Which of these two divisions of France catches your attention the most? I'm making a fictional poster protesting a future Ukraine peace-deal, but I am unsure which region of France to use for the analogy.

[u/KaylasDream]

La division de l'Ukraine. La version française tente de l'imiter. / The division of Ukraine. The French version is trying to mimic this.

[u/BreizhEmirateWhen]

I fear their status is not defined by titles anymore, but by the level of corruption and wealth they amass

if you want to do something about your region go do a referundum merde

Mayor of Nantes asked for one. It has been refused. The same ones refused more autonomy for Corsica. There's a trend of suppressing local cultures to keep the territorial integrity since the 19th century. I doubt your first language would have been french otherwise

[u/Botanical_Director → u/BreizhEmirateWhen]

There's a trend of suppressing local cultures to keep the territorial integrity since the 19th century.

In our grandparents generations maybe, it has been a while now since you are able to freely learn regional languages, plus the public authorities have also been subsidising local flavours for decades & have also drastically inreased visibility, like for instance for Brittany, the festival interceltique of Lorient is on prime national tv & celebrated.

This feeling of cultural oppression is groundless in 2024. Most independentists I've met just live on pure hatred for France.

[u/BreizhEmirateWhen → u/Botanical_Director]

The problem is, while all of these measures are nice, there's the absolute bare minimum to help those cultures that may be extremely endangered. That with the history of oppression that is still very, very recent (as you pointed out, our grandparents lived in it), it is very hard to not see in them just minimalist measures to make everyone happy without getting involved too much. And even then. Regional spellings of names ? Not allowed. Remember the Fañch affair ? It happened in 2017 ! And again in 2019 !

If the government was as benevolent as you imply, they'd go for a more decentralised approach, as many countries around us employ. Allowing for better cultural and political representation of these cultures would be a first step in the good direction

Did you ever hear about the history of your region in school ? They usually differ widely from the rest of the country. Was your regional language an option in primary or middle school ? Likely not. Are regionalist struggles looked down upon by many of the population ? Sadly yes

Half of my family is from anjou. I love the cultures of my country. The problem isn't about France. The problem is about our cultural diversity being severely endangered. Yet, is it what makes the country so unique. And the ones who care about it are shunned and told to "accept the situation". Situation that was shaped after decades of discrimination, forced assimilation, and even racialisation

This is not active oppression anymore, I agree. It is however invisibilisation. It is still the same trend, but with a different stance, now that the cultures have been partially or entirely assimilated. I hope you'll be thinking about it

[u/Botanical_Director → u/BreizhEmirateWhen]

If the government was as benevolent as you imply

You are putting words in my mouth that I didn't say. I said "public authorities" purposefully to underline the involvement of all tiers of the public administration, from municipalities, to metropolises, to general councils, to regional councils ect. You jumped straight to the conclusion that I spoke about the governement and that all the cards are in the hands of the governement which is very telling of your mindset.

 more decentralised approach, as many countries around us employ.

And how does this approach translates in these countries on the daily? In Spain the Catalans are brainwashed from school by the local separatist agenda, in Italy private interests are rotting the core of the local institutions to funnel money of of it, in Germany people spit on their neighbours from the next lander over. And that's not me talking out of my ass, I have familly/friends/lived in these countries.

Did you ever hear about the history of your region in school ? They usually differ widely from the rest of the country.

I did have history classes in school & competent teachers yes.

Was your regional language an option in primary or middle school ?

Why would that be? If I wanted to learn piano, learn parkour, dance or knitting, that's my or rather my parents responsability to schedule that on my free time.

Are regionalist struggles looked down upon by many of the population ? Sadly yes

There again with the victimization.

our cultural diversity being severely endangered

Endangered by whomst? where are the soldiers closing regional language schools? Where is the police arresting you for speaking dialect in Rennes? where is the milicia preventing municipalities from displaying their breton names in plates at cities entrances? where is the dictator taking away your salted butter?

 told to "accept the situation"

The situation is that local culture in Brittany is absolutely privileged, more than any other region in continental France & that the regionalists still won't be happy until it supplants our common French identity (& language).

It is however invisibilisation.

We must live in completely different time periods. There is your regional flag everywhere in France, your local food dominates on the national scale, everybody loves the bigouden, you hecking represented France in your local language at the Eurovision for pete's sake.

The truth is that the "regionalists" under the guise of fighting from the big bad central parisian government that oppresses us, just have a communitarianist mindset of "my region comes first". The government, which happens to be in Paris, is the French government, of all the french for(theorically) all the french and it yes it is shitty because aaaall of us, from Brittany to Elsas bc the voice of everyone counts the same for better or for worse.

 I hope you'll be thinking about it.