So many locals over so many decades have left Gourin in rural Brittany for the United States that Air France awarded the town a miniature Statue of Liberty.
So proud were residents of that binational identity, they fund-raised four years ago to have the statue recast in bronze.
It sits in a place of prominence, in Gourin’s main square, encircled by poles bearing international flags.
And yet, in the recent elections for the European Parliament, almost one-third of local voters opted for the far-right National Rally, a French party built on intense anti-immigration sentiment.
“This is an area that knows what it means to be immigrants,” said Pierre-Marie Quesseveur, a member of the local Brittany TransAmerica association, who expressed surprise at the election results.
Persons:
”, Pierre, Marie Quesseveur, Brittany TransAmerica
Organizations:
Air France
Locations:
Brittany, United States, Gourin’s