (with tears) is for them a special perfect revolutionary entity, all above all systems in the world. To drive them mad, tell them that there is social security in Spain, a monarchy! France even with right gouvernments is better than everywhere for the great (bourgeois)revolution we had and so on. So every bourgeois, or left nationalist, pretends that “Le Monde” is the daily that the world envy! Spanyards have “El pais”, british “The guardian”… Who cares of “Le Monde”? And so for trains, hospitals, schools, cheese, food, wine…
Comment by Torr e benn — 17 November, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
hi, i’m Breton.
please to c so much interest abroad..
but mind manipulaters like “Torr e benn “!!! his comments are outrageous !!!
i’m puzzle by who he can be; his pseudo strongly refers to secret nick-name in breton nationalism since july 1675;and he pretends “being a Breton but not a nationalist”
which is the usual introduction to a flood of intox and cliches against anything suspected of promoting separatism within french territory.
but his arrogant stupidity shows enought by itself…
more vicious , but again “nor nationalist” is the anonymous next comment.
neither french nor nationalist but very much up-to-date with datas concerning the issue…
like torr e benn,no reference to sources… what press his he refering to ?
all lies , lies,
what is the motivation of these people ?
so quick, so many, at reacting everywhere like on a mission against “nationalism”. which none of them even study the meaning(they would have discovered the versalities of definitions and dictionnaries).they never refer to name sources and add their own fantaisies to what they heard on State medias.
what is strange is that they come equipted with datas and details which usualy only activists know and memorise so well.but then it’s a rule to refer to a reliable source,.
here are few links
http://www.agencebretagnepresse.com/
http://www.eurominority.eu/version/eng/
http://www.breizh.net/identity/
please to help
jakez kadiou
Comment by jakez kadiou — 17 November, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
about 20 ,the reference is the most contreversial writter:
Françoise Morvan.
Then her name should have been highlighted
you will find a lot about her on google
try:
Françoise Morvan debat
the jeanne d’Arc of the french language against english invasion.. enjoy
more jacobiniste than her you die
Comment by jakez kadiou — 17 November, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
Jakez Cadiou tu piges l’anglais? Je ne suis pas d’accord avec le n°20! Je ne suis d’accord ni avec le PT-Poi, ni Francoise Morvan, ni rien de nationaliste français! Si je reste anonyme c’est bien à cause de cette violence imbécile dès qu’on est pas dans votre ligne.
Comment by Torr e benn — 17 November, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
#21 “Doug” You write:
“Williamson doesn’t care who it is - if it waves a flag and speaks a minority language it must be OK.
BTW why is he being allowed to contribute to this socialist blog - not so long ago he was justifying scabbing so council workers didn’t upset his precious SNP. Bourgeois nationalist tripe.”
“Justify scabbing”? Here’s what I wrote in support of the council workers strike:
http://kevinwilliamson.blogspot.com/2008/09/sept-23rd-support-todays-public-sector.html
Have a read of it. And could I suggest you put your full name on your next post. Prick.
Comment by Kevin Williamson — 17 November, 2008 @ 4:14 pm
??? brezhonneg a vez ivez
i ken english too , nae bother pal
u r not anonymous, that was for the one who signed that name
i refer to you as Torr e benn
i am curious to know why you took it
what do you know about that name..very famous and meaning , no ?
i don’t have any “ligne”
but i am independantist , sure enough,
obviously it’s urgent breton Governement comes back in the hands of it’s proper governement , like in Scotland
By the way,then it would not be a Special Court in Paris holding that farcical trial,
away from Brittanny,
let’s remember that political prisonners are all jailed in Paris too,
years aways from home without trial
so yes , enough is enough,
e Breizh ‘vel e Bro Sko,
un pobl= un Parlament
setu tout! aez eo
Comment by jakez kadiou — 17 November, 2008 @ 4:27 pm
La reaction parle Breton.
N’est Breton qui veux.
Plenty of cliches around.
Yes, they are so oppressed by those nasty French republicans that they have schools in Breton, their language is regionally recognised, and their culutre funded by that vicious centralising state.
Qu’on ne deconne pas!
Comment by Andrew Coates — 18 November, 2008 @ 10:24 am
Andrew
Your information is incorrect. The Breton langauge is starved of funds from the centralised French state. Sarkozy - and the Parisians you identify with - despise the Breton language and would like to see it disappear of the face of the earth. Fact.
