Emmanuel Macron denounces inclusive writing by calling for “not to give in to the spirit of the times”

Emmanuel Macron took advantage of the inauguration of the Cité internationale de la langue française, Monday October 30 in Villers-Cotterêts (Aisne), to denounce inclusive writing, which aims, among other things, to make the feminine more visible in our language. The French language “forge the nation”affirmed the Head of State during his speech, calling for “do not give in to the spirit of the times”.

“In this language, the masculine makes the neuter. We don’t need to add periods in the middle of words, or hyphens or things to make it readable”, declared the President of the Republic.

In the Senate, a bill to ban inclusive writing

In 2021, Brigitte Macron had implicitly disapproved of the addition of the non-gendered pronoun “iel” in the online version of the prestigious French dictionary Le Robert. There is “two pronouns, he and She”she insisted in particular.

The President of the Republic’s statement comes at a time when a bill to prohibit inclusive writing is on the agenda in the Senate. The text of Senator Les Républicains Pascale Gruny hears “proscribe the use of inclusive writing when the law requires the use of French”. The authors of the bill believe that it “constitutes a barrier to reading and understanding the written word”.