this. The plays are performed by entire towns, who turn into an instrument for the reaffirmation of Souletin identity, which has suffered a worrying demographic decline. Recognition of the Basque and Occitan languages Neither Basque nor any of the other regional languages of France (like Alsatian, Breton, or Occitan) have official recognition in France. According to the second article of the French Constitution, “the language of the Republic is French” and, despite many attempts to add “with respect to regional languages that are a part of our patrimony” to the text by 44 deputies in 2006, the proposal was denied by 57 votes against the 44 votes in favor. Despite this, bilingual signage exists at the municipal level for traffic (trilingual in places like Bayonne). Below is an extract from the report of the Observatory of Linguistic Rights of Euskal Herria::Since 1994, the ikastolas (Basque-medium schools) are recognized as educational establishments, with an association model, although they don't receive any state aid. Professors in the ikastolas are under the responsibility of the French Education Ministry. In 2000, the Basque-French federation of ikastolas, Seaska, decided to end negotiations with the French educational administration to integrate ikastolas into the public education system of France, since the conditions it set did not guarantee their education model. Currently, the ikastolas are financed largely by the parents in a cooperative system and by various activities organized in favor of Basque, such as (Popular Step), which Basque speakers in Spain and France attend to do a walk for solidarity. Thanks to the participation of individuals, companies, and communities, Herri Urrats, in collaboration with Seaska, has allowed for the opening of 20 elementary schools, three highschools and an institution for secondary education since 1984. In 2003, the Basque government and the members of the Department of Public Works of the French Basque Country signed the protocols that allowed the collaboration between the various Basque organisms and institutions to encourage a linguistic policy on both sides of the Spanish-French border; the Public Institution of Basque () was born due to this accord in French Basque Country. Politics There is a Basque nationalist political movement going back to 1963 with the Embata movement (outlawed in 1974), followed up during the 2000s by Abertzaleen Batasuna and others. They seek a split of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques into two French departments: and Béarn. Some other nationalist parties are EAJ, and EA with a