Abstract
The French (and the Dutch) rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in the spring of 2005 led to stop the European integration project on a global scale. For the first time, two countries, which founded the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community, with the euro as a common currency, decided the EU was not following the direction they wished. The French rejection of the ECT referendum had a huge impact in national politics and still is relevant nowadays to explain political and ideological cleavages. Nevertheless, one "big" region voted "yes" in the French referendum. Brittany indeed voted for, (although by a tiny majority 50.3%) the European Constitutional while a strong majority of French voters (54.7%) rejected it. Brittany was one (as we can see on the map just below) the few French regions which approved the European Constitutional Treaty of 2005. Therefore, how to explain it? This essay will try to answer to this research question however; several interpretations and hypothesis should be highlighted.
Before exploring the main hypotheses, it might be convenient to go back to a preliminary question; what studying the case of Brittany and not others regions like Alsace or the City of Paris? On several levels, this French region is unique. At the end of the Second World War this region was compared to the rest of the country underdeveloped. Now it is the fifth region in terms of Gross Domestic Product, a strong leader in the car, telecom and in the agro-food industries. Also, this region always tried to maintain and to promote its values, culture, language (however, the Gaelic language is in danger according to the UNESCO) and traditions.