Here in Scotland Gaelic is a recognised indigenous language, and quite rightly so. It has its own publicly funded TV and radio station, there are Gaelic schools funded by the state. Gaelic is at the begining of a revival after years of decline. English robotrots wouldnt understand why that is important with their monoculture chauvanism.
In the highly centralised French Republic there is nothing comparable. There is no meaningful devolved government that can take this up as an issue.
One of the three accused teaches at the Skol An Emsav which gets no central government funds. They have to organise weekly events in local communities all over Bretagne to help pay for Breton language primary schools, teachers, and books, etc. Teachers work long hours and volunteers help out. This is long term cultural work within communites.
At least make the effort to find out about cultures you know very little about. And try and support offer support rather than whinging because something doesnt fit in with an orthotrot monoculture world outlook.
Breizhiz’ war zav.
Comment by Kevin Williamson — 18 November, 2008 @ 12:47 pm
28 :To Andrew: No to: “La réaction parle breton” Even in the “great revolution” our bourgeois translated in breton their acts and laws. The revolutionary people spoke breton, we are not the “chouans” of the east. Britanny is one of the leftest parts of France with few national front. If the nationalists can nowaday use the victimisation of “our language” it is thanks to the working class of the courntry and the seaside that continued to use it in private. Now the youth learning and using the language are only left people, never seen a fascist in any place in 30 years. For me there are to many people that want to “work” on the language to make it modern, for a “virtual” state use, to “modernize” it, print it on the walls, make it respectfull. I suppose it is the same in other countries. I agree that the situation is not so bad, for a foreigner. Things change and more you see it, less you ear it.
But what want the people that fight for the language is not “the right to speak the language in private” which is not a problem. It is to spread it everywhere like hebrew in israel, so never any funding would be enough. It is part of a fight to gain a self determination, more we are speaking, more we turn nationalists. As “celtic” people the perfect failure of Ireland in forcing people to learn irish is (I think) what we should do to please the language activists.
My problem as left militant is: how far will we go, should we go in supporting those activists? Is what they say better than Marx and all other left referencies ? For them the language is just as the arm struggle of others people: the army before the politics, the language before social and anything. They pretend to have 80% of the people with them wanting to “save” the language. A great part of our members (as “greens”, PS and others left people)have their children in bilingual schools, even in “Diwan”, that pressure them to take part and ideas too. We have a great lack of reflexion about it, and topics like “la reaction parle breton” are completly unusefull to elaborate any good program to deal with britanny today.
Comment by Torr e benn — 18 November, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
In contrast to #21, congratulations on this post, Kevin.
If nothing else it’s a tonic to see argy-bargy on here in three languages - and to see a very small part of the process of giving the endangered one of them new life…
It’s great that with the right post, this site can attract interest and engagement from the continent, which must refresh the general debate on this site. Like taking a holiday, it’s good for us to get out of Little Britain occasionally, even if, as in this case, only to the original “Little Britain”, Brittany.
Comment by Strategist — 18 November, 2008 @ 1:04 pm
29. My information is not incorrect and if you think you can get away with telling porkies to a monolingual English sepaking audience, think again. This is on the Diwan schools. It’s written in such simple French which is so similar to English I hardly think it needs translating.
Now as 30 says, Diwan is in existence. I am in favour of regional autonomous cultural rights (I myself have participated in Occitan events and in my front room is a wooden carved statue, l’Occitan). Breton nationalism does however have a rather, well, controversial history, with leading Breton nationalists (like the other you lot admire, the Flemmish) being Nazi collaborators.
Anyway, back to the text.
“En 1982, une circulaire Savary ouvre la possibilité d’une filière de classes bilingues dans l’enseignement. Se mettent alors en place des classes bilingues breton/français dans l’enseignement public à partir de 1983, et dans l’enseignement catholique à partir de 1990.”
So this opened the way to bilingual classes.
Les parents de ces élèves bilingues sont regroupés dans deux associations : Div Yezh (deux langues) créée en 1979 pour les écoles publiques, et Dihun (éveil) pour les écoles catholiques (1990 : Dihun-56 ; 1993 : Dihun Penn-ar-Bed et Dihun-Breizh).
À la rentrée scolaire 2008, les effectifs affichés par ces écoles (chiffre du rectorat de Bretagne administrative [12]), tous niveaux confondus, sont de 11 890 au total :
Le premier degré des écoles Diwan rassemble 1 925 élèves, le second degré 887, soit un total de 2812.
