Illustration of a demonstration for the reunification of Brittany in 2014 in Nantes.

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SEBASTIEN SALOM GOMIS / SIPA

  • The question of the reunification of Brittany resurfaces with a request for a referendum which is made more and more urgent.

  • In a letter addressed to the President of the Republic and published in the JDD, 150 elected politicians of all stripes demand that the inhabitants of Loire-Atlantique be consulted.

  • In Nantes and Rennes, the two mayors Johanna Rolland and Nathalie Appéré, however, are not in favor of this reunification.

Like an old sea serpent, the debate on the attachment of the Loire-Atlantique to Brittany regularly resurfaces.

But nearly fifty years after the first mobilizations, it is clear that the question of reunification, which divides as much as it fascinates on both sides of the border, has never really been resolved.

To try to finally move the file forward, the very young association A la Bretonne is campaigning for the holding of a referendum in order to ask the million voters of Loire-Atlantique if they are in favor, or not, of the attachment of their department in the Brittany region.

"The debate should have taken place in 2014 during the territorial reform but it did not happen", regrets its president Christophe Prugne, denouncing a "deep denial of democracy".

Reunification of Brittany: One hundred and fifty elected officials demand the holding of a referendum https://t.co/IyyekaLHrG via @ 20minutesRennes pic.twitter.com/6DDnm4rN07

- 20 Minutes Rennes (@ 20minutesrennes) January 17, 2021

In its fight, the association can count on the support of many elected politicians from all sides.

In a column published in the

Journal du Dimanche

, 150 of them, including a dozen parliamentarians, addressed Emmanuel Macron to request a consultation of the inhabitants of Loire-Atlantique.

In an attempt to convince the President of the Republic, they recall the "geographical, historical, economic and human links" which unite Loire-Atlantique to Brittany, as well as "the very numerous surveys (which), for forty years, have shown that approximately two thirds of the citizens of Loire-Atlantique are in favor of returning from their territory to the Brittany region ”.

The request for a referendum is also supported by the Loire-Atlantique departmental council, even if its elected officials voted against the attachment to Brittany at the end of 2018.

The mayors of Nantes and Rennes not in favor of reunification

To give even more weight to their request, the activists of the A la Bretonne association are now trying to put pressure on the mayors of Nantes and Rennes.

Not frankly in favor of reunification, Johanna Rolland nevertheless said she was in favor of holding a referendum.

At the next municipal council to be held in February, it should therefore submit to a vote a wish in this direction.

Nantes: The Breton flag hoisted at the town hall, a "first step" https://t.co/5dmWhVCWWC via @ 20minutesnantes pic.twitter.com/22i6P2fIdv

- 20 Minutes Nantes (@ 20minutesnantes) December 17, 2020

In the Breton capital, the mayor Nathalie Appéré is not very connected either by a marriage with the Loire-Atlantique.

She also considers in the columns of Ouest-France that "this subject is not the urgency of the moment" and that this fight is not hers.

But in his majority, several elected officials support the approach, in particular his environmental ally Matthieu Theurier.

"The opposition is also in favor of it, so the debate must open in Rennes", underlines Stéphane Péan, activist of the association and president of the think tank Breizh Civil Lab.

There will be a long way to go before a referendum

In recent days, the activists of A la Bretonne are therefore endeavoring to collect 1,000 signatures from Rennais and Rennaises in order to bring the subject before the municipal council as allowed by the charter of local democracy.

They have also just requested a meeting with the Minister for Territorial Cohesion Jacqueline Gourault.

We have also sent a meeting request to @j_gourault, Minister of Territorial Cohesion and Relations with Local Authorities.


The collection of signatures is therefore continuing with elected officials of #Bretagne via our site.

#LT https://t.co/LbFJMYSXOI

- Breton style!

(@alabretonne) January 17, 2021

Sure of their strength and the validity of their request, the supporters of reunification know, however, that there will still be a long way to go.

"It will be necessary before organizing a public debate and that will take time", explains Stéphane Péan, citing the date of "2024" as horizon for a possible referendum.

This leaves time for the sea serpent to reappear.

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