Editing Savoy (section)

==Politics==
===Modern regionalist politics===

Since the mid-20th century, regionalist movements have appeared in Savoy much as in other historic provinces of France. The ''[[Mouvement Région Savoie]]'' (Savoy Regional Movement) was founded in December 1971 as a 'movement' (rather than a traditional political party) in favour of regional autonomy. Unlike other historic provinces, including [[Normandy]] and [[Brittany]], Savoy does not currently have its own [[Regions of France|region]] within France and is part of the [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]] region. In the 1996 local elections, the Savoy Regional Movement received 19,434 votes; it received 4,849 in the 1998 regional elections. A new non-party organisation, ''La Région Savoie, j'y crois !'' (''I believe in the Savoy Region!''), was founded in 1998. The organisation campaigns for the replacement of the Savoie and Haute-Savoie departments with a regional government, separate from the [[Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes]] [[List of regions in France|region]], with greater [[devolution|devolved powers]].

A very marginal [[Separatism|separatist]] movement has also appeared in Savoy within the past twenty years, most prominently represented by the ''[[Ligue Savoisienne]]'', founded in 1994. In the March 1998 regional elections, 1 seat (out of 23) was won by Patrice Abeille, leader of the Ligue, which won a total of 17,865 votes across the two departments. In 2004, ''Waiting for Freedom in Savoy''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wffis.org/ |title=Waiting for Freedom in Savoy |access-date=2007-01-04 |archive-date=2006-08-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830221134/http://www.wffis.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref> was founded to promote the peaceful separatist cause to young people.

According to surveys conducted in 2000, between 41% and 55% of the population were in favour of the proposal for a separate Savoy region. Towards the end of 2005, [[Hervé Gaymard]] called for Savoie to be given special status, similar to a French region, under his proposed "Conseil des Pays de Savoie".<ref>[http://www.regionsavoie.com/fichiers/CDP_du_031105.pdf Région Savoie] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316085457/http://www.regionsavoie.com/fichiers/CDP_du_031105.pdf |date=2007-03-16 }}.</ref>

===Modern historiographical debates===

In recent years,{{when|date=August 2014}} sparked by the tiny Savoyard separatist movement, much attention has been focused on questioning the validity of the 1860 annexation. The Ligue Savoisienne, for example, rejects the Treaty of Turin and subsequent plebiscite as null and void, arguing that the plebiscite did not meet the standards of a free and fair vote. Today, historians generally acknowledge that the plebiscite of 1860 did feature irregularities, but they also affirm that the annexation instrument was the Treaty of Turin and not the plebiscite, whose main purpose was to demonstrate favorable public opinion in Savoy for the annexation after the signature of the treaty.<ref>[http://www.savoie.fr/archives73/expo_annexion/pano_5_/thumb.html 1860, La Savoie de l'Annexion] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231623/http://www.savoie.fr/archives73/expo_annexion/pano_5_/thumb.html |date=2016-03-03 }}, Archives Départementales de la Savoie</ref> In an interview for the newspaper ''[[Le Dauphiné Libéré]]'', Sylvain Milbach, a historian at the [[University of Savoy]], qualifies the vote as Napoleonic, but also argues that a completely free and fair vote would not have dramatically changed the outcome, as the majority of Savoyards wished to become French.<ref>[http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie-francaise-sylvain-milbach-le-oui-etait-acquis--@/index.jspz?article=122676 Savoie Française: Sylvain Milbach: "Le 'oui' était acquis"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424095425/http://www.ledauphine.com/savoie-francaise-sylvain-milbach-le-oui-etait-acquis--@/index.jspz?article=122676 |date=2009-04-24 }}</ref> This is today the official stance of the [[Departements of France|General Council]] of [[Savoie]].