Basque president Ibarretxe in Saint-Malo: autonomy lessons to the Breton councillors

On Saturday November 22nd in the Grand Large Palace, in Saint-Malo, will take place the «Regional meeting of territories 2008» organised by the Regional Council of administrative Brittany. Councillors from these 4 Breton departments will attend it. Unfortunately, the department of Atlantic Loire will once again be absent.

The Breton Party notes with interest that the president of the Basque government, Juan José Ibarretxe, will speak about «the main axes of Euskadi's economic and social policy».

The Breton Party maintains special relations with the Basque Nationalist Party, to which belongs Mr Ibarretxe, who is one of its leaders; many times, leaders of the Breton Party have been received by Mr Ibarretxe and the PNV's leading staff.

The Breton Party is delighted at this speech, that will allow the Bretons to hear a good lesson on the benefits of institutional and fiscal autonomy.

Yet, will the present political and economic leaders be able to conclude on the urgent necessity to create autonomous Breton institutions?

To provide them with food for thought, the Breton Party will hand out to them a small document that compares the Basque Country and Brittany; the participants will then have to note that Brittany is well behind the Basque Country, «lost», so to say, in almost every respect: economy, culture, media, language, etc.

Will then the political and economic leaders be able to conclude on the urgent necessity to create autonomous Breton institutions? At least, the most hesitant ones may certainly turn red with the envy - or the shame - at seeing the real capacities of action of the Basque Country.

For the Breton Party,

Sébastien Girard
Saint-Jacques de la Lande city councillor
Secretary of the Ille-et-Vilaine federation of the Breton Party

Émile Granville
Redon city deputy mayor
Member of the national committee of the Breton Party