Le premier degré des écoles publiques (Div Yezh) rassemble 4 303 élèves, le second degré 541, soit un total de 4844.
Le premier degré des écoles catholiques (Dihun) rassemble 3 736, le second degré 498, soit un total de 4 234.
Les chiffres globaux (Bretagne histoirque et Paris) donnés par l’Office de la langue bretonne donnent des effectifs affichés par ces écoles, tous niveaux confondus, de 12 333 au total[13] :
3 076 dans les écoles Diwan [14]
5 016 élèves dans les classes bilingues des écoles publiques (Div Yezh)[15]
4 255 élèves dans les classes bilingues des écoles catholiques (Dihun)
Andrew Coates
Comment by Andrew Coates — 18 November, 2008 @ 2:21 pm
To comment 32 : Breton nationalism does however have a rather, well, controversial history, with leading Breton nationalists (like the other you lot admire, the Flemmish) being Nazi collaborators.
OK for controversial history and permanent reminiscences of those men who lived a normal life in Ireland ans Wales after the war, thanks to a strange “celtic” fraternity. I remember Sinn Fein, RSF and Celtic league telling us about a man who was a “freedom fighter” who faught the “french”. Those “french” were just communist “FTP”, many executed after beeing prisonners. But this “revisionism” come more from language activists than from political activists.
The split of the sixties between the old movement and the new one the “pro Moscow”, linked to Officials SF, basques, galicians, catalans, Udb (union democratique bretonne) which is still an important group and a leading “school” in the language movement (skol vreiz-ar falz, dedicated to popular breton )has prevented till today the building of a right nationalist party. The tiny other groups linked to some sort of violence count for nearly nothing. So (I think) that all what is moving around the language and politics can be considered as left and people who reject the old movement nazi friendly.
Comment by Torr e benn — 18 November, 2008 @ 2:54 pm
Nor was mainstream French nationalism exactly innocent of loving up to the nazis: Petain, Vichy !!
Comment by Andy Newman — 18 November, 2008 @ 2:58 pm
Andrew, I’m well aware of the numbers who attend the Diwan schools. And of their successes throug the immersion policy. I was shown around Diwan schools in 2006, and met with teachers there.
I’m also well aware of the history of the Diwan schools= especially their ongoing battle to be accepted into the public schooling system.
I’m also aware of the ongoing resistance by the French state who are hostile to Diwan schools entering the public sector. The little Jacobins constantly evoke Article 2 of the French Constitution - which astates that ‘French is the language of the Republic.’ - to prevent the Diwan schools from entering the public education system.
This part of Article 2 by the way is a hangover of the chauvanistic Jacobin Republic. Its why the French state refuse to sign the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Pathetic. Racist. Call it what you will, but its still the position of the French state.
In 2001 Jack Lang, the French Minister Of Education, signed a plan to intergrate Diwan schools into the public sector. Then the following year the French government reneged on the agreement.
Last December the French goverment’s Central Council reinvoked Article 2 to block the Diwan schools becoming part of the public sector.
So this leaves the Diwan schools still classified as private schools. Okay, conceded, the salaries of some - but not all - teachers at Diwan schools are covered by an agrement - but it is an agreement which keeps the Diwan schools with a private status.
The key strategy of Dwan schools is immersion in the Breton language and a n expansion of Diwan schools so that 2-6 year olds cna begin schooling wholly in Breton.
But here’s the catch - a Diwan school has to be in operation for five years before even teachers pay can be covered by the “contract” as its called. Until that point cash is raised by fundraisers.
The idea that the centralised French state supports Diwan schools is absurd and has no basis in reality. The reality is that the French state acts chauvanistically towards the Diwan schools, denies new schools funding, and blocks their entry into the public sector.
Comment by Kevin Williamson — 18 November, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
The Nazis in the Occupation gave a little encouragement to Breton nationalism and some other kinds, simply because the Occupation had a policy of fostering division. (France was divided into as many as six different parts under the Occupation.) The Nazis did not even encourage a united French fascist party to come about. They allowed French fascists some freedom to operate and gave some funding, but they also incited them against one another.
“Collaborationist politics was a viper’s nest of hatreds, all the more intense because power was so remote. There was a constellation of tiny organisations, all aspiring to become France’s single fascist party.” (Julian Jackson, “France: The Dark Years 1940-44″)
Comment by Lucien Sampaix — 18 November, 2008 @ 3:29 pm
torr e benn = FULUB R ?
