Making homeland between sabotage and applause. Radical Basque nationalism facing the Tour de France (1977-2007)

Abstract

Between 1977 and 2007 Iparretarrak, ETA and their political-social environments executed strategies, not always coincident, aimed at politically instrumentalizing the Tour de France as it passed through the Basque Country, Navarre and the French Basque Country. The cycling race, which has become the maximum French national symbol and one of the sporting spectacles of greatest repercussion, has attracted the interest of the radical Basque nationalist collective from 1977 onwards. The initiatives, identifiable as nationalizing campaigns, mainly aimed at spreading nationalist demands, have been resolved through a double intertwined path: an intense social mobilization and a calculated violent threat. The chronological structure is designed to provide a detailed account of the development and outcome of the different strategies, as well as the Tour's responses to the pressures and coercion to which it was subjected. The 1992 edition, with departure from San Sebastian, can be considered a turning point, as it implied a political victory for ETA, similar to those achieved in relation to the construction of the nuclear power plant in Lemóniz or the Leizarán highway, as the management of the event ended up giving in to the threat, accepting the majority of the demands made. In subsequent editions, with the terrorist threat active, the management of the event showed a greater predisposition to consider certain requests, especially with regard to the presence of the Basque language in the official acts.