| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lower Brittany |
| Frequency | |
| RDS | ICI BZH |
| Programming | |
| Language | French,Breton |
| Format | Generalist |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Radio France |
| seeici | |
| History | |
First air date | 1982 (1982) |
Former names |
|
| Links | |
| Website | www |
France Bleu Breizh Izel, also known asici Lower Brittany andici Breizh Izel, is apublic servicegeneralist radio station located inLower Brittany, whereBreton is traditionally spoken. The station broadcasts inFinistère, parts of westernCôtes-d'Armor and westernMorbihan. It was established on 3 August 1982 under the nameRadio Bretagne Ouest.
The history of decentralised public radio in Lower Brittany has its origins in 1946 with the construction of theQuimerc'h radio transmitter. This transmitter broadcast national programs of the French Radiodiffusion, the program developed by the regional station ofRennes, but also programs specific to Lower Brittany in French and Breton. The station was initially known as Radio Quimerc'h and then Radio Brest. With the break-up of theORTF, the Brest studio in 1976 became a local branch ofRadio Armorique, placed under the authority ofFR3 Rennes.[citation needed]
In 1982, the organization of public radio stations was remodeled. Due to the changes, a new local station began broadcasting in Lower Brittany: Radio Bretagne Ouest. The station was then integrated into the public companyRadio France. The studios, previously located at the esplanade François Mitterrand inBrest, were installed inQuimper, located at 155 bd Creách Gwen,[1] on the evening of 11 December 2018.[2] Radio Bretagne Ouest retains ownership of the premises in Brest, though it is currently occupied by a restaurant.[clarification needed] Radio Armorique is no longer available in Lower Brittany, but continues its broadcasts inUpper Brittany from its base inRennes.
When it was created in 1982, the station was calledRadio Bretagne Ouest (Radio Breiz Izel in Breton). In 1985, the names of the local stations of Radio France were standardized: the station was then renamedRadio France Bretagne Ouest. On the occasion of the creation of the France Bleu network in the year 2000, the station took the name ofFrance Bleu Breiz Izel. Since 2009, the station has been calledFrance Bleu Breizh Izel, a name using the unified spelling of Breton.[citation needed]
In February 2019, the station hired a "new generation of bilingual journalists" after the retirement of previous journalists. From this point on, news is fully in bilingual French and Breton.[3] However, during the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic, Breton broadcasting was noticeably absent due to "reorganisation" from lockdown, causing criticism, especially as other France Bleu stations, such asPays Basque continued broadcasting in regional languages.[4]
On 11 September 2019, France Bleu Breizh Izel appointedJean-Yves Lafesse as a columnist for the station, broadcasting humorous stories with his brother.[5] He remained at the station until his death in July 2021.
In August, the station lost its broadcasting rights for the localStade Brestois football team "until further notice". The reason apparently was the uncovering of information the football team did not want to be revealed. The station's director Gurvan Musset said: "Our radio is accused of having wanted to tarnish the image of the club, despite the facts. The information has been verified and confirmed by state services. We proposed to the leaders of the club to express themselves, they refused."[6]
On 25 June 2022, the station celebrated its 40th anniversary with a concert show inTrévarez Castle,[7] with over 3,600 listeners at the event.[8]
As part of the rebrand ofFrance Bleu intoici (radio network), the station changed its name toici Breizh Izel in January 2025.[citation needed]
 | This article's"criticism" or "controversy" sectionmay compromise the article'sneutrality. Please help rewrite or integrate negative information to other sectionsthrough discussion on thetalk page.(November 2024) |
The station has faced criticism from someBreton nationalists, for an apparent disregard for Breton culture. For example, Bro Nevez in 2004 writes: "The France Bleu Breizh Izel station has been directed by its centralized leadership in Paris [Radio France] to cut down on Breton language and Breton music programming".[9]
They have also been criticized by the nationalists for their lack of alertness regarding the events of Bretagne: "TheFrance Bleu Armorique and France Bleu Breizh Izel radios do not allow an actor to be alerted and simultaneously of any event affecting the peninsula."[10]
From 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., programs inFrench are produced by the ici Breizh Izel teams in Quimper (except 13/16). The rest of the programs in French come from the national program of ici.[11]
Each week, ici Breizh Izel broadcasts around twenty hours of programs in the Breton language:[12]
Daily: three 5-minute news bulletins 5 in the morning and one 7-minute newspaper at 7 p.m.
Monday to Friday 5: The Hentoù treuz program, from half an hour to midday, presented byManu Mehu;
The evening programBreizh storming, two hours in the evening, presented byClément Soubigou;
Le p'tit cours de breton, two morning chronicles presented by Clément Soubigou;
Saturday and Sunday: the program Breizh O Pluriel, three hours in the afternoon.
France Bleu Breizh Izel broadcasts through most ofBretagne as well as being available online. Here are the following frequencies:
ici Breizh Izel is broadcast on the Fransatsatellite package (via theEutelsat satellite).
The ici Breizh Izel website streams the radio station live and provides podcasts downloads of most of the programs broadcast. The station is also available on most streaming internet radio stations.[14][15]
Since 10 December 2019 theici Matin Breizh Izel program has been broadcast Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:40 a.m. on television thanks toFrance 3 Bretagne inFinistère only.[16]
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