La Poste : a firm in the forefront of... discrimination
Mr Yves Amiard - mail executive officer at La Poste for Western Brittany - claims that La Poste has purchased an optical system that doesn't cope with apostrophes. Every apostrophe? No, only when they are Breton. The system that La Poste chose would therefore be able to make the difference between a French apostrophe and a Breton one, to read L', D', or C' when it's French, and not C' when it's Breton?
Thus, La Poste indicates to the Bretons who live in a street which name has an apostrophe (provided it's Breton) that their access to general interest service would be submitted to an unequal and discrimatory treatment.
But La Poste's leaders go as far as to encourage not to give any more Breton names to the streets (with or without apostrophe), and to prefer French names. This rude call to discrimination infringes upon the article 75-1 of the French Constitution, which precises that «the regional languages belong to France's patrimony».
The Breton councillors have to be more reactive
At any rate, it is not the clients who should adjust the so-called informatic options of La Poste, but the opposite.
The Breton Party calls to all the Breton councillors not to respect this diktat.
The Breton Party reminds that every MP, senator or MEP can intercede with the HALDE (High Authority for Struggle Against Discriminations and for Equality). Had the Breton Party such representatives, it wouldn't have hesitated in bringing the debate to the concerned institutions, notably at European level.
Lastly, the Breton Party highlights the fact that France remains the only country, along with Greece, that hasn't ratified the European Charter of Minority Languages; France is indeed unable to give the regional languages a legislative frame that would allow their development. Many rights already implemented in our European neighbour countries still have to be conquered by the Breton people.
Can La Poste be a European operator?
Indeed, piece of mail that weighs more than 50g have been sold on the competitive market since the 1st of January 2006, and there is apparently no need to use French names, since the other firms, though they are not as big, seem to be able to manage linguistic diversity. Piece of mail under 50g will be open to the competitive market from the 1st of January 2011, and other more significative firms will emerge in Brittany. Now, incapacity to cope with linguistic diversity leads us to be doubtful on La Poste's capacity to follow its announced strategy of internationalisation and general interest service.
In this context of competition, will La Poste keep on promote French supremacy, or become a real European operator?
The Bretons must have access to an efficient service that respects their identity. Therefore, local councils have to prepare La Poste's arrival on the competitive market by creating the conditions for the establishment of other firms able to fulfill their missions of general interest -including linguistic diversity - and proximity, to which the Breton Party is strongly devoted.
The Breton Party hopes that a real debate will be launched on the reform of mail service. Such a debate should lead to a better service for the Bretons, in a definitely European frame.
For the Breton Party, the President, Gérard Olliéric
■