Two thousand people rally for self-government in Northern Catalonia (French State)

Catalan is not just spoken in Spain. It is also spoken in France. For decades, Catalan speakers in Northern Catalonia (as many call the part of Catalonia under French rule) have fought for their linguistic rights. Catalan is not an official language there because of the French Constitution. The government in Paris has always refused to sign the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the European Council. Just this month the French Sentae voted against the signing.

Northern Catalonia was annexed to France on November 7th, 1659. This date is remembered every year by Northern Catalonians in the main city of the region, Perpinyà (Perpignan). This year more than 2,000 people demonstrated for a Catalan statute, that is for self-government in Northern Catalonia. They were convoked by La Federació (a federation of organisations) and CAL (a language rights group). The march was supported by many other groups, from Catalan teachers to Sem Platform or parties as CUP or ERC.