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France pushes to make French official EU language after Brexit
The government of France is plotting to make French the official ‘working’ language of the European Union when it takes over the Council Presidency in 2022 after Brexit.
A senior French diplomat who disclosed this on Tuesday, said President Emmanuel Macron’s government is planning to use its first presidency since Brexit to push its native tongue as the “lingua franca” of Brussels.
The diplomat told Politico that though English has long been used as EU’s official language, Macron wants to push the French language to replace it m.
“Even if we admit that English is a working language and it is commonly practiced, the basis to express oneself in French remains fully in place in the EU institutions.
“We must enrich it, and make it live again so that the French language truly regains ground, and above that, the taste and pride of multilingualism.”
He added that all high-level meetings of the Council which has the responsibility of setting political agenda for the Union, will be conducted in French instead of English during the six-month presidency.
Read also: Macron seeks forgiveness for France’s role in Rwanda genocide
“Notes and minutes will also be “French-first” and the Council will expect all letters from the EU Commission to be in French.
“We will always ask the Commission to send us in French the letters it wishes to address to the French authorities, and if they fail to do so, we will wait for the French version before sending it,” the diplomat said.
France’s presidency from January to June next year is the first stint in charge of the Council since 2008, when Nicolas Sarkozy was president.
By Isaac Dachen…
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