Members from Paris have held a press conference in which they have denounced France’s attitude to minority languages. The latest attacks on French minority languages have sparked protests in Corsica, Catalonia and Martinique. The Régions et Peuples Solidaires movement has offered them its support in this struggle.
With the appointment of François Bayrou as Prime Minister of France, who is the defender of minority languages, France has taken a further step in its policies against minority languages. The political representatives of Corsica, Catalonia and Martinique have been condemned for seeking to give official recognition to the languages of their territory.
These decisions have been taken in Corsica, in several municipalities in the Catalan Pyrenees and in Martinique, after regional representatives have gone to court. On this occasion, however, the Corsicans, the Catalans and the Martians have declared that they will not give up.
Régions et Peuples Solidaires explains that in many other countries it is generally accepted that political representatives should speak in local languages. As an example Euskera and Catalan. They have, however, denounced that France denies such recognition and that this "has caused the indignation" of many citizens of the region.
The chairman of the Martinique Territorial Commission, Serge Letchimy, has said that they will be punished, but he has assured that he will accept with dignity the decision to be taken. In Corsica, the delegate has appealed to the decision, which provided for the possibility of official use of the corso.
The movements in favour of French minority languages call for constitutional reform to end discrimination and to endorse the European Charter of Minority Languages of the European Union. Its aim is to bring this struggle beyond the French State in order to achieve the recognition of minority languages in European and international courts.