"Political reasons", "terrible waste"... in Nantes, the cancellation of the Brittany Games irritates the organizers

This time, there won't even be a starting line. Expected to take place in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique), starting June 20, the ^4th edition of the Brittany Games will not extend its good-natured spirit to the city of dukes this year. The sporting and cultural event, built around the celebration of Breton identity and traditional practices , was canceled nearly a month before its opening, due to a lack of available venues in the center of the Nantes metropolitan area. A false move by the city hall that raises questions among the organizers.

As a partner of the free event, the municipality had allowed the Brittany Games to take place at the foot of the Château des Ducs - a site currently under construction. In anticipation, the organizing committee had requested on November 4th to host its 2025 edition at the Feydeau-Neptune site, located a stone's throw from the castle. This marked the beginning of a difficult "obstacle course."

Initially confronted with silence from the city's technical services, the Games organizing committee managed, in January, to initiate a dialogue about the "technical and personal safety constraints" imposed by the municipality for a possible installation in Feydeau. The committee responded to each of the points raised and assured that it received a positive acknowledgment of receipt from the town hall on May 23... before being notified of a definitive refusal three days later. A fallback site, located further west, in the Gloriette-Petite Hollande sector, was also refused by the organizing committee on May 27, on the grounds... of having left it too late.

"This veto by the Mayor's office does not seem to be motivated by technical reasons but by political ones," the organizing committee of the Brittany Games lamented in a press release, indicating that the last-minute cancellation of the event caused "health concerns and a terrible feeling of waste" within its team . "We were asked for barriers, we had them; night security, that was planned; or not to damage the pitch, which was obviously not on the agenda," Stéphane Briand, president of the organizing committee, told Le Figaro . Disappointed, he denounced a double standard from the socialist town hall of Nantes. "The site is not incompatible with a large public event, since it was used last year for the Olympic village, the Sports Rush and the Christmas market," he noted. Bitter but not dejected, Stéphane Briand nevertheless intends to do everything to ensure the return of the Games to Nantes, from 2026.

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Asked by Le Figaro , the Nantes city council reiterated its position, assuring that it was ready to host the Games on the Gloriette site. "If the organizers had agreed earlier, it would have been possible," said a city spokesperson. The incompatibility of the Feydeau site with the event had, moreover, been "explained to the organizers several times," added the local authority, which specified that it remained at their disposal to prepare for a future edition.

Held three times in Nantes, the Brittany Games brought together teams and clubs from the five Breton departments, who came to compete against each other in a wide range of sporting disciplines. These included both classic practices—tug of war, shot put, urban train—and some local specialties, such as straw bale throwing, Breton wrestling, and Gaelic football. Each edition was accompanied by cultural activities and introductory activities for younger visitors. Finally, as it was the Fête de la Musique period, open-air concerts enlivened the evening.