Posted at 2:00 p.m.
Are you going to France this summer? Are you one of those who find it important to protect the French language? Expect to be shaken when setting foot at our cousins.
The French bring English into the workplace and into their daily lives, like the rest of the planet, shall we say. But today, the enthusiasm is reaching new heights and their indifference to the phenomenon raises eyebrows.
Last month, I spent a night in Toulouse and took the opportunity to stroll through the streets around the magnificent Place du Capitole. From the first minute, I notice a clothing store where it is written ” free wifi ” In the showcase. At the time, I thought that the Toulouse trader had perhaps just not yet found a French version of this poster, as can happen to us in Canada.
A few steps further, I find another store: ChickenCook: chicken in all its forms. For fun, I then decided to take a picture of the signs with an English connotation that I would find on my way. Zest Store, Take Away, Hello Tea, Wok-to-Work, Absolute mobile: smart phones, Yogolicious: fresh, pure, delicious!, ColorForever: Nail Bar… After only three minutes, I was no longer having fun. There were just too many, everywhere.
I wondered if I had taken the wrong plane and landed in England rather than France.
What I saw in Toulouse, I saw in Paris, Montpellier and even Perpignan, a smaller city. It is paradoxical to see that one of the strong themes of the last French presidential election was national identity, and that at no time was there any question of measures aimed at curbing the anglicization of the national landscape. Either the French are indifferent, or they feel sheltered. But in both cases, they are wrong.
Francophonie in peril
Today, everywhere in the French-speaking world, the same observation: when the State does not intervene, the English language is essential. In the streets of Ouagadougou, Dakar and Algiers, English takes its place. Because it’s chic, trendy, international.
France neglects its language. In doing so, it endangers the French-speaking planet. The captain seems to have left the ship he built himself and which has no less than 29 countries and 350 million passengers on board. A Quebecer or a French-speaking African who arrives at Charles-de-Gaulle airport will see unilingual English advertising posters everywhere. Paris airport is now called Paris Airport and you will buy your TGV tickets on SNCF Connect. Similar examples are countless.
Last February, the French president organized in Brest, in Brittany, The One Planet Summit for the Ocean. In the family photo, we see the heads of state around Emmanuel Macron, all in front of a poster… unilingual English! In Quebec, the Prime Minister who does this signs his political death warrant. Not in France. With its convincing results, Quebec is a model in terms of the protection of French and has the necessary credibility to be a key player on the international scene. The next Prime Minister of Quebec should use all his weight to raise awareness in French-speaking countries and encourage them to act, starting with France – a key player – to hope for recovery. English is useful, this fact is undeniable. But a language is like a trademark, if you don’t promote it, it disappears. France : please wake up!