Breton Democratic Union (, , UDB) is a Breton nationalist, autonomist, and regionalist political party in Brittany () and Loire-Atlantique. The UDB advocates devolution for Brittany as well as the promotion of its regional languages (Breton and Gallo) and its associated culture.
The Breton Democratic Union has presently four seats in the Regional council of Brittany.
History
Foundation
The UDB was founded in 1964 in Rennes by a group of about fifteen young people, most of them students, often from cultural organizations (Ar Falz, Bagadou, etc.) and influenced by socialist ideas. They included Ronan Leprohon (1939–2017).
The majority belonged to the MOB organization which also included former militants of Breton Nationalist Party and supporters of French Algeria, which was a cause of tensions.
The first congress of the UDB took place in December 1964 in Quimper, with a mere 18 participants.
The UDB was founded in opposition to the practice of torture in Algeria and compared the decolonization of the Maghreb to Brittany.
The structure of the new party was then close to that of those of the far-left with a strict internal discipline. Its charter, elaborated in 1964, supported a planned economy and the creation of a European Federation. It claimed to be hostile to militarism and colonialism, which was an innovation in the Breton movement at the time.
The creation of the UDB marked a rupture in the history of the Breton nationalist movement which, until then, was rather right-wing.
It took part in the 1965 local elections. Jean-Paul Berre was elected on a list of the Union of the left dominated by the French Communist Party in Guilvinec and becomes deputy-mayor and first elected official of the UDB.
Beginnings (1966–69) The first years were difficult. The party grew slowly and had few resources. It approached the other left-wing parties, in particular the PSU and FGDS. After 1967, however, recruitment intensified, in particular in student unions.
In the 1969 constitutional referendum, the UDB called for a "no" vote, like most of the left.
Crisis of 1969–70
Internal contradictions within the party exploded during the 1969 congress when Alain Guyader challenged the charter of the UDB and proposed a line inspired by Rosa Luxemburg's ideas. Moreover, he refused to condemn the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
The conflict led to the exclusion of Jean-Yves Guiomar and Alain Guyader in 1970 for "rejection of democratic centralism, constant undervaluation of the adversary, impatience and the theory of active minorities, and the idolization of spontaneity".
Success (1970–78) The party was rebuilt during the congress of Guidel and adopted democratic centralism. It also adopted a Marxist line and demanded in a modified version of its charter the abolition of capitalism and the collective appropriation of the means of production. At the same time, a UDB list won 11.5% of the votes in a local by-election in Auray, primarily thanks to the personality of its candidate Sten Kidna. In the 1971 local elections the UDB took part in the lists of the Union of the Left, except in Brest where it polled 4.8% running independently.
The number of party members – 243 in 1971 – grew throughout the 1970s, thanks to the involvement of the party in social conflicts.
During the 1973 general election, the UDB nominated five candidates who obtained between 0.8% and 3.2% of the vote despite a large showing by other left-wing parties. The most successful candidate, Erwan Evenou, won more than 3% in the Hennebont constituency.
During the cantonal elections held that same year, the party won 4.45% of the votes – 6.7% in Lorient. In the 1974 presidential election it campaigned in the second round for François Mitterrand.
In the 1976 cantonal elections the UDB ran nine candidates who won 5.27% on average. The local elections of 1977 enabled it to get 35 seats on the lists of the Union of the Left. In the 1978 general election, the party ran 17 candidates in a strongly polarized environment.
Crisis of 1978–84
Party growth slowed as a result of failure of the legislative elections and the collapse of the United Left, in which the UDB was firmly anchored. While the party scored encouraging results (5.63%) in the 1979 cantonal elections, these were marked by very low voter turnout.