François Fontan
Encyclopedia
François Fontan is a French politician. He was born in 1929 in a family which came from Gascony
(region of Bordeaux
). Raised in a monarchic family, he first joined a political party : the Mouvement Socialiste Monarchique when he was about 15, but he quickly gave up monarchism and became closer to anarchism
, and, then, to communists, but he got fed up with their stalinism
.
He moved to Nice
and created the Parti National Occitan there.
From 1962, Fontan often met professor Guy Héraut and developed the first clarification of the linguistic border between Occitan and Piemontais.
He died in Cuneo
in 1979.
He argues that states must create new borders, uniting each separate people within one country. In Africa especially, borders were created by Europe
an administrators and are not related to the various peoples.
Creating new ethno-linguistic borders could avoid new massacres such as the one in Rwanda
in 1994 between Tutsis and Hutus.
He wrote some books, explaining his ideas. Ethnisme is the most known.
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
(region of Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
). Raised in a monarchic family, he first joined a political party : the Mouvement Socialiste Monarchique when he was about 15, but he quickly gave up monarchism and became closer to anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, and, then, to communists, but he got fed up with their stalinism
Stalinism
Stalinism refers to the ideology that Joseph Stalin conceived and implemented in the Soviet Union, and is generally considered a branch of Marxist–Leninist ideology but considered by some historians to be a significant deviation from this philosophy...
.
He moved to Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
and created the Parti National Occitan there.
From 1962, Fontan often met professor Guy Héraut and developed the first clarification of the linguistic border between Occitan and Piemontais.
He died in Cuneo
Cuneo
Cuneo is a city and comune in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the third largest of Italy’s provinces by area...
in 1979.
He argues that states must create new borders, uniting each separate people within one country. In Africa especially, borders were created by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an administrators and are not related to the various peoples.
Creating new ethno-linguistic borders could avoid new massacres such as the one in Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
in 1994 between Tutsis and Hutus.
He wrote some books, explaining his ideas. Ethnisme is the most known.