The French government has made it clear what it thinks of so-called “inclusive writing”, an attempt to make French grammar more gender equal and less macho by putting the feminine AND masculine forms of nouns in the text.
French Prime Mininister Edouard Philippe has waded into the row over inclusive writing for the first time and made it clear where the government stands by telling ministers he doesn't want to see it in official texts.
“State administrations must comply with grammatical and syntactic rules, especially for reasons of intelligibility and clarity,” said Philippe to justify his decision.
His intervention echoed that of one his predecessors Jean-Marc Ayrault who famously told his ministers to stop using English.
A move towards “inclusive writing” has been dominating headlines in France recently ever since the Academie Francais – the guardians of the French – issued a “solemn warning” stating that moves to make French less sexist were an “aberration”.
- OPINION: The French language isn't sexist, it's the people who speak it
- French PM to ministers: Stop using English
