After obtaining that English is not the only foreign language at the Eiffel Tower, defenders of the French language are taking legal action to obtain the same thing around Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris.
The association Defense of the French language filed with the administrative court of Paris an appeal in this direction, on the occasion of the International Day of the Francophonie on Monday.
She invokes the Toubon law of August 4, 1994, which protects the status of French, especially in the face of the inexorable progress of English.
This law obliges the administration, if it translates its public communication, to do so in at least two foreign languages.
“The interest of the Toubon law is not to give a bonus to the Anglo-American. Because if there is only one foreign language, it is always the Anglo-American. The law therefore protects French, since it is supposed to promote linguistic pluralism,” association spokesman Louis Maisonneuve told AFP.
The public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral (EPRDNP) is targeted.
Around the building on the Ile de la Cité, some explanations of the work on this site are in French and English.
The “request for excess of powers” is accompanied by others, for the same reasons. They target a total of “20 major public bodies”, according to the association.
The latter cites Monuments de France, for the signage of the alignments of Carnac (Morbihan), La Poste, for the slogan “My French bank”, the Army Museum in Paris, for cartels, or Bordeaux Métropole, for the tram signage.
Throughout 2022, Défense de la langue française waged an identical fight, ultimately victorious, with the Paris City Hall, concerning the signage of the Eiffel Tower.
“We threatened to go to court. It took a year. They progressed little by little and, finally, they changed everything to add Spanish” in November, recounted Mr. Maisonneuve.