Brittany (la Bretagne)
Population: 2.8 million
Principal city: Rennes.
Ils ont des chapeaux ronds, Vive la Bretagne!
Ils ont des chapeaux ronds, Vive les Bretons!
One of the last provinces to be incorporated into France (in 1532), it still retains a healthy air of independence, if not separatism. The Breton language is still spoken and efforts are made to keep it alive.
One sign of the Bretons' independent spirit, allied to their love of the sea, was the formation of Brittany Ferries. This was set up, and is still majority-owned, by local farmers and has expanded to give a number of cross-channel connections with England.
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