A/HRC/7/23/Add.2 page 10 Strasbourg stated: “People always say to me ‘where do you come from?’ I come from Lyon. I am French. But when people keep asking me I feel less French and more Algerian. I am often told ‘look at you, you are not French’. You end up saying you are from another country and you don’t feel French any more.” B. Language and cultural rights 22. Representatives and scholars of numerous linguistic and cultural minority groups from different regions in France, including the Bretons and Basques and the Catalan- and Occitan-speaking communities, strongly complained that their languages and cultural rights are not fully respected and promoted within France. They predict that some regional languages and elements of cultural identity and heritage are in danger of disappearing in the medium to long term. Following the amendment of the Constitution of France in 1992 to reflect the position of French as the language of the French Republic, community representatives described government policy to promote French at the expense of regional languages. Immigration trends have brought significant numbers of speakers of various non-European languages, notably Arabic, to France. 23. Basque community representatives reported that, despite community desire to maintain and preserve the Basque language, there are some 5,000 fewer Basque speakers than 10 years ago and the language is seriously endangered in France as a result of lack of official status. Representatives of the Catalan- and Occitan-speaking communities also pointed out that absence of recognition or official status results in a constant decline in the number of Basque, Catalan and Occitan speakers in both absolute and percentage terms to such an extent that, despite the recommendations of European and United Nations anti-discrimination bodies, these languages are endangered languages limited to use in the private sphere with implications in both linguistic and cultural terms. 24. Breton representatives reported to the independent expert that subsidies had been stopped to schools for teaching of and in the Breton language. Independent Breton-language immersion schools (called Diwan) exist but are not part of the State education system since their incorporation was blocked by the French Constitutional Council, reportedly on the grounds that French is the language of the Republic and that no other language may be used as a language of instruction in State schools. Representatives of the Breton-speaking communities note that the numbers of speakers has declined from 1.3 million in 1900 to 200,000 today. 25. The Government states7 that “in the education system, regional and minority languages are taught as optional subjects and special competitive examinations are held to recruit first- and second-level teachers of the languages concerned, which include Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican and Occitan within metropolitan France and Creole, Tahitian and Melanesian languages overseas”. The Government underscores that “museums and cultural centres focusing on regional cultures have been established and festivals celebrating these heritages are supported by the Ministry of Culture and Communication and local authorities. The Ethnological Heritage 7 Third periodic report of the Government of France to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/FRA/3), 15 March 2007.