The Rise and Decline of Micronationalism in Mainland France
| Author | Michael Keating |
| Published date | 01 March 1985 |
| Date | 01 March 1985 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9248.1985.tb01558.x |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Political
Studies
(1985),
XXXIII,
1-18
The Rise and Decline
of
Micronationalism
in Mainland France
MICHAEL
KEATING*
University
of
Slrathclyde
The post-war period has seen the development of a rmmber of ‘micronationalist’
movements in the regions
of
France. These have been based on cultural, economic
and political demands. This has led them from a strategy of territorial lobbying to
demands for autonomy but the cultural, economic and political strands of the
movements have been poorly integrated. In the 1970s, much of the impetus of micro-
nationalism was absorbed by the parties of the left which, in the course of the realign-
ment
of
the party system, were able to accommodate most
of
their demands. The
process is illustrated by an examination
of
Brittany and Languedoc.
Introduction
Opposition between Paris and the periphery is a historic feature of the French
state which, as many scholars have observed, preceded the nation and, indeed,
through the efforts of political and bureaucratic elites, created it, absorbing in
the process Basques, Bretons, Alsatians and the peoples of the langue d’0c.I In
the post-war years, France, like several other European states, has witnessed a
reaction to this in the form of a reassertion of the submerged nationalities or
micronationalitiks
as they are described in French to distinguish them from the
overarching nationality of France and the other ‘nation-states’ of Europe.
Three sets
of
concerns have contributed to this repoliticization of the periphery:
a cultural revival and reassertion
of
traditional values in the face of the
assimilationalist pressures of modern capitalist development and
of
the state; a
sense
of
economic grievance finding expression in territorial as opposed
to
purely class or sectoral terms and focused initially on the state itself; and a
movement for political autonomy
or
‘home rule’.
We can trace, in France as elsewhere,
a
progression on the part of regionalist
movements from traditionalist, often backward-looking cultural concerns to a
concern with contemporary economic problems.2 This itself may, at least
initially, take a defensive form, seeking protection for activities threatened by
industrial modernization; or it may give birth to modernizing forces seeking
*
The research
on
which this article is based was supported by a grant from the Nuffield
1
E.g.
J.
Hayward,
Governing France: the One and Indivisible Republic
(2nd edition) (London,
Foundation.
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983).
*
A. Smith,
The Ethnic Revival
(Cambridge, Cambridge University
Press,
1981).
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1985
Poliiical Sfudies
2
The Rise
and
Decline
of
Micronationalism in France
economic transformation. We can trace a further progression, again common
to many regionalist movements, from a strategy of territorial lobbying focused
on the central state to one
of
autonomism as movements have gained in
maturity and confidence and the expectations raised by the central state have
been dashed. The relationship amongst the cultural, economic and political
aspects of regionalist movements is difficult to explore empirically and to
handle theoretically. Rokkan and Urwin, after stating that backward and
declining regions are not the home of the outstanding territorial problems,
comment that ‘No matter what their cultural strength, economic weakness can
easily provide the basis for arguments against the credibility and viability
of
self-s~fficiency’.~ In purely rationalist terms, this is undoubtedly true and
indeed the reconciliation
of
the rival claims of territorial autonomy and terri-
torial equity is a recurrent problem for the democratic left.4 It is an observable
fact, however, that the regionalist dynamic set in train by redistributive
economic demands can add fuel to autonomist political movements,
paradoxical though this may appear.5 A successful regionalist movement
indeed needs to integrate these various elements into a mobilizing ideology
based upon the claims of a territorial or ethnic group. It is their success in
achieving this, together with the reaction of the central state, which explain the
fortunes of regionalist movements.
So,
although we can cite factors common to
more than one European state, a satisfactory account of any given movement
must locate it in its historical, cultural and political context. The argument of
this article is that in mainland France the micronationalists have failed to
integrate the elements and relate them to identifiable territories. Consequently,
autonomist movements have been weak and fragmented, unable to develop
economic and political strategies which could convincingly be presented as
alternatives to the centralization of the state or modern capitalism,
or
to sever
the partisan and clientilistic links tying the peripheral regions to Parisian
politics.
The
Growth
of
Micronationalism
Republican France inherited from the monarchy a tradition of centralization
and uniformity which lent itself as well to the revolutionary ideology
of
liberty,
equality and fraternity as to the despotism of the Bourbons. The ‘Jacobin’
tradition (to use the customary if historically inaccurate shorthand), unlike the
British-American liberal tradition, sees centralization and democracy not as
incompatibles but as closely linked.6 Competing foci
of
loyalty would both
reduce the sovereign state and dilute the dignity of equal citizenship. Dual
identity with an ethnic group and with France at the same time is out of the
question. Not that any French regime was able easily to impose uniformity.
3
S.
Rokkan and
D.
W.
Urwin,
Economy, Territory, Identity. Politics
of
West European
M. Keating and
D.
Bleiman,
Labour and Scottish Nationalism
(London, Macmillan, 1979).
A.
Lijphart, ‘Political Theories and the Explanation
of
Ethnic Conflict in the Western World.
Falsified Predictions and Plausible Postdictions’, in
M.
J.
Esman (ed.),
Ethnic Conflct
in
the
Western World
(Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1977).
Y.
Meny,
Centralisation et Dkcentralisation duns le Dkbat Politique Fransais,
1945-69
(Parish, Pichon, 1974).
Peripheries
(London, Sage, 1983), p. 134.
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