On June 23rd, it has been seven years since the disastrous Brexit referendum. To mark the day, the Scottish government published an analysis of the damage done by Brexit, detailing how Brexit has limited economic growth, restricted trade, increased food costs and reduced opportunities for young people. The Scottish government also took this occasion to reiterate their commitment to rejoin the EU as an independent country.
With less than 10% of people across the UK saying that Brexit is going well, the democratic injustice of Scotland leaving the EU against its will is even more poignant.
For this reason, it is very important that European citizens don’t forget about Scotland and continue to support Scots in their quest to rejoin our European family. Europe for Scotland will continue to encourage and empower EU citizens willing to do so.
It is therefore with great pleasure that we announce that our fantastic group of ambassadors in France has organised their presence at the Festival in St Andiol this upcoming weekend.
Did you know that on this 24th of June, the City of Tours commemorated its Franco-Scottish history and the marriage in 1436 of the Scottish Princess Margaret Stuart to the future King Louis XI? Indeed, Mr Jamie Campbell, Deputy Head of Scottish Government France Office attended and officiated at the laying of a plaque in the Royal Chapel at the Castle of Tours. Did you know that at a recent ceilidh held by the Caledonian Society of France in Paris, French dancers from Saint-Germain-en-Laye and the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of Paris, in all their tartan and linen finery, performed an elegant danse ecossaise freshly composed by one of their members? Or that in the Cher region further south, for four days in mid-July, Aubigny-sur-Nère will welcome, as it has done every year for over 30 years, between 20,000-30,000 Franco-Scottish enthusiasts, including a delegation from Haddington, its twin city?
This summer in France, there will be meetings of clans, Scottish music, pipe bands and Scottish piping, there will be Highland games (there is a French Highland Game Society) and battle reconstitutions. Not just this summer, but every summer. That is because many in France have an abiding passion for Scotland and proudly cherish and savour the rich history that Scotland and France share. And at each event, children dress in costume and learn about Scottish culture and history, while parents and others converse with regretful longing for the closeness and ease of when Scotland was part of Europe. One gets a sense that the French, too, feel deprived now that Scotland has been cut off.
Indeed, the young Festival Ecossais 1782 in St. Andiol, to be held on the 1st and 2nd of July just outside of Avignon, is so named to commemorate the end of the Highland Dress Proscription Act of 1746, which had sought to quash Scottish culture and expression. How fitting and moving that the two forward-looking young French enthusiasts who created the festival chose to do so by affirming an emancipatory beat in Scottish history. The festival seeks not just to mark the past, but to encourage Franco-Scottish expression today; its focus underscores the spirited goodwill and understanding between Scotland and France, reflecting too, no doubt, a certain European ideal of cultural solidarity.
For the first time, the French team of Europe for Scotland will have its own official stall at the festival. And also for the first time, we are partnering with a Scottish cultural organization, Scotland in Europe. We have printed out a banner, we will be wearing our tee-shirts, we will have activities for children, we will hand out flyers, we will have quizzes and film projections, and we will have a roundtable discussion with two Scottish poets – one of whom will also sing. And the members of Europe for Scotland and Scotland in Europe will combine to exchange with any and all about what Scotland can bring to Europe and what Europe can bring to Scotland. Especially, we will emphasize that Europe must open its arms wide and reassure Scotland that it will be warmly embraced back into the European fold whenever it so chooses.
Pour que l’Europe embrasse l’Ecosse
And everyone will be invited and encouraged to sign our petition.
It will be a celebratory moment, as you will see in our attached press release. Join us!
In European solidarity
Europe for Scotland team