French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed his support for a bill aimed at prohibiting the use of gender-inclusive language in official state documents. Speaking during the inauguration of the Cité Internationale de la Langue Française, a cultural hub dedicated to the French language, Macron emphasized the importance of preserving the foundations of the French language. He argued against succumbing to what he deemed “fashionable trends,” stating that French should continue to evolve while maintaining its traditional grammar.
As a bill seeking to ban gender-affirming language was being debated in the Senate, Macron reiterated his opposition to altering the binary structure of the French language. The proposed policy would prohibit the teaching of “inclusive” writing, known as écriture inclusive, which involves using both masculine and feminine forms of gendered words, separated by dots, such as “président.e.s” (president), sénateur.rice.s (senators), and cher·e·s lecteur·rice·s (dear reader).
Macron defended the view that in French, the masculine form serves as the neutral form, making additional punctuation unnecessary. He argued that such writing styles would obscure the language, which he believes plays a crucial role in building national unity.
The French Senate has voted in favor of this legislation, sending it to the Members of Parliament for a final decision. The date for the parliamentary vote remains undisclosed. Socialist Party Senator Yan Chantrel criticized right-wing officials for imposing “retrograde and reactionary whims” on language evolution, cautioning that attempts to freeze the language could lead to its stagnation.
Brigitte Macron, the president’s wife and a former teacher, has long opposed the use of inclusive writing, describing it as a “barbaric use of syntax.” She also expressed her resistance to pronouns beyond the masculine “il” and the feminine “elle,” asserting that the language is beautiful as it is.
Inclusive writing has faced criticism from some who argue that it makes the language difficult to read for dyslexic individuals. However, dyslexic feminist Géraldine Dubuis suggested that it is not inherently insurmountable and that there is a lack of comprehensive studies on the topic. Dubuis maintained that inclusive writing can enable everyone to feel included in the language’s discourse.