The Ligue des bleus de Bretagne (League of Breton Blues) was a

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

organisation in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

founded in

1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...

, dedicated to promoting the ideals of the Enlightenment and the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

in Brittany, and combating the influence of the aristocracy and clergy. The colour blue was chosen to contrast with the conservative "whites" and to emphasise their distinction from the Communist "reds". The term dates back to the

Revolt in the Vendée Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

when the counter-revolutionary Whites called the troops of the revolutionary government "the blues" (because of their uniforms). The organisation arose from the ''Bretons de Paris'', established by

Armand Dayot Armand Dayot, (19 October 1851 – 2 October 1934), was a French art critic, art historian and leftist politician. He was born in Paimpol, Côtes-d'Armor, Brittany. He founded the journal ''L'Art et les artistes'' and the Breton liberal organisa ...

and

Ary Renan Cornelius Ary Renan (1857–1900) was a French Symbolist painter and anti-clerical social activist. Career Renan was the son of the Breton scholar Ernest Renan, who pioneered modern secular study of the life of Jesus. His mother was the daug ...

(son of Ernest Renan). It grew in Brittany from dissatisfaction with the conservative and clerical bias of the existing

Breton Regionalist Union The Breton regionalist union (Union Régionaliste Bretonne or URB) was a Breton cultural and political organisation created August 16, 1898. It was a broadly conservative grouping dedicated to preserving Breton cultural identity and regional indep ...

, founded a few months earlier. It was centred in the French-speaking east of Brittany and was strongest among the urban middle-class of the larger east-Breton towns. However it established branches throughout Brittany. It included a number of influential writers, artists and politicians. Notable members were Yves Le Febvre, Jean Boucher,

Armel Beaufils Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils was a French sculptor born in Rennes in 1882 and who died in Saint-Briac in 1952. Biography Émile Jean Armel-Beaufils started his schooling in Fougères then at a lycée in Rennes. He studied law and then literature ...

Anatole Le Braz Anatole le Braz, the "Bard of Brittany" (2 April 1859 – 20 March 1926), was a Breton poet, folklore collector and translator. He was highly regarded amongst both European and American scholars, and known for his warmth and charm. Biography Le B ...

Pierre-Paul Guieysse Pierre-Paul Guieysse, (May 11, 1841 – May 19, 1914) was a French Socialist politician. He was Minister of the Colonies in the French Cabinet headed by Léon Bourgeois between 1895 and 1896. Life He was born in Lorient, Brittany, of a Protestan ...

and Jean-Bertrand Pégot-Ogier. The organisation worked to emphasise modernity and French identity, in contrast to the emphasis being placed by some Breton nationalists on the traditional Breton peasant Catholic culture and the preservation of the Breton language. The group promoted the commemoration of liberal and revolutionary heroes, organizing the creation of statues of

Lazare Hoche Louis Lazare Hoche (; 24 June 1768 – 19 September 1797) was a French military leader of the French Revolutionary Wars. He won a victory over Royalist forces in Brittany. His surname is one of the names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe, on ...

in Quiberon and Ernest Renan in

Tréguier Tréguier (; br, Landreger) is a port town in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. It is the capital of the province of Trégor. Geography Tréguier is located 36 m. N.W. of Saint-Brieuc by road. The port is situ ...

.Vytas Gaigalas, ''Ernest Renan and his French Catholic Critics'', The Christopher Publishing House, 1971, pp.281 After 1905 its activity shifted to annual congresses, held across the major Breton towns. It also published the journal ''Araok!: La Bretagne Nouvelle'' (Forward!: the New Brittany).

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