Savoy (France): Regionalist and independentist movements

Last modified: 2008-02-03 by ivan sache
Keywords: savoy | cross (white) | savoisian league | ligue savoisienne | mouvement region savoie | federation savoisienne |
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• Regionalist and separatist movements in Savoy
• Savoisian League (Ligue Savoisienne)

See also:

• France
• Savoie (Traditional province, France)

Regionalist and separatist movements

Historically, there have been three main regionalist/separatist movements in Savoy:
- Mouvement Région Savoie, founded in 1971, regionalist but not separatist;
- La Région Savoie, j'y crois [I believe in Region Savoy], a movement founded in 1999 by local politicians, asking for the formation of a Region Savoy separated from Region Rhône-Alpes;
- The Savoisian League (Ligue Savoisienne), founded on the model of the Italian Northern League, asking for independence and rejection of the annexation treaty to France of 1865.

Ivan Sache, 27 April 2002

Flag of Savoy - Image by Arnaud Leroy, 11 July 2000

The flag of Savoy is shown on the Flags of Aspirant Peoples chart [eba94], #64, with the following caption:
SAVOY (Savoia)
Italians
South-East France

Savoy is the geographical origin of the Savoia House, which reigned over Italy, but the region was incorporated to France in 1860, and its inhabitants do not consider themselves as Italians.

Ivan Sache, 14 September 1999

Savoisian League (Ligue Savoisienne)

The Ligue Savoisienne promotes an independent Savoisian Federation (Fédération Savoisienne), whose proposed Constitution can be read on the Notre Savoie website.

Article 5 of this Constitution says (my translation from French):

The official language of the Savoisian Federation shall be French. The local language, called Savoyard Patois or Francoprovencal, shall be protected, its teaching and use being encouraged as an important element of the Savoyard culture. The capital of the Savoisian Federation shall be Chambéry. The Savoisian flag shall be the traditional flag with a white cross on a red field. The Federal anthem shall be the song Les Allobroges. The Sovereign Senate shall be based in Chambéry. The Chancellery shall be based in Thonon-les-Bains. The Parliament shall be based in Albertville. The Federal Council shall be based in Annecy. The Government Accounting Office shall be based in Bonneville.

This Constitution is strongly inspired by the Constitution of Switzerland with the incorporation of some elements of the status of Savoy under the Sardinian rule, for instance, the Sovereign Senate. The flag and the song Les Allobroges, which refers to the Allobroges Legion that joined the French Revolutionary troops, itself refering to the Celto-Ligurian tribe of Allobroges, which resisted to the Roman conquest, are the main symbols of Savoyard identity; they do not necessarily imply independentist feelings, which are fairly recent.

Ivan Sache, 27 April 2002