On October 26, 2013, the “Bonnets Rouges” (Red Caps) made their return to the Brittany region, more than three centuries after their predecessors rose up against Louis XIV’s decision to impose a new tax on stamped paper. This time, it is the eco-tax that provokes the anger of thousands of Bretons. This measure aims to tax road transportation throughout France, including in Brittany, where free roads had been obtained in 1969 from Charles de Gaulle. The heavy goods vehicle tax does not sit well with the locals.
“Like during the Bonnets Rouges movement of 1675, this eco-tax was decided by the central government without consultation with Breton officials and the Breton population,” denounces Christian Troadec, the mayor of Carhaix and one of the spokespersons for the Bonnets Rouges. “The revolt of the modern Bonnets Rouges stems from a very fragile economic situation, particularly in the agro-food industry where several companies were in serious trouble: the Marine Harvest salmon factory in Poullaouën, the Gad slaughterhouse in Lampaul-Guimiliau, the poultry companies Tilly-Sabco in Guerlesquin and Doux in Châteaulin.”
“Our common cause was to express our frustration to the decision-makers in the disconnected capital who impose laws without analyzing the consequences on the territory and without recognizing the people who work,” explains Nadine Hourmant, FO delegate at Doux. “After feeling misunderstood by Paris for so long, we had to take it to the next level,” adds Corinne Nicole, CGT unionist at Tilly Sabco.
On August 2, 2013, the first eco-tax gantry is toppled in Guiclan. “It was a gust of wind that made it fall,” smiles Thierry Merret, one of the leaders of the Bonnets Rouges, who was then the president of the Finistère Farmers’ Union. A second gantry is then brought down in Melgven. The next target is the gantry in Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerc’h, erected on the Brest-Quimper expressway, where the Bonnets Rouges make their first appearance. Two days before October 26, 2013, Jean-Bernard Solliec, former director of Triskalia, suggests to Thierry Merret to use the red cap as a symbol of the movement. The president of the Farmers’ Union immediately contacts Jean-Guy Le Floch, the CEO of Armor Lux, who “graciously” provides him with his stock of 900 red caps. On October 26, 2013, these caps are distributed to the protestors in Pont-de-Buis. Images of the Bonnets Rouges circulate in the French media and even on foreign channels. The day is also marked by the hand severing of one of the protestors.
The Bonnets Rouges then continue their crusade against the gantries, while a “for employment and against eco-tax” demonstration takes place on November 2, 2013, in Quimper, where a sea of red with over 20,000 people floods the capital of Brittany. “There were workers, bosses, farmers, craftsmen…,” recalls Olivier Le Bras, FO delegate at Gad.
In an attempt to calm the troops, Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault signs a Future Pact for Brittany to provide financial assistance to struggling agro-food companies. “That’s not what we wanted. What we demanded was the end of the eco-tax,” exclaims Thierry Merret. He and the other Bonnets Rouges will eventually get their way, as three years later, on November 18, 2016, the National Assembly definitively abolishes the eco-tax. “We made Paris tremble,” comments Thierry Merret, who now seeks “solutions” to support the eleven people sentenced to jointly pay over one million euros following the destruction of the different gantries.
During the two years leading up to the abolition of the eco-tax, the Bonnets Rouges movement gradually falls dormant. “At some point, everyone started pulling the covers towards themselves. And when you lose unity, you lose the fights,” confesses Corinne Nicole. “The movement became somewhat politicized, especially with the arrival of the extreme right, which wanted to exploit the movement, whereas initially it was apolitical and non-union,” regrets Olivier Le Bras.
Will the Bonnets Rouges return to the forefront of the stage? “You should never say never,” replies Thierry Merret. Christian Troadec believes that “the fire is still present.” “The economic problems of the 2013-2014 period, although still partially existing in certain sectors, have now shifted particularly to the healthcare sector,” notes the mayor of Carhaix. “An autonomous Brittany would manage healthcare issues much better in our region than the high-ranking officials from Paris who act as proconsuls in conquered territories.” “The embers are still hot, and all it takes is a spark like in 2018 with the yellow vest movement, and everything ignites,” warns Nadine Hourmant. Corinne Nicole also believes that the red cap could make a comeback. “People haven’t thrown it in the trash, they kept it because they hope to bring it out again.”
