There have been a number of attacks on English-owned homes in Brittany.
In the most recent disturbing incident, in Callac, a property (residence/cafe)was attacked whilst it was occupied. The family, including a very young child, awoke to find diesel fumes pouring into their bedroom.
The windows of the café bar, on the ground floor of the terraced property, were on fire and flames were moving up the walls of the house after a car, parked directly outside, was set on fire.
The attacks are believed to have been provoked by soaring property prices caused by an influx of both British and French people seeking second homes which is effectively making it increasingly difficult for local people to compete in the housing market.
Attacks on property (particularly on second homes) has been a phenomena which has affected most of the Celtic countries in the past thirty years. Some initiatives have attempted to tackle the root of the problem and in some countries (notably Wales) there has been a move away from dangerous illegal action and an emphasis on legitimate campaigning and protest.
In Mann in the 1970s there was a concerted campaign involving a (now defunct) nationalist group 'Fo Halloo' which campaigned against inward migration. Over a decade later in the late 1980s there was a similar campaign involving attacks on property and Island-wide slogan daubing aimed at the Finance sector and its impact on property prices and the Manx way of life. The second spate of direct action was carried out by a group called FSFO and culminated in a number of arrests.
Three persons were subsequently imprisoned. The Manx government moved to tackle some of the concerns which led to both campaigns. However recently pressures on housing have become as tense as they were almost two decades ago.
The two Manx campaigns coincided with perhaps the longest and most aggressive series of attacks on second homes mounted in Wales by 'Meibion Glyndwr'. Despite a major series of police investigations those responsible were not apprehended though the activity eventually petered out. Welsh anger over the impact of inward migration and its effect on community and cultural life is now channelled via legitimate campaigning by the group Cymuned.
However in the past few years tensions have risen in various Celtic areas. In Ireland there is concern about the level of construction in some Gaeltacht areas and the release of new properties to non-Gaelic speakers. In Cornwall recently a group calling itself the Cornish National Liberation Army gained some publicity articulating concerns over inward migration and its impact on the Cornish identity.
Up to now Brittany has been fairly immune from these tensions but the recent incidents suggest this has now changed.
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
12/07/07
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