Description :
This programme, broadcast by Radio Pais as part of the European project Rede Tramontana (Réseau Tramontana in French and Tramontana Network in English), co-financed by the European Union, explores Jean Larzac’s memories of the rise of the Occitan movement during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on his experiences as a priest and teacher, Larzac reflects on the emergence of a new generation committed to defending the Occitan language, culture and territories. His testimony provides valuable insight into one of the most dynamic periods of modern Occitan activism.
Larzac recalls his first parish in the mountains of Aveyron, where he witnessed the growing involvement of young people in cultural and political initiatives inspired by the Occitan movement. He explains how the slogan Volèm Viure al País (“We Want to Live in Our Country”) expressed the desire to preserve local communities, resist rural decline and affirm Occitan identity. He also discusses the influence of anti-colonial ideas and how some activists interpreted the relationship between Occitania and the French state through the language of decolonisation and regional self-determination.
The interview concludes with Larzac’s reflections on the evolution of the Occitan cause and the creation of the administrative Region of Occitanie. While recognising that the official adoption of the name “Occitanie” represented an important symbolic achievement, he argues that it also reduced the broader historical and cultural reality of Occitania to a single administrative region. Throughout the programme, Jean Larzac highlights the enduring importance of language, territory and collective memory in shaping cultural identity and sustaining the Occitan movement.