In Brittany, British people who have “become” Europeans again will vote on June 9
“When I tell them I’m going to vote in the European elections, my friends in the UK are jealous” : British retiree, John Greenlees, who obtained French nationality a month ago, intends to recall by voting that“there are English people who love Europe”reports Agence France-Presse.
Established for ten years in Maël-Carhaix, in Côtes-d’Armor, Mr. Greenlees lived “like a tragedy” the Brexit referendum in 2016, which resulted in the United Kingdom leaving the European Union (EU) in January 2021. Since then, only Britons who also have the nationality of an EU member country will have the right to participate in the vote which will take place from June 6 to 9.
With his brand new French nationality, the 66-year-old former computer scientist will “to be able to vote again” : “Voting in the European elections is a sort of revenge. I became European again! » In Gouarec, “even if we are English, we remain European in our hearts”says Marilyn Le Moign, 76, head of AIKB, an association which brings together 650 British families in and around Gouarec.
The Franco-British municipal councilor will also vote in June. “It’s important, especially at the moment when Europe is weakened,” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the consequences of Brexit, confides Mme Le Moign. “ Here in central Brittany, most Britons are pro-Europe”assures the one who saw the number of members of her association increase by 20% after Brexit.
Among them, Sarah Page. The sixty-year-old moved to France “as soon as the results are announced” of the referendum. Shortly after her arrival in Morbihan, she became vice-president of the European Britons association which campaigns for the right to vote in European elections for foreigners living in France.
According to INSEE, France is the second host country for the British, after Spain. In 2016, the institute recorded 148,300 Britons in France, including 22,800 who also had French nationality. Often retired, they favor Brittany and the center-west of France for their settlement, according to the same source. The prefecture of Brittany counted 11,547 Britons in the region in 2020, before Brexit came into force.