''Stourm ar Brezhoneg'' (SAB ; , roughly ''Struggle for the Breton Language'') is a Breton association founded in 1984 advocating for official status for 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 ...
in public life.
In particular, it has called for bilingual road signs, Breton-language television and radio programming, and the ability to use Breton in official matters such as in court and on the census. Its slogan is ''Brezhoneg, yezh ofisiel'' – "Breton, official language".
Origins
In the early 1980s, the cultural movement Skol An Emsav actively promoted the use of Breton on road signs. Following internal disagreements, Stourm ar Brezhoneg was founded on a more radical basis in March 1984, and began to participate in protests and
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 ...
. Activists faced numerous legal actions, often resulting in prison sentences in the 1980s. Several members are also part of Emgann, which split from Skol an Emsav in the same disputes, though SAB asserts its independence from any political party.
Demands and tactics
Bilingual signage
Along with other groups it has campaigned for bilingual signage using the modern and standard nomenclature in Breton. Its actions have included the defacement of monolingual signage with coal tar. Their actions spurred the adoption of bilingual signage, as in Côtes-du-Nord in 1986 and in
Finistère
Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090. Today, several areas have adopted bilingual signage.
Broadcasting in Breton
SAB protests against the restriction of programming in the Breton language on television stations. It has called for a
boycott
A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...
of the television license fee until broadcasts are made in Breton. The group also advocates for a Breton television channel. In the early 1990s, SAB regularly held gatherings at a TV antenna previously destroyed by the Breton Liberation Frontin the 1974 Roc'h Trédudon attack.
Use of Breton in public life
SAB advocates for the right to testify in Breton before the courts, write cheques in Breton, and calls for introducing Breton ATM and ticket distribution interfaces. It also advocates a boycott of the population census of France over demands that it include measures to count Breton speakers. On February 17, 1989 it occupied the French Embassy in Belgium. On June 2, 1989, it posted signs in
Villers-Cotterêts
Villers-Cotterêts () is a commune in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France, France. It is notable as the signing-place in 1539 of the '' Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts'' discontinuing the use of Latin in official French documents, and as ...
in
Aisne
Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374.
Geography
The department borders No ...
demanding the repeal of the 1539 ordinance mandating French in administration and justice.
In 2011, SAB and the Groupe d'Intervention pour la Réunification renewed demands for official status for the Breton language and the administrative unity of Brittany. New actions were launched in 2010 and 2011. In 2010, SAB claimed responsibility for the theft of city signs from Solesmes to protest the language policies of François Fillon. In 2011, they stole signs from Sablé-sur-Sarthe and
La Roche-sur-Yon
La Roche-sur-Yon () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vendée Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire Regions of France, region in western France. It is the capital of the department. The demonym for its inhabitants is '' ...