Breton Revolutionary Army - Financial Support

Financial Support

Local financial support for the ARB is geared toward the families of its incarcerated members. This financial support is provided by Skoalzell Vreizh (« Breton assistance »), an original group headed by Pierre Locquet, who’s been its president for over 20 years. A former FLB member, Locquet was convicted for an attack in the 1970s. Locquet considers his organisation essential in helping anyone who commits an act which defies French authority. Upon capture, the perpetrator’s family is contacted by Skoalzell Vreizh to make arrangements in order to pay their legal fees. In case of incarceration, the organisation takes it upon itself to support the prisoner’s family financially until his release. Until the 1990s, Skoalzell Vreizh had mainly used its financial support to assist minor delinquents « with a good cause » who engaged in such activities as repainting street signs in Breton, refusing to pay the national television tax to protest the lack of a Breton channel, or paying their taxes by writing checks in Breton. The 1990s, however proved to be more costly for Skoalzell Vreizh as the seriousness of the ARB’s attacks increased, part of which can be blamed on the group’s increased association with better trained and more radical groups such as the ETA as is evidenced by the Plévin theft. Nonetheless, Skoalzell Vreizh remains a crucial asset and is well organized. Part of its funds emanate from minor donations collected at concerts and other public festivities or personnal donations withdrawn from a donor’s bank account. The largest contributions, however, come directly from its political support, namely from the UDB itself and the Breton Cultural Institute which is a branch of the Breton Regional Counsel.