So ridiculous
24 mars 2006, par Jean Dubois
At the EU Spring summit yesterday, Jacques Chirac has shown one more time to all of Europe that he was one of the most ridiculous French presidents ever. When Ernest-Antoine Seillières took the floor and started to address the European Council in English, he asked him why he was not speaking French. Seillières answered that English was the « accepted business language of Europe today ». Chirac and the rest of the French delegation left the room. Later, Chirac said that « you cannot build the world of the future on just one language and, hence one culture ». Well, you cannot build the world of the future when you are an outdated chauvinistic leader that can offer nothing else to France than mediocrity. You cannot expect people to speak French and to love the French culture when you ridicule France each day with a pretentious and patronizing attitude toward the rest of Europe.
Ernest-Antoine Seillières, formerly at the head of MEDEF, is now the president of UNICE, the Union of Industrial and Employers’ Confederations of Europe. He is no longer representing French companies, he is defending the interests of companies from all European countries. The least you can expect from him is to speak a language that is largely shared by his constituencies. He is also right in pointing out that English is the « accepted business language of Europe today ». There is nothing shocking about a European lobbyist addressing the EU Council in English. One could think that a French official should always speak French in an official meeting. But Ernest-Antoine Seillières was not a French official when he spoke on the behalf of UNICE.
Moreover, the rule of speaking French when you are a French official is also questionable. There are many languages in Europe, not all of them are « official languages » in the European institutions and even less are practically used. Germany is a country as big and important as France. But German leaders or representatives do not speak German in official meetings. Most of the time they speak English or to please the French and to highlight the Franco-German solidarity they address the audience in French. There is no childish attitude in Germany as regard to the dominance of the English language. It is simply a fact. English is now the common language of most people in the world, the easier way to communicate and to work together. There is no point in playing Don Quichotte and fighting windmills. It is too late for France to try to impose French as an alternative universal language.
It does not mean that we will soon have to speak English or that French will disappear. Somehow, it is very bad for English to be the world language, as it is not the most refined and correct English that is spoken worldwide but an altered version that is sometimes referred to as « globish ». There will be in the future a coexistence of many languages and one can expect Chinese or other languages to become more popular and widespread. If France still wants to pursue an universal destiny for its cherished language, the best it can do is to try to build a strong French culture as it was the case in the past. People loved the French culture when it had something to offer to the rest of the world. It is such a shame for France to be an outdated 19th century nationalist country at the outset of the 21st century. Maybe Jacques Chirac should understand that the main reason why French culture and French language are no longer strong is that we are now a close-minded and backward country instead of a generous Nation promoting universal values.
26 mars 2006 at 9:28
There is no egalitarianism in the french argument about language. French nationalists claim for some kind of polycentrism or, more precisely, bicentrism. They don’t dream of a world speaking 150 different languages, but of a world speaking 2 languages, among which the French (because they are too realistic to dream of a full french-speaking world). That is to say, they ask roumanian people to care for French more than french people care for Roumanian.