French MPs have banned the use of English during the forth coming Olympics holding in Paris.
The MPs adopted the resolution on Thursday, and urged organisers of the 2024 Paris Games, as well as athletes, trainers and journalists to use French as much as possible.
The sponsor of the resolution, Annie Genevard told fellow MPs that “the Olympic Games reflect the loss of influence of our language.”
She recalled the much-criticised slogan used for Paris’ original bid for the Games — “Made for Sharing” — as well as other recent government-backed campaigns to promote the country such as “Choose France” or “Made in France.”
Even the French rugby team inscribed “Rugby World Cup” on their jerseys during the competition in France last year instead of “La Coupe du Monde de rugby.”
“All of these examples demonstrate that the fight for the French language … is never finished, even in the most official spheres.
“Let’s hope that ‘planche a roulettes’ replaces skateboard and ‘rouleau du cap’ point break (a surfing term), but I have my doubts,” said Genevard.
“You can’t overlook the fact that many global sports events that are broadcast globally have chosen to use English for their communication, in their titles, slogans and advertising,” Culture Minister Rachida Dati told parliament.
Thursday’s resolution — backed by the ruling centrists and right-wingers but opposed by the left — was non-binding, she stressed.
According to her, instructions for foreign visitors during the Olympics from July 26-August 11 and Paralympics from August 28-September 8 would be provided in English as well as other languages.
The march of English globally has long infuriated French governments who have sought to protect the purity of their language at home while promoting its use abroad.
The country has an institution — the Academie Francaise — which has produced state-sanctioned dictionaries for three centuries that document and approve new terms or expressions, often translations of commonly used English words.
French lawmakers passed landmark legislation 30 years ago designed to protect French — the 1994 Toubon Law — which made the language mandatory for advertising, product-labelling, and public announcements.
It also stipulated that radio stations had to play a minimum of 40 percent of French-language songs.
But the cultural influence of English, increased latterly by American streaming platforms such as Netflix, means French is constantly infiltrated by new terms, including in the sporting realm.
The Paris Games have already been embroiled in a row about language after rumours that Franco-Malian R&B star Aya Nakamura was set to sing during the opening ceremony on July 26.
The mega-star, the most streamed French artist in the world, mixes French, Arabic and words from West African dialects in her songs such as “Djadja”.
She was accused of “vulgarity” and mangling the French language by far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a series of highly personal attacks that were denounced as racist by Dati at the time.
“France is not and will never be ‘Djadja’,” far-right MP Julien Odoul said on Thursday.
