François Legault recently said in an interview with The Montreal Gazette that Bill 96, a law reinforcing the use of French in Quebec, is necessary in part because “people appreciate this touch of France in North America”. In France, however, advertising includes an increasing proportion of English.
Ricard, the emblematic pastis brand, ran a campaign with the Franglais title “ Born in Marseille “.
Advertisers in many categories like to use English in their ads targeting French consumers. In his excellent analysis of the trend in The Local, Geneviève Mansfield quotes a professional translator: “The French see English as modern and culturally relevant. It also depends on the audience, if the target is a young and cosmopolitan person, advertisers can use English to tap into that identity. »
These are not advertisements entirely in English. They are in Franglais. They use titles and slogans in English, while the body of the text and other elements remain in French.
Flip through French magazines such as The Express, Le Figaro Where Vanity Fair France, and you will notice many advertisements that use English in one form or another. It has almost become de rigueur for advertisers of luxury goods in fashion, alcoholic beverages and jewelry. But this is not limited to high-end brands. Coca-Cola uses its global slogan ” Open Happiness in its advertising in France.
These ads use asterisks to indicate that a French translation of the English text is provided in small print, usually in the margins, where readers can also sometimes see the name of the advertising agency that created the ad. For example, you will find an asterisk in advertisements for Louis Vuitton featuring Bradley Cooper with the slogan ” Journey Beyond Time » to indicate a note in the margin with the French translation: « Un voyage hors du temps ».
The asterisk is not an attempt to add cachet — although some advertisers have a habit of adding an asterisk even after a French title to indicate additional text that is not explicit in the title. The French version is added in small print because it is the law.
Marketing in English in France must always be accompanied by a French translation, in accordance with the Toubon law, named after Jacques Toubon, who was Minister of Culture when it was passed in 1994. The law was enacted in reaction to the increasing use of English in advertisements and other sectors in France. It mandates the use of the French language in official government publications, in all advertisements, in all workplaces, in commercial contracts and in certain other commercial communications.
Ironically, the law also has a nickname: the Allgood Law — a translation of “Toubon” in English (“ all good being a translation of “all good”).
Quebec’s Bill 96 doesn’t have a nickname, but it may well have one once it comes into full effect on 1er June 2025, and that fines for non-compliance will be $3,000 to $30,000. Even if the application of the law remains vague in many areas of marketing, the guiding principle is clear: to evolve the requirement of the “sufficient presence of French” towards the “clearly predominant presence of French”.
Could Ricard’s advertisement be shown in The duty with ” born to ” ? I doubt that it will be accepted, even if one can say that French remains clearly predominant, with the help of the translation “Né à Marseilles en 1932”. The publication also makes a concerted effort to block advertising in English, despite some programmatic English ads sometimes slipping through due to a settings error.
Quebec is not immune to Franglais. Listen to the conversations between so-called reality series influencers and you’ll hear a lot of the macaronic mix of French and English. It is cool. And it’s an unfortunate touch of France in North America that is deeply concerning for the future of the French language.
Let’s hope that between the law and its sensible application, Quebec will prevent the invasion of advertisements in Franglais. Otherwise, I will be “flabergasted”.