Liberation Front of Brittany
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The Liberation Front of Brittany (French: Front de Libération de la Bretagne or FLB) is a terrorist group founded in 1963 to promote the "liberation of Brittany from France".
The first known FLB attack occurred in June 1966 when a municipal tax office in St Brieux was bombed, and a note signed by the FLB claimed that they would continue to carry out a campaign of violence against these "occupying symbols of Brittany".
In the years following, the FLB carried out attacks against administrative structures, such as electrical installations and even police barracks, and the amount of attacks peaked in 1968. However, the FLB ensured that no physical injuries or deaths would result from their attacks, which they wished to remain purely "symbolic," and thus gained a reputation in the international community as the "smiling terrorists."
The FLB enjoyed popular support, evident in the 1969 arrest of numerous FLB suspects which revealed that members came from very diverse backgrounds: businessmen, housewives, students, farmers, and even clergy. Some of these suspects were put on trial, which only bolstered the Breton "liberation" movement as it was perceived to be further suppressive action by the government. This period was also marked with a rise in the number of students enrolling in Breton language courses, as being able to speak Breton was seen as legitimizing one's position as a Breton militant.
Factions in the FLB emerged in the early 1970s which led to the creation of the militant ARB.
[edit] See also
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