The administrative court of Montpellier must deliver its deliberation, this Tuesday, on the use of the Catalan language in the municipal councils of several communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales. The State, through its representative in the department, is suing the municipalities of Elne, Port-Vendres, Amélie-les-bains, Tarerach and Saint-André which have, in turn, modified the internal regulations.
The prefect Rodrigue Furcy relies in particular on “article 2 of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, which provides: that the language of the Republic is French. According to article 75-1 of the Constitution, the regional languages belong to the heritage of France, but they do not have the status of an official language in public life. Or on the Toubon law of 1994, which governs the use of the French language: “Language of the Republic by virtue of the Constitution, the French language is a fundamental element of the personality and heritage of France. It is the language of education, work, exchanges and public services. »
“Regional languages do not have official language status”
“Of all the deliberations, only a small part is done in Catalan. And they are translated into French in extenso and immediately, specifies the mayor of Elne, Nicolas Garcia (elected in 2020 at the head of a list various left), on the front line in this fight. If this jeopardizes the foundations of the French Republic, as indicated in the request, I fear very much for the French Republic. We are attached to French republican values and to republican values in general. But we believe that the Republic cannot be linguicidal and glottophobic. It has a future if it takes into account its cultural richness and sees it as an asset and not a handicap. »
In the Pyrénées-Orientales, Catalan is a widely used language, even if its use is far from being as generalized as in southern Catalonia, on the other side of the Pyrenees. On April 18, in front of the administrative court, three figures of the Catalan independence movement (Spanish side) physically provided their support to the city councilors prosecuted by the French State. Laura Borras, former separatist president of the Catalan parliament, but also Oriol Junqueras, former vice-president of the Catalan government. He had been imprisoned from 2017 to 2021 after the elections for the independence of Catalonia. And Lluis Puig i Gordi, former cultural adviser in the government of Carles Puigdemont.
“Regional languages are part of the national heritage”
“Catalan is a useful regional language, a language that allows you to flourish. It is the language of our fathers and we want it to be the language of our children as well, for cultural issues and personal development, continues Nicolas Garcia. We are closer to Girona and Barcelona than to Montpellier. This language can be used for work, leisure. Elne is the oldest inhabited town in the department. We have a rich heritage that we defend with hundreds of thousands of euros, with historic buildings. There, we have a heritage that we can defend with little money, so we don’t deprive ourselves of it. Regional languages are part of the national heritage, it is an asset to have them and not a handicap. »
Originally, sixteen municipalities in the department had adopted this change in internal regulations. A third of them finally decided to go through with their choices. Despite the threat of the cancellation of all the decisions taken in Catalan, that is to say for a year for Elne, for example. The public rapporteur also followed the prefecture’s arguments and concluded that all the deliberations taken by the five municipalities concerned were cancelled. It is not rare that in their deliberations, the judges follow his advice.
“The state’s position is schizophrenic”
“The state’s position is schizophrenic, denounces Nicolas Garcia. He attacks a municipal council which has the right to deliberate in Catalan provided that the debates are translated into French. But at the same time, the State is committed to the same height as the department and the region in the public office of Catalan language whose object and the diffusion of Catalan in the public space. It has also just entered into an agreement with the department and the office in order to give the means to children who wish to learn Catalan. »