The Occitan Party ( oc, Partit Occitan) is a regionalist

political party in France This article contains a list of political parties in France. France has a multi-party political system: one in which the number of competing political parties is sufficiently large as to make it almost inevitable that in order to participate in ...

. Its aims include greater autonomy for the

Occitania Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasse ...

region of southern France. The Occitan Party was formed in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

in 1987 through the union of different Occitanist movements (' etc.), of candidates to the 1986 regional elections and of various individuals. The party's aims are: * To set up a credible Occitanist political movement, independent of all other parties and struggling for Occitan self-government. * To dis-alienate and raise the consciousness of the Occitan people. * To make the Occitan question come out in the political field.

Electoral and political action

Since 1987, the Occitan Party has contested elections at all levels in different constituencies. In the 1997 parliamentary elections, the POC's best candidates polled 1.8% of the vote. Party members hold office in a few

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...

, including Saint-Hostien. The Occitan Party takes part in economical or regional development struggles. Its members are active in struggles for the keeping of local jobs, against wholesale tourist commercialization, against the

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced ...

industry, and for the preservation of Occitania's natural environment. They also take part in the defence of the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Vall ...

and identity. The Party's paper, ''Occitània'', comes out every two months.

International relationships

The Occitan Party belongs to the '' Fédération Régions et Peuples Solidaires'' federation which brings together different regionalist and nationalist political movements in the French state. The Occitan Party also belongs to the

European Free Alliance The European Free Alliance (EFA) is a European political party that consists of various regionalist, separatist and ethnic minority political parties in Europe. Member parties advocate either for full political independence and sovereignty, ...

Internal organisation

Local or departmental committees are grouped in regional federations. The National Council brings together delegates from the different regional federations (the party's parliament). The National Bureau is elected every two years by a Congress that is open to every party member.

References

External links

* ''Occitània - VVAP'', BP 28, F- 81370 St Sulpici La Punta, the revue of the party (every two months). *
Comity of Toulouse (Haute-Garonne) area of the Partit Occitan

Comity of Montpellier (Herault) area of the Partit Occitan

Regional Section Provence (Var) of the Partit Occitan

Regional Section Provence (Bouches du Rhones and Vaucluse) of the Partit Occitan

Comity of Albi area (Tarn) of the Partit Occitan

Section Cantal of the Partit Occitan
{{Members of the European Free Alliance Occitan language Social democratic parties in France Political parties of minorities European Free Alliance Occitan nationalism Left-wing nationalist parties Political parties established in 1987 1987 establishments in France