After the success of Alvan and Ahez, the Breton language gets its revenge

• With their song

  Fulenn

  in Breton, the group Alvan and Ahez will represent France on May 14 at the Eurovision Song Contest.

• In the brittophone world, it is joy and pride that predominate after the triumph of the Breton group.

• This success comes as the immersive teaching of regional languages ​​was called into question by the Constitutional Council last year.

We only see him every time.

Whether you are on the roads of the Tour de France, at a festival or in a football stadium, it is impossible not to come across a Gwenn ha Du.

Even in the most remote places of the globe, the Bretons always have their black and white flag with them to mark their attachment to their region.

But behind this symbol, there is also a language which today has around 215,000 speakers.

And the winners of #EurovisionFrance, it's up to you, are @alvan_music and Ahez!

Congratulations to the Bretons who will represent us in Turin in May!

🎉🎊

All of tonight's performances are available at https://t.co/hbLxAmmRIW https://t.co/bGh0BEHYl4#Eurovision2022 pic.twitter.com/AoqWx6mJsU

— Eurovision France 🇫🇷 (@EurovisionF2) March 5, 2022

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Long despised and abused throughout history, and even banned at school, the Breton language is now getting its revenge with the triumph, on Saturday, of the group Alvan and Ahez, which will represent France at Eurovision on 14 May in Turin, with her song

, which means both sparkle and pretty girl.

“It's a language we've been ashamed of for a very long time.

Now it's a real pride to be able to bring it to Eurovision, ”rejoiced Marine Lavigne, one of the members of Ahez who wrote the lyrics to the song.

“It brings visibility to the Breton language”

In the brittophone world, it is also joy that predominates, even if it will not be a first for the Breton language, already represented by Dan Ar Braz with the song

("Let children be born" in French) during the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996. “It's very positive, because it brings visibility to the Breton language at national level, but now also at European level.

This makes people want to learn it and it reinforces the pride of being Breton”, emphasizes Fulup Jakez, director of the Public Office of the Breton language.

🥳 Gourc'hemenoù deoc'h @alvan_music & Ahez ha trugarez da reiñ enor d'hon yezh 👏

🥳 Congratulations Alvan & Ahez and thank you for doing so much honor to our language 👏#EurovisionFrance @EurovisionF2 https://t.co/ 3t1tP2UMS8

— Diwan (@Diwan) March 6, 2022

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Same pride in the bilingual Diwan network that the three singers of the group frequented.

“They come from the middle of the fest-noz, but this time they offered something else with a music of fusion with electro, indicates its director, Gregor Mazo.

This represents well what we defend in Diwan, namely rooting in the local culture for an openness to the world”.

"We wanted to show that we can mix Breton with very modern sounds, that it's a language that has its place in music, in competitions like that, on television, everywhere," said singer Sterenn Le Guillo.

The controversy over immersive teaching

In Brittany, the victory of the Alvan and Ahez group is all the more savored as it comes after a turbulent period for the defenders of the Breton language.

After the adoption in April 2021 in the National Assembly of the Molac law in favor of regional languages, the Constitutional Council had, in fact, triggered a controversy by censoring two articles of the law, one of which relating to teaching. immersive.

The Breton deputy from the Libertés et Territoires group was then enraged against "a totally outdated vision" on immersive education.

"It even makes a whole bunch of schools insecure with education in Breton, but also in Basque, Catalan, Occitan," he castigated.

After several stormy days, President Macron finally intervened at the end of May to ease tensions by defending immersive education in regional languages ​​"that nothing can hinder".

“Bilingualism is completely normal”

For Fulup Jakez, the designation of a song in the Breton language to represent France at Eurovision is therefore a nice snub.

"We have witnessed the victory of young people who have been educated in bilingual and are now perfectly integrated," he says.

But there are unfounded fears or misunderstandings about immersive education in France, where there is still the dogma of a monolingual state.

While bilingualism is completely normal, it exists in most countries of the world”.

With the Alvan and Ahez group, Breton and the other regional languages ​​have in any case found their ambassador.

“There are other minority languages ​​in Europe.

If there is at least one that can be heard in Turin, it's incredible, says Marine Lavigne.

I am happy to carry this message, to show this diversity, this richness, which is not often highlighted”.

• Culture

• Song

• Eurovision 2022

• Music

• Television

• reindeer

• Language

• Regional languages

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