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Two more municipalities heading to non-binding vote on Breton reunification

Popular, self-organized referendums to be held in Saoudan, Langoed · First vote was held in Novemeber in Saint-Widel-Skovrid · Dibab umbrella group says more referendums expected later · Movement wants department of Loire-Atlantique to be given an opportunity to re-join the rest of Brittany

Brittany's Dibab umbrella group announced two popular, non-binding referendums on the reunification of Brittany will be held on February 8th, after a similar vote was held on November 30th in Saint-Widel-Skovrid. Citizens will be able to cast their votes on the issue of Loire-Atlantique reunification with the rest of Brittany in Saoudan (Soudan in French, 2,000 inhabitants) and Langoed (Langouët, 600).

Dibab said it wished more municipalities could have been participated in this second round of voting, but "close department elections" could have convinced several local committees not to hold the referendums at this stage.

However, Dibab continues to hold public meetings in several towns in order to explain how they could join an upcoming, third wave of popular votes. The group said a meeting will be held later this week in Sant-Ervlan (Saint-Herblain). If this leads to a vote, this could be a remarkable leap forward, as this town has 43,000 inhabitants.

The popular referendums are being organized by popular committees under the Dibab umbrella. They are not funded or organized by any public administration.

First referendum reached 20% turnout

The turnout in the Sant-Widel-Skovrid vote was 20%. 75% of votes supported Brittany reunification. Out of those who voted "yes," 80% also supported the creation of an Assembly of Brittany.

Reunification is a central demand of the Breton political movement. The department of Loire-Atlantique (capital city Nantes) was separated from Brittany in 1941 under the pro-German Vichy regime. Proponents of reunification asked the French National Assembly to reunite the Breton territories into one single official region in 2014, as MPs were discussing a new territorial map for France. But the National Assembly rejected the idea.

(Image: voting time in Sant-Widel-Skovrid / picture by Dibab.)