The Prefecture of Pyrénées-Orientales and the town hall of Elne are relaunching the debate on regional languages. The municipality was brought before the Administrative Court of Perpignan on Tuesday, September 20, for having modified the rules of procedure of its municipal councils: from now on, it is possible to deliberate in Catalan, followed by a translation into French. The Prefecture considers that this rule is contrary to article II of the Constitution, in particular, which establishes French as the official language of the Republic.
The mayor of Elne denounces a “schizophrenic” attitude of the Prefecture
For the mayor of Elne, Nicolas Garcia, this appeal to the Administrative Court is exaggerated. Only five municipal councilors out of thirty speak Catalan in his municipality, which means that the language is largely a minority, in fact, during the sessions. “At the last council we read two deliberations in Catalan out of 40. During the previous one, it was only one out of 50. They were translated in full. If that’s what endangers the Republic…poor Republic!“, he quips.
He believes that the regional language is part of the heritage local and that the Prefecture has an attitude “schizophrenic” on the subject. “The Prefect has just cofinanced with the Region and the Department the OPLC, the Public Office of the Catalan language, whose mission is to popularize Catalan in the public space. He signed, with this OPLC and the department, a charter that says that within ten years all students who want to can learn Catalan… but it prevents it from being spoken in municipal councils.“
A decision that could set a precedent?
The Prefecture argues that several municipalities have already been called to order for having used a regional language in official bodies, and that case law has therefore emanated from it. Maître Mathieu Pons Serradeil replies that French translation makes all the difference. “In the municipalities in question, it was an obligation: overnight we went from French to the regional language without any translation. It was therefore in fact contrary to the Constitution, which says that French is the official language. and as well as all acts must be in French. On the other hand, this does not mean that they must be exclusively in French”. He hopes that Elne and its translation into French will in turn set precedents and allow other regions such as the Basque Country, Brittany or Corsica to speak their regional language in their bodies.
Here again the Prefecture replies, without further details, that the Frenchman is no more than a “accompaniment language in translation”. So the problem seems to be the order in which the languages are used. The Administrative Court to decide; its decision is expected within a year and a half.