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Dàvid Grosclaude's pro-Occitan hunger strike hits one week mark

 
A dozen protests called today across Occitania · Regional councilor wants the French state to unblock the establishment of an Occitan Language Office · Grosclaude says pro-Occitan voices "are being heard" · MEPs, elected representatives lend support to hunger striker

It has been one week since Aquitaine regional councilor Dàvid Grosclaude (Occitan Party) started a hunger strike in Bordeaux against "disregard" by the French state to Occitan speakers. It is indeed under the motto "Que n'i a pro d'estar mespresats!" ("Enough is enough of being despised!") It is precisely this, "of which there are enough to be mespresats!" ("Enough of being despised!") that the protest is spreading across Occitania and beyond.

The hunger strike is the way chosen by Grosclaude to demand from the French government the official establishment of the Public Office for the Occitan Language (OPLO, Occitan acronym). Both the regions of Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées have agreed to jointly create the OPLO, which is set to implement a linguistic policy in favour of Occitan. For the OPLO to be created, it is only needed that a decree is published in the official gazette of the French state.

Writing on his website today, Grosclaude considers that the current mobilization is allowing the voice of the pro-Occitan camp "to be heard". The regional councilor calls for "greater effort" to show that language campaigners are "many, peaceful but determined."

Support to Grosclaude

In solidarity with Grosclaude, another four Occitan Party regional councilors (Guilhèm Latrubesse, Arvèi Guerrera, Anna-Maria Hautant and Gustau Aliròl) will be today following a 24-hour hunger strike in Toulouse, Marseille and Clarmont-Ferrand.

According to Jornalet news site, other one-day hunger strikes and sit-ins are being called today across Occitania.

Grosclaude's protest is also receiving support by pro-Occitan associations and bodies and 150 elected representatives of the French Republic, the Occitan Party says. Furthermore, some 20 MEPs have lent support to the regional councilor from within the ranks of the Greens (José Bové), the Alliance of Liberals (Ramon Tremosa, Izaskun Bilbao), the European Free Alliance (Josep Maria Terricabras, Jordi Sebastià, Ernest Maragall, Tatjana Zdanoka) and United Left (Marina Albiol, Lidia Senra).

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