- Alexis Gourvennec
Alexis Gourvennec (January 11, 1936 to February 19, 2007) was a Breton pig farmer and economic leader who played a major role in the regeneration of
Brittany afterWorld War II . In the early 60s he was a leading militant in the Young Farmers' Movement, and in 1961 he helped found and led SICA (Societe d'Interet Collectif Agricole) St-Pol-de-Leon.He was a leader of a group of leading Bretons who pressed 5 key demands (from the regional structure plan) on the French administration in the late 1960s
* A modern road network, between the region and Paris
* The setting up of a state of the art telecommunications network
* A strengthing of educational provision especially Brest University
* Improving industrial development at Brest
* The construction of a deep-water port atRoscoff The French government agreed to these demands in October 1968.
Gourvennec saw a place for Brittany as part of a 'Celtic arc', stretching down the entire Atlantic coastline of Europe, and was keen to develop a service from Roscoff to
Plymouth . However, no existing ferry company viewed the route as worthwhile, and so Gourvennec and colleagues founded theBrittany Ferries .When
Prince Charles visitedFinistere in 1988, the local media apparently headlined his meeting with Gourvennec as 'Prince of Wales at the home of the Prince of Brittany' (see article by Peter Forde)References
Times obituary - [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1409347.ece]
"The Man who made Modern Brittany", by Peter Forde (in "Insight Guides:Brittany" :ed Brian Bell, 1995, APA Publications (HK) Ltd)
ee also
French Wikipedia page [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexis_Gourvennec]
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