Editing Nantes (section)

===Nantes and Brittany===
[[File:Château de Nantes - armoiries ducales.jpg|thumb|alt=Photo of a coat of arms on a castle wall|The arms of the dukes of Brittany in the [[Château des ducs de Bretagne|Castle of the Dukes of Brittany]]]]
Nantes and the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' were part of the historic province of [[Brittany]], and the city and [[Rennes]] were its traditional capitals. In the 1789 replacement of the historic [[provinces of France]], Brittany was divided among five ''[[départements]]''. The administrative region of Brittany did not exist during the 19th and early 20th centuries, although its cultural heritage remained.{{sfn|Reviews of Life}} Nantes and Rennes are in [[Upper Brittany]] (the [[Romance languages|Romance-speaking]] part of the region), and [[Lower Brittany]] in the west is traditionally [[Breton language|Breton-speaking]] and more [[Celts|Celtic]] in culture. As a large port whose outskirts encompassed other provinces, Nantes has been Brittany's economic capital and a cultural crossroads. Breton culture in Nantes is not necessarily characteristic of Lower Brittany's, although the city experienced substantial Lower Breton immigration during the 19th century.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=71}}{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=76}}

In the mid-20th century, several French governments considered creating a new level of local government by combining ''départements'' into larger regions.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=83}} The regions, established by acts of parliament in 1955 and 1972, loosely follow the pre-revolutionary divisions and Brittany was revived as [[Brittany (region)|Region Brittany]]. Nantes and the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' were not included, because each new region centred on one metropolis.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|pp=93-94}} Region Brittany was created around Rennes, similar in size to Nantes; the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' formed a new region with four other ''départements'', mainly portions of the old provinces of [[Duchy of Anjou|Anjou]], [[Maine (France)|Maine]] and [[Poitou]]. The new region was called [[Pays de la Loire]] ("Loire Countries") although it does not include most of the [[Loire Valley]]. It has often been said that the separation of Nantes from the rest of Brittany was decided by [[Vichy France]] during the [[Second World War]]. [[Philippe Pétain]] created a new Brittany without Nantes in 1941, but his region disappeared after the [[Liberation of France|liberation]].{{sfn|Alain Déniel|1976}}{{sfn|Bodineau|1995}}{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=95}}

Debate continues about Nantes's place in Brittany, with polls indicating a large majority in Loire-Atlantique and throughout the historic province favouring [[Reunification of Brittany|Breton reunification]].{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=124}} In a 2014 poll, 67 percent of Breton people and 77 percent of [[Loire-Atlantique]] residents favoured reunification.{{sfn|La réunification de|2015}} Opponents, primarily Pays de la Loire officials, say that their region could not exist economically without Nantes. Pays de la Loire officials favour a union of Brittany with the Pays de la Loire, but Breton politicians oppose the incorporation of their region into a Greater West region.{{sfn|Bretagne: la bataille de la réunification}} Nantes's city council has acknowledged the fact that the city is culturally part of Brittany, but its position on reunification is similar to that of the Pays de la Loire.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=134}} City officials tend to consider Nantes an open metropolis with its own personality, independent of surrounding regions.{{sfn|Le Page|2014|p=135}}