CROWDS of up to 20,000 people have taken part in marches to promote the regional language Occitan.

The event at Carcassonne was organised by the group Anem Oc! and drew participants from 30 departments across the south of France and areas of Italy and Spain where Occitan is still spoken.

Marchers paraded banners with Occitan crosses and colours – among them ex-presidential candidate and current Green MEP José Bové.

The importance of regional languages was written into the French constitution as part of several amendments last year. However, protesters say this has achieved little in practice.

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“The French government has failed to match its rhetoric and has not translated European law on regional languages into its own law,” said Bové

“It’s a Europe of the regions that we want to create and that doesn’t stop at national borders,” he added.

The president of the Institute of Occitan Studies, David Grosclaude, said: “We have had more than enough of not being listened to by a government which does not want to hear people calling for Occitan schools and media.”

March organisers want to see the government commit to creating Occitan television and radio stations and set up a budget for teaching the language.

One marcher, Nicolas Barthélemy, told news service AFP: “We have shown that we’re here, and that we are a voice in the dialogue of different cultures.”

Photo:Flickr/Andy