2023-04-22 22:28:42
More than 3,000 people, according to the organizers and the police, marched on Saturday in Bayonne to support the development of the Basque language and to ask for more means for its teaching. Among the main demands made by the activists, who came with their families, was that of the right to take the baccalaureate exams in the Basque language for students attending ikastola, these immersive schools where teaching is done exclusively in Basque.
On behalf of the Federation of Ikastola, Peio Jorajuria regretted the lack of “political courage to bring the (Basque) language, Euskara, to life in public spheres”. “We want to take a step forward in education to ensure the survival of the language. We know the key, but we need more resources, ”added the activist.
In the Basque Country, 29% of students were educated in Basque at the start of the 2022/2023 school year: 8% in the immersive system (i.e. more than 4,000 pupils) and 21% in public and private bilingual streams (i.e. around 10,000 pupils).
20% of Basque-speaking inhabitants
According to a sociolinguistic survey published in March and carried out by the governments of the autonomous communities of the Basque Country and Navarre, in Spain, associated in France with the Public Office of the Basque language, Basque speakers represent 20% of the inhabitants of more than 16 years in the French Basque Country.
While this territory of 315,000 inhabitants attracts around 3,000 newcomers every year, “the decrease in the number of Basque speakers in absolute value has stopped over the last ten years”, notes the study. It also establishes that 54% of parents now opt for teaching in Basque, whether in the immersive or bilingual model.
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