Go ahead, have a cheeseburger, France's Constitutional Council said Saturday.
The agency that monitors the constitutionality of laws wasn't ruling on nutrition, but on linguistics. Its decision substantially weakens a new law meant to stop the invasion of foreign words into the French language.The law barred the use of English words in broadcasting, advertising and science. But the council ruled that encroaches on "the fundamental liberty of thought and expression" guaranteed by the constitution.
"The French language, like any living language, evolves," the council said in its ruling.
The law would, for instance, have forced advertisers to offer a "hamburger au fromage" instead of a cheeseburger.
Under the weakened version of the law, a sports announcer now can choose between talking about "un corner" for corner shot and a "jet de coin," a council spokesman said at a news conference. A "sponsor" doesn't have to be called a "parrain," and a "bande video promotionelle" won't have to replace a video "clip."
The council made exceptions to the law's requirement that French translations be provided in foreign-language broadcasting, advertising, public notices, job applications and consumer information.
The council said the media can still use "Franglais" words for which the government's Dictionary of Official Terms has found French equivalents. But it upheld the section affecting government officials or employees, citing Article 2 of the constitution stipulating that "the language of the republic is French."
Martin Malvy, president of the Socialist caucus in Parliament that challenged the law, called the ruling "good news for democracy and for the French-speaking world," which he said "needs more writing than gendarmes."
The office of conservative Prime Minister Edouard Balladur insisted in a statement that "the essential parts of the law have not been affected" by the ruling.
But Balladur, traveling in Africa, voiced concern that "there are many foreign terms in the French language. The essential problem of a nation is to defend its personality and its culture."
A member of the Academie Francaise, official defenders of the French language, worried of "an invasion of barbaric words."
"When the language is in danger, the country is in danger," author and academician Jean Dutourd said on radio station Europe-1.
Fines of $3,700 have been proposed for some violations of the law. Other punishments have yet to be spelled out.