Around 2:30 am on Monday, 26 June 1978, the historic

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...

near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, was bombed by separatists belonging to the

Breton Liberation Front The Breton Liberation Front ( br, Talbenn Dieubiñ Breizh, french: Front de Libération de la Bretagne or FLB) was a paramilitary organisation founded in 1963 whose aims were to seek greater autonomy for the region of Brittany (Breton language Brei ...

(FLB). The powerful explosion occurred on the ground floor of the left wing of the palace and caused damage within an 80 meter radius. Many statues and priceless paintings were damaged, including an entire gallery and several pieces of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

ic art, and a wide hole was opened in the ceiling. The bomb caused millions of

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

in damage. The

Hall of Mirrors The Hall of Mirrors (french: Grande Galerie, Galerie des Glaces, Galerie de Louis XIV) is a grand Baroque style gallery and one of the most emblematic rooms in the royal Palace of Versailles near Paris, France. The grandiose ensemble of the hal ...

, opera house and chapel were undamaged. One night guard was wounded.

Aftermath and convictions

French Minister of Culture

Jean-Philippe Lecat Jean-Philippe Lecat (29 July 1935 – 26 March 2011) was a French politician. He graduated from the École nationale d'administration in 1963. Between 1968 and 1978, he was a member of the Union of Democrats for the Republic and between 197 ...

said the bombing evokes an "absolutely heinous criminal side" of the

Breton nationalist Breton nationalism (Breton: ''roadelouriezh Brezhoneg'', French: ''nationalisme Breton'') is a form of regional nationalism associated with the region of Brittany in France. The political aspirations of Breton nationalists include the desire ...

s. Hubert Landais, the director of French museums at the time, called the attack a "real catastrophe." The

Breton Democratic Union Breton Democratic Union (french: Union démocratique bretonne, br, Unvaniezh Demokratel Breizh, UDB) is a Breton nationalist, autonomist, and regionalist political party in Brittany (''Bretagne administrée'') and Loire-Atlantique. The UDB adv ...

also condemned the attack. After the bombing, restoration works commenced costing 3 million francs. The ''Battaile'' room was finally re-opened to the public in April 1982. Both the FLB and the

Armed Nuclei for Popular Autonomy Armed Nuclei for Popular Autonomy (french: Noyaux armés pour l'autonomie populaire), also known as ''NAPAP'', was a French Maoist armed organization formed in December 1976. According to the police, the leader of the NAPAP was Christian Harbulot ...

claimed responsibility, but police later found that it was caused by the Breton group. The two perpetrators were FLB members Lionel Chenevière and Padrig Montauzier, who placed the bomb the day before. The two were already under surveillance by authorities in

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

, and were arrested the next day. They were sentenced to death in November 1978. Following the election of

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

as President in 1981, they were freed after an amnesty law had been enacted as part of Mitterrand's plans to give in to some of the demands of the Breton regional government. The attack came in the context of renewed terrorist activity by the FLB in 1976, targeting cultural property in protest of the signing of the Breton Cultural Charter. The group were trying to 'punish' the French state for its annexation of the formerly independent

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

region. The FLB's activities were usually confined to Brittany itself. German tabloid ''

Die Welt ''Die Welt'' ("The World") is a German national daily newspaper, published as a broadsheet by Axel Springer SE. ''Die Welt'' is the flagship newspaper of the Axel Springer publishing group. Its leading competitors are the ''Frankfurter Allg ...

'' later said no reasonable French person wants the state to grant independence to peripheral provinces, "nor Brittany, nor

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, nor

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language, Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This ...

."Henry et Lagadec 2008, p. 208. The Palace of Versailles became a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 1979.

References

External links

Associated Press coverage of the bombing's aftermath - YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palace of Versailles bombing Explosions in 1978 Terrorist incidents in Paris Improvised explosive device bombings in France 1978 in Paris June 1978 events in Europe Terrorist incidents in France in 1978 1978 crimes in France Building bombings in France

Aftermath and convictions

See also

References

External links