The Montparnasse district in Paris has been linked to Brittany since the second half of the 19th century. Even if today the latter is no longer as associated with the region, Montparnasse retains a cultural and economic interest for associations and the Breton community.
“Degemer mat e Breizh” or in French “Welcome to Brittany”. You can see this panel in Brittany of course, but also in Paris, in the Montparnasse district, on the front of the Maison de la Bretagne, the Parisian branch of the Breton community.
A detail which is not so trivial because historically, Montparnasse is considered the Breton district of the capital.
Montparnasse station, “the gateway” for the Bretons
To understand why, we have to go back to the second half of the 19th century. At that time, Brittany was going through a complicated economic period and it was increasingly difficult for Bretons to find work.
At the same time, the railway line between Brest and Paris opened in 1865, after having linked Rennes to Paris in 1857.
From then on, there will be “strong immigration” from Bretons “to find work”, explains Thomas Perrono, historian and author of articles on Breton immigration, to BFMTV.com.
The Bretons settled in several places in the capital and its immediate surroundings, such as in Saint-Denis, but Montparnasse became “the gateway” for the Bretons to Paris. At the time, we even spoke of the “6th Breton department” (Brittany was then made up of five departments, Editor's note).
So in the neighborhood, several institutions intended for this population will be set up. In particular, there will be a lot of “placement offices”: young women newly arrived in the capital will generally be placed with bourgeois families to become their maids. Men will often be excavators on metro works.
At the end of the 1890s, Father François Cadic also came to their aid by founding the association “La Paroisse bretonne de Paris” at Notre-Dame-des-Champs. In particular, it will help them find a job.
It is also a way for him “to keep control over these Bretons who emigrate to Paris”, so that they do not forget their Breton culture and their Catholic faith, reports Thomas Perrono. The historian confides that at that time, the Bretons immigrating to Paris “were seen as pariahs” by the Parisians.
After the death of Father Cadic, other institutions were created, such as the Breton Mission in 1947, founded by Father Gautier. The latter's mission is to help Bretons find housing and work, always under a religious prism.
Bringing Breton culture to life
After the Second World War, Brittany developed, many jobs were created and little by little, the immigration of Bretons to Paris was no longer “forced” and became voluntary. Bretons who arrive in Paris generally go there “to train”, to study and “to have career choices”, explains Thomas Perrono.
-From that moment on, new and already established institutions, such as the Breton Mission, will have a more cultural role and participate in the development of Breton tourism. The image of the Bretons will then change and be more positive.
Places like Ti Jos, a creperie/pub located on Rue Delambre, served as “places of emergence of Breton music”. Alan Stivell's legendary concert in 1972 at the Olympia will definitively mark this change and bring Breton music to the forefront.
Since then, associations have continued to bring Breton culture to life in the neighborhood but also more widely. This is the case of “Paris-Breton”, created in 2003. The association, based in the Maison de la Bretagne, describes itself as an association bringing together “Bretons and friends of Brittany in the Paris region”.
On its website and social networks, the association notably relays the Brittany Festival every year, which takes place a little over a kilometer from Montparnasse, on the square in front of the town hall in the 15th arrondissement. On site, free concerts by artists from the Breton scene, books on Brittany and local products can be discovered.
Located on rue Delambre, the Breton Mission (now threatened with closure because the premises are no longer up to standard, Editor's note) offers Breton lessons, Breton dance lessons and also several thematic evenings or days such as fest noz, conferences on Brittany or even meals of Breton dishes.
An economically strategic location
If today, Montparnasse is no longer a district where Bretons necessarily settle, there are still some markers. In addition to the associations, we can obviously talk about the numerous creperies that abound in the neighborhood, but also a few bars/cafes.
In addition, the Brittany region therefore established the Maison de la Bretagne in 2007, on rue de l'Arrivée, “a preferred reception and business center for Breton companies and associations”.
“Here, it’s like a little piece of Brittany in the heart of the capital, an ideal space to organize your professional meetings,” we can read on the leaflet presenting the place. A preferential rate is also offered to Bretons.
According to Thomas Perrono, this place allows the Brittany region to have “an economic and tourist showcase”. And the region takes responsibility for it. Located 5 minutes from Montparnasse station, “the Maison de la Bretagne is a relay for the region's activity in Paris”, we can read on its website.
The neighborhood was not chosen at random. According to the regional authority, “the Breton presence in Paris, and particularly in Montparnasse, is still as active, both from an economic and cultural point of view”.