Comment by gael — 18 November, 2008 @ 11:34 pm
#33 >>”with leading Breton nationalists (like the other you lot admire, the Flemmish) being Nazi collaborators.”
Has the Socialist Unity website actually ever committed the act of admiring the Flemish? And if it had, what precisely would be wrong with that? Were they worse Nazi collaborators than anybody else in 1940-45? And even if they were, does that damn an entire nationality today, 63 years later?
I went to Antwerp a little while ago, and I thought it was a delightful place.
Comment by Strategist — 18 November, 2008 @ 11:51 pm
# 35. The vast majority of people in France couldn’t care less, one way or the other, about the Bretons. The idea that there is some Jacobin conspiracy against them is frankly off the wall.
# 38. Go back to Antwerp. In the last election votes for the Vlaams Belang went down, but it remains quite a high area for the Flemish fascists. Oh and yes, apart from the Croates they were about the worst fascists in Europe.
The last time I visited Belgium, not so long ago in fact, the French speakers of Brussels wre visibly trembling at the attacks of the Flemish against them. They feel encircled by them. They speak of them in terms of fear. These nationalists even have got French books banned from public libraries by the councils they control, and even the bleeding bus time-tables in some Brussels suburbs have to written, uniquely, in Flemish
My point is the ambiguity of regionalism in Europe.
Comment by Andrew Coates — 19 November, 2008 @ 1:57 pm
“Oh and yes, apart from the Croates they were about the worst fascists in Europe. ”
And don’t forget the Walloon fascists of course, weren’t the French speaking Belgian Walloon division of the SS the last ditch defence for Berlin?
Comment by Andy Newman — 19 November, 2008 @ 2:03 pm
I look forward to Coatsie explaining how Leon Degrelle, the Belgian French speaking Walloon Nazi, and the most prominent foreiegner in the nazi heirarchy fits into his narrative of the Flemish Belgians being uniquiely far right.
Comment by Andy Newman — 19 November, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
#39 Oh, come off it Andrew. My point was so obvious that I felt I didn’t need to spell it out, but I suppose I have to do so.
The Flemish fascists may well have been among the worst Fascists in Europe, and the Flemish Fascist party may well be among the most successful in Europe, but this cannot condemn an entire nation/region. The so-obvious point is that in the term “Flemish fascist” it is the fascist bit that is bad, not the Flemish bit.
Sure there are Flemish fascists, but there are also Flemish socialists, liberals, social democrats, greens etc etc. These parties all exist and are represented in the Flemish parliament http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Flanders
So if the Francophones tremble at attacks, and your account of this sounds a bit overegged to me, then it is at the attacks of fascists, not of Flemish.
Would your “if you like Antwerp, why don’t you go back there” comment also extend to Germany if I mentioned that I think Hamburg, Berlin and Munich are great & enjoyable places? The Germans may well have been the worst fascists of them all 65 years ago, but guess what, that’s all in the past now.
Comment by Strategist — 19 November, 2008 @ 2:30 pm
#26 i just read the piece you’ve referred to Mr Williamson and your main concern is the SNP. I re-iterate, bourgeois nationalist. Prick.
Comment by Doug — 19 November, 2008 @ 2:45 pm
Incidently, there has never been an article on this blog about Flemish seperatism.
Comment by Andy Newman — 19 November, 2008 @ 2:47 pm
Léon Degrelle. It’s true that the Rexists don’t get much of a mention on the anglophone ignorant centred left that exists in the UK. Complete and utter filth. But I think if you compare the votes for the Vlaams Belang and the Belgium Front Nationale you’ll see a certain difference. Like the latter goes nowhere.
No Andy, you have not gone the whole hog like the SSP and backed Flemish separtists.
Good on you!
Comment by Andrew Coates — 19 November, 2008 @ 4:31 pm
The three Bretons have been completely cleared. The trial was abandoned today, on Day 3, because it was “illegitimate” and “political” in nature. The French and Breton media are covering it tonight.
All charges are now offcially dropped after a 8 year battle. This is a complete and comprehensive victory which has exposed the anti-Breton bias of the French state - and the French media - for what it is.
Details here:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jIClbprilG3qsi8uz82Riv1gwdJQ
Comment by Kevin Williamson — 19 November, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
find more videos about moscow bombing
http://www.bidyuhan.com/index.php?what=bidyuhan&q=moscow+bombing
Comment by kikomatsing — 30 March, 2010 @ 10:05 pm