Gwenn ha Du (

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

for "white and black") was a

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

group founded at the end of 1930 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

by Célestin Lainé. It advocated

Breton nationalism Breton nationalism (, ) is the nationalism of the historical province of Brittany, France. Brittany is considered to be one of the six Celtic nations (along with Cornwall, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales). Breton ''nationalism'' wa ...

through "

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

" and published a secret manual aimed at instructing readers in terrorism. The phrase "Gwenn ha du" is the nickname for the Breton flag, which is in these colours.

History

Statue bombing

In July 1932, Gwenn ha Du decided to destroy a monument it found particularly offensive: a statue created by Jean Boucher marking the union of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1532. Its unveiling some twenty years earlier triggered the first protest by

Breton Nationalists Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany **Breton (horse), a breed **Galet ...

. Célestin Lainé made a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

in his bedroom, consisting of a

condensed milk Condensed milk is Milk#Cow, cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of sweetened condensed milk, to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condensed m ...

carton filled with

nitroglycerine Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by ...

. In the early hours of 7 August, he set the bomb behind the head of the King of France's statue in the facade opposite the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

's office. At 4:00 a.m., the bomb detonated, shattering the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

statue and all

glass Glass is an amorphous (non-crystalline solid, non-crystalline) solid. Because it is often transparency and translucency, transparent and chemically inert, glass has found widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in window pane ...

within 100 metres. On 7 August, the group claimed responsibility for the attack, which was intended to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the union, taking place in

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

under the guidance of French prime minister

Édouard Herriot Édouard Marie Herriot (; 5 July 1872 – 26 March 1957) was a French Radical politician of the Third Republic who served three times as Prime Minister (1924–1925; 1926; 1932) and twice as President of the Chamber of Deputies. He led the f ...

. ''

L'Humanité (; ) is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organisation of the SFIO, ''de facto'', and thereafter of the French Communist Party (PCF), and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, would not exist." History ...

'', the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (, , PCF) is a Communism, communist list of political parties in France, party in France. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its Member of the European Parliament, MEPs sit with The Left in the ...

newspaper, spoke out the day after, protesting that Herriot didn't mention that all

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

ic civilisation was wiped out, the refusal to acknowledge the

Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. The authorities arrested six militants on 11 August; the six remained imprisoned for fifty days.

Later attacks

The Gwenn ha du, which presented itself as the unofficial military wing of the Parti National Breton, followed up with a few months of action. On 20 November, Gwenn ha du members detonated a bomb on the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line between Ingrandes and Champtocé, not long before Édouard Herriot's arrival there. The train stopped in front of the damaged rails. However, Herriot eventually got to

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

in time to celebrate the act of the Union between Brittany and France. Three more attacks followed: 13 April 1936, with

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

in four

préfecture In France, a prefecture (, ) may be: * the , the commune in which the administration of a department is located; * the , the commune in which the administration of a region is located; * the jurisdiction of a prefecture; * the official residence ...

s; 18 December 1938, with the blowing up of a

monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

(the Monument de la Fédération bretonne-angevine in

Pontivy Pontivy (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Morbihan Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the confluence of the river Blavet and the Canal de Nantes à Brest. ...

); and the attack in the préfecture of

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

on 28 February 1939.

Dissolution

A last attack was suspected on 13 May 1941 against

Carhaix Carhaix-Plouguer (; ), commonly known as just Carhaix (), is a commune in the French department of Finistère, region of Brittany, France. The commune was created in 1957 by the merger of the former communes Carhaix and Plouguer.

gendarmerie station after a statement was sent to members of the National Council in Vichy, threatening more attacks if the borders of the traditional province of Brittany were not recognised. After this the group ceased to function, its members becoming part of various

milice The (French Militia), generally called (; ), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy France, Vichy régime (with Nazi Germany, German aid) to help fight against the French Resistance during World War ...

groups working with the German occupying forces. Lainé himself led the Bezen Perrot militia, which included former Gwenn ha du activists. After the war, surviving members were either captured or fled France. Some were later associated with the Liberation Front of Brittany, which was active in the 1960s.

Members of Gwenn ha du

* Célestin Lainé *

Meavenn Meavenn (1911–1992) was the pen name of Francine Rozec, also known as Fant Rozec, a Breton language poet, novelist and playwright linked to Breton nationalism. Early life and education She was born in Saint Marc, then a village, which is now me ...

(pseudonym) * Guillaume Berthou * Théophile Jeusset

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwenn Ha Du Terrorism in France Paramilitary organizations based in France