Occitan language public body inaugurated in Toulouse

OPLO to define policy to foster use of language

12.11.201511.30h

The Public Office for the Occitan Language (OPLO, Occitan acronym) was today opened in the Toulouse Board of Education, as reported by Occitan news site Jornalet. OPLO is a public body aimed at defining a public policy to enhance the use of Occitan.

The OPLO project was approved by the regional assemblies of Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrenees in June 2014. One year later, the French government had still not given the green light to the OPLO, and Aquitaine regional councilor David Grosclaude (Occitan Party) started a hunger strike to raise public awareness on the matter.

Grosclaude stopped the hunger strike after obtaining a government commitment to break the deadlock before summer.

In September, the French state finally validated the creation of OPLO, which will effectively start its activities in 2016.

Keywords: France, language, Occitan, Occitania