On 11 March 2022, the mayors of 49 municipalities of the Communauté d'Agglomération du Pays Basque (France) signed charters for the promotion of the Basque language in Itxassou/Itsasu. A local version of the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, it marks the commitment of the signatory municipalities, including Bayonne/Baiona and Biarritz/Miarritze, to promoting the use of Basque in several fields of public life.

At the signing ceremony, representatives of the municipality of Itxassou/Itsasu and the Euskal Konfederazioa association, local coordinators of the initiative, recalled the work carried out in 2021, including the presentation of the local charter in 70 municipalities and the support of the municipalities in their choice of commitments in favour of the Basque language and in the adoption process.

The representative of the Committee of Experts of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, Claudine Brohy, stressed the role of municipalities in promoting regional languages. "It is at this level of society, in all areas of public life such as administration, libraries, homes for the elderly, crèches, hospitals, cultural institutions, service providers, etc., that exchanges are direct and frequent and that it is therefore necessary to promote the use of regional languages and ensure their visibility and audibility.”

The 49 mayors then signed the charter adopted by their respective local councils. 

The participants announced that these signatures were only the beginning of a wider collective dynamic and called on the Communauté d'Agglomération du Pays Basque and all its municipalities to join the process. 

A similar initiative was conducted in 2014 and 2015 in Alsace. For more information: Promoting ratification of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in France (coe.int)