FRANCE: Quadricentennial Bomb

In August 1532 Brittany lost her independence to France when gallant Francis I married the daughter of famed Anne of Brittany. Breton Nationalists have never forgotten that, nor have they forgiven Anne of Brittany for marrying not one but two French Kings: Charles VIII and Louis XII.

Last week plump Edouard Herriot went down to Brittany to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the annexation of the duchy to France by making a speech at Vannes. Premier Herriot is an author in his off hours. He made an excellent and learned discourse but few of the proud Bretons went to hear him. At Rennes, some 50 miles away, autonomists made a more open protest. In the middle of the night a huge charge of dynamite blew off the side of the City Hall a bas-relief which depicted Anne of Brittany on her knees, offering her crown to France. Windows were smashed within a radius of 500 yards; the blast was heard three miles away. The Municipal Treasurer and the janitor were sleeping in the City Hall at the time, but no one was injured. "Stupid and criminal!" growled Author-Premier Herriot.