While the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, recalled, Monday October 30, his attachment to “foundations” of the French language, the Senate adopted a bill aiming to ” protect “ French “the excesses of so-called inclusive writing”a text judged “retrograde” from the left.
After very lively debates which revived the left-right divide, senators voted 221 votes against 82 for this text which makes it possible to prohibit the use of inclusive writing in a wide range of documents (legal acts, methods of employment, employment contracts, etc.). However, there is no guarantee that this text will then be included on the agenda of the National Assembly, prior to its final adoption.
On the day of the inauguration by the Head of State of the International City of the French Language in the restored castle of Villers-Cotterêts, the coincidence of the calendar gave a certain echo to the work of the senatorial right. “We must allow this language [française] to live (…) but also keep its foundations, the bases of its grammar, the strength of its syntax, and not give in to the spirits of the times”launched Emmanuel Macron at midday from the Château de l’Aisne. “In this language, the masculine is neuter, we do not need to add periods in the middle of words, or hyphens, or things to make it readable”he added in a barely disguised offensive towards inclusive writing.
Qualified as “mortal peril” by the French Academy, but conversely a tool for combating gender inequalities for its defenders, writing “so-called inclusive” designates according to the Senate text “editorial and typographical practices aimed at replacing the use of the masculine, when it is used in a generic sense, with a spelling highlighting the existence of a feminine form”.
The ban on inclusive writing currently exists in a 2017 circular, issued by former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe. This one “invited” the ministers, “particularly for texts intended to be published in Official Journal of the French Republicnot to use so-called inclusive writing ».
Instructions for use, employment contracts, relevant legal acts
The text of the senator Les Républicains de l’Aisne Pascale Gruny attacks it even more head-on: it plans to ban this practice “in all cases where the legislator (and possibly the regulatory authority) requires a document in French”. A wide range is targeted: instructions for use, employment contracts, internal company regulations, but also legal acts, which would then be considered inadmissible or void if the measure were to be applied.
Senators call for a ban on “grammatical words” constituting neologisms such as “hey”a contraction of ” he “ And ” She “Or “those”contraction of “those” And ” those “. “It is a practice which is precisely contrary to inclusion”pleads to Agence France-Presse the rapporteur (attached to the Republicans) Cédric Vial. “The most impacted by its use are in fact people with disabilities and illiteracy, or those suffering from dyslexia”.
Adopted and even strengthened in committee on Wednesday, the text arouses indignation among part of the left. “It is an unconstitutional, retrograde and reactionary text, which is part of a long-standing conservative movement of the fight against the visibility of women”, takes offense to the socialist senator representing French people abroad Yan Chantrel. In contrast, the president of the National Rally, Marine Le Pen, explained on the X network (ex-Twitter) want ” protect “ the French language “against wokism whose inclusive writing is a sinister and grotesque manifestation”. “The French language is a successful creolization” and she “belongs to those who speak it!” », replied Jean-Luc Mélenchonleader of La France insoumise.
For the rapporteur, there is for example ” No problem “ with the use of the “double flexion”which aims to decline the feminine counterpart of a word, like “the senators” instead of “the senators”. The famous midpoint, as in “senator.rice.s”, he is clearly targeted. This is already banned in education by a 2021 circular from the former Minister of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer.