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The charter was passed in Strasbourg in November 1992 and states “that the protection and promotion of regional and minority languages in the different countries and regions of Europe represents an important contribution to the building of diversity”.

The Conseil d’Etat, which is made up of political appointees from all parties, has argued that the 1992 constitution of France states that “the language of the republic is French” and therefore signing the charter, which would provide the many minority languages with both active and financial support, is incompatible.

The latest move has drawn criticism of French President Jacques Chirac who when pressed recently on the issue of ratification said, “C’est dans la poche” (It’s in the bag). Now he is accused of reneging on promises made when he visited Quimper last year and expressed his wish that France should fall into line with other European countries in recognising minority languages.

Corsicans, Alsatians and Basques all have their own languages, but the Bretons are likely to be particularly incensed because the Breton language during the past decade has enjoyed a positive renaissance and this latest move is sure to reinforce divisions between the French and Bretons. The centre-right MP for Finistere has already gone on the record saying the decision “stresses the inability of France to respect her own minorities”.

The General Council of the Celtic League has issued a protest to the French government over the ruling, and national branches in Cornwall, Wales, Ireland, Mann and Scotland will be asked to voice protest and also seek support from language groups. The issue will also feature on the agenda of the Celtic League AGM, which is to be held in Wales this summer.
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No one was injured in the co-ordinated pre-dawn blitz and damage was limited mostly to smashed windows or damaged doorways at post offices, tax offices and other symbols of French state authority. Thirteen bombings and one attempted bombing also hit six towns and villages in the south of the island.

The Corsican National Liberation Front (FLNC) Historic Wing, seeking to prove it had not been crushed by the detention of three political leaders, said it planted the 61 bombs and six others that failed to explode.

“The future lies in struggle,” it said in a statement accusing the centre-right French government of betrayal by switching to repression from talks. “We will have multiple struggles both in Corsica and in Europe.”
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The supreme commander of the Swedish armed forces launched an outspoken attack on NATO enlargement during a speech in Stockholm. He called NATO’s “a disruptive element in the security scene” and said it would weaken NATO’s structure.

The first round of NATO enlargement is expected to take place later this year. A future inclusion in the defence alliance of former Warsaw Pact countries like Hungary and Poland has repeatedly been criticised by Moscow. As a non-aligned nation, Sweden has been mostly non-committal on the enlargement issue.

However, fears exist in Stockholm that the expansion process could sour relations between Europe’s leading powers and Russia, thereby jeopardising stability. Swedish foreign minister Lena Hjelm-Wallen said a condition for the success of enlargement was that it improved European security rather than creating new fault lines. “If NATO and Russia can document a mutual view of security policy [enlargement] should be positive. An agreement . . . over our heads can be negative,” she said.

Wiktorin suggested there were better ways of extending the NATO umbrella in the former eastern bloc countries, such as by expanding the existing Partnership for Peace collaboration.

This grouping involves military co-operation between NATO members, east European countries, Russia and neutral states like Sweden.
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