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BRITTANY

Bretons in uproar after their delicacy is compared to a doughnut

A Canadian rapper has provoked the anger of Bretons after comparing the French region’s famous Kouign-Amann cake to a doughnut.

Published: 13 July 2017 15:25 CEST
Bretons in uproar after their delicacy is compared to a doughnut
Photo: AFP

Mark Durksen might have to strike the western French region of Brittany off his list of possible holiday spots.

With just a few words thrown out into the Twittersphere, Durksen had Bretons spluttering on their cake and cider when he insulted them not just once but twice.

Not only did he say the traditional Breton cake Kouign-Amann, made with layers of butter and sugar that looks like a cross between a croissant and a big muffin, was akin to a doughnut (or donut).

He also suggested they don’t come from Brittany at all but the French region of Canada.

“Kouign-Amann is like a cross between a croissant and a cake donut. Montreal pastries are awesome,” he said.

That sent Bretons lunging for the phones to take to Twitter to ridicule the rapper, with one telling him he had “insulted the whole of Brittany”.

The tweets below are an example of the kind of wrath he incurred.

 

 

 

BRITTANY

French town of Nantes votes for referendum on exiting Pays-de-la-Loire region

The French city of Nantes is to hold a referendum on exiting the Pays-de-la-Loire region and becoming part of Brittany instead.

Published: 8 February 2021 09:03 CET
French town of Nantes votes for referendum on exiting Pays-de-la-Loire region
Photo: AFP

On Friday the town council of Nantes voted in favour of requesting the French government organise a referendum so local people can have their say about whether they wish to remain in the Pays-de-la-Loire region or become part of Brittany – a region that many say the town has more historic and cultural connections to.

The vote on Friday was carried by 56 votes and concerns whether the département of Loire-Atlantique – which contains Nantes – should move regions.

READ ALSO The 20 essential maps you need to understand Brittany

 

The vote follows a petition in 2018 which gathered 105,000 signatures.

Nantes mayor Johanna Rolland said: “This strong citizen mobilisation cannot be ignored. It reflects the aspiration of our fellow citizens to be consulted to a greater extent, in a context of essential revitalisation of our democracy.”

The desire of people in the Loire-Atlantique to become Breton isn't new.
 
The départment was part of Brittany until World War II, when it was separated and made part of the neighbouring region by the Vichy government. That region eventually became the Pays-de-la-Loire in 1955.
 
The issue has been simmering since then and pro-Breton voices have become louder in recent years as they hope to take advantage of a law that allows départments to chose which region they belong to via a referendum.
 
The town, which is the historic seat of the Dukes of Brittany, also declared its intention to  “set up a permanent pluralist body to engage in a genuine consultation with the State on the organisation of this referendum, organise an in-depth debate on the issues and consequences of a redistribution in order to feed the citizen debate, and formulate proposals to strengthen cooperation between Nantes and the other Breton territories”. 
 
However the referendum will have to be approved by both the national government and the regional authorities.
 

France's regions were reorganised in 2016 and several were merged to create the current 13 regions of mainland France.

Brittany currently covers four départements – Ille-et-Vilaine, Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère and Morbihan – while Pays-de-la-Loire covers Loire-Atlantique, Maine-et-Loire, Mayenne, Sarthe and Vendée. Nantes is currently the largest town in the region.

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