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Occitan groups spearhead linguistic rights demonstrations in the French Republic
Protests demanding legal status for minoritised languages to be held on Saturday 24 in Occitania, Basque Country, Brittany, Alsace, Moselle, Corsica · Ratification of European Charter of Languages by France again threatened
The call to demonstrate has been joined by other organizations advocating rights for non-state languages in the French Republic. Those groups will also be holding their own protests on Saturday 24 for languages such as Breton (Carhaix), Basque (Bayonne), Corsican (Ajaccio) and German local varieties (Metz and Strasbourg).
Protests coincide in time with a renewed danger that the ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by France could again be stopped. Les Republicains party (formerly UMP party, conservative) last week introduced a motion in the French Senate law committee aimed at rejecting a constitutional bill proposed by France's socialist government which would allow the ratification of the Charter. According to Les Republicains, the Charter ratification would amount to an attack on the French language, and could violate the principle of republican equality.
The Senate is to convene in plenary session on October 27. If senators approve the motion, the current attempt by the French government to ratify the Charter will be buried even before having been discussed.
While these events are going on, the Ministry of Justice has opened a website where citizens can give their views and advices on the government's bill. The website says the French government wants to grant citizens the right to use "regional or minority languages," which must be protected in the areas of "education, justice, public services, media, cultural activities and events, and economic and social life."
Urgent action needed to protect language, groups say
In this regard, the Occitans' call to demonstration recalls that their language is in danger of extinction, as "stated by UNESCO." Therefore, protest organizers say it is urgent for French authorities to implement a policy of support to Occitan, including the adoption of appropriate legislation, as repeatedly requested by Occitan speakers. New pieces of legislation, they argue, should grant legal status to the language, which "allows it to grow."
The call admits that regional authorities have taken some steps in that direction, but even so pro-Occitan groups argue more action is needed. Organizers recall too that the French government should be more involved in the protection of minoritised languages, and should stop passing laws and norms that lead to a diminished role for Occitan in schools.