Académie Française denounces French ID card's 'unconstitutional' use of English
The Académie Francaise – traditional custodians of the French language – has called on the Prime Minister to suspend the country's biometric identity card for its "excessive" use of English translations, which it claims are unconstitutional. The move comes amid rightwing accusations the government is "erasing" French identity.
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The biometric ID card, introduced in August 2021, contains a microchip and a QR code. But what's really got the venerable academy’s back up is that every category has been translated in English, so it's awash with words like “name”, “given name”, “date of birth”, “nationality”, “place of birth” "date of issue" and so on.
“It’s an absurdity”, the body says, denouncing a violation of the 1994 "Toubon law", which made French the language of administrative documents, along with Article 2 of the Constitution, which stipulates that “French is the language of the republic.”
For the first time in its 400-year history, the academy has asked the Prime Minister to intervene, also threatening to take the matter to the Council of State – France’s highest court.
'Stronger approach'
Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, perpetual secretary of the Académie told Le Figaro daily that normally the body would issue a simple statement on the matter.
"Nowadays, however, everyone’s comments are on the same footing, so a different approach is needed,” she said.
The controversy comes in the wake of France taking over the rolling presidency of the EU council with President Macron under pressure to deliver and defend his European credentials.
Earlier this week French authorities felt obliged to remove a temporary installation of the EU flag from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, after rightwing opponents of Macron accused him of "erasing" French identity.
Several rightwing politicians, including Marine Le Pen, presidential candidate for the hard-right National Rally, praised the move by the Académie Francaise.
In a tweet she thanked the insitution for "defending our language in the face of continued invasion of English," saying it was "time to elect a president proud of French and of French culture".
Fully bilingual version
The European regulation of 20 June 2019 states: "The document title should also appear in at least one additional official language of the institutions of the union," so only the words "identity card" have to be translated.
But the regulation allows for all "well-established designations" to be translated into another EU language, if desired.
France opted for the fully bilingual version – a move the academy described in an open letter last year as “overzealous”.
"Under the pretext the EU is advocating an ID document in two languages, an essential principle is being undermined, namely that French is the language of the French republic," Carrère d'Encausse, a historian and former MEP, said.
All other EU countries also opted for English. Italy and Poland translated all the terms, others just the title.
Germany went for triple translation: German, English and French.
The 🇩🇪 Identity card have 3 language
— Saigyouji 3.0 (@Saigyouji3_0) January 6, 2022
German ( of course )
But also french and English
And 0 polemics there 🤷🏻♀️ pic.twitter.com/xUW1xwRkBU
Threat of court action
The Académie Française has written to Prime Minister Jean Castex asking him to repeal the legal provision that allowed for the translated card.
Its opposition is based on Council of State jurisprudence that a regulation, even an European one, can be repealed provided it was “illegal at the date of signature”.
The government has acknowledged receipt of the letter, without making any further comment, Le Figaro reported.
The académie has given authorities two months to re-established French as the sole language on the card before appealing to the Council of State.
Even if the court rules in its favour, however, legal experts say the fully bilingual cards already issued will remain in place.
Read also:
- Why France feels it needs 'a dictionary of world French'
- French language authority finally gives thumbs up to feminise job titles
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