In brief

Loire Atlantique Council rejects reunification with Brittany, calls on Macron to deliver referendum

Bretagne Réunie association had collected more than 100,000 signatures supporting a popular vote

Bretagne Réunie demands popular vote to decide on Loire Atlantique's future.
Bretagne Réunie demands popular vote to decide on Loire Atlantique's future. Author: Bretagne Réunie
The elected assembly of Loire Atlantique, or Departmental Council, rejected 17 December the reunification of the department with Brittany, with 30 votes against and 13 for, of a total of 62 members. The remaining assembly members abstained or were absent from the vote.

The move needed support from 3/5 of the elected representatives to be approved. Afterwards, two more favourable votes —one in the Regional Council of Brittany and another one in the Regional Council of Pays de la Loire, to which Loire Atlantique belongs— would have been required.

The vote in the Departmental Council followed a request by more than 100,000 people, driven by Bretagne Réunie association, for the assembly to organize a popular consultation on the issue. The group holds that Loire Atlantique belongs to Brittany from a historical and cultural point of view, and demands that the NOTRe Act be used to modify current borders.

But Council President Philippe Grosvalet had ruled out a consultation organized by Loire Atlantique itself. On the contrary, Grosvalet has sent a letter to Emmanuel Macron is which he asks the French president to deliver a State-sponsored referendum. The Departmental Council has approved a similar petition, with 55 votes for and 3 against.