The phrase in question - supply chain, rather than the French version chaîne logistique - has prompted one pressure group to bring legal action against France's post office, under the law intended to protect the French language against the spread of anglicisms.
The loi Toubon – named after the French Minister of Culture at the time, who was famously quoted saying “the right to French is a fundamental right” – was passed in 1994 in an effort to keep the French language a “fundamental element of the personality and heritage of France”.
It regulates and requires the use of French in education, work, trade, and public services.
It is mostly used as a legal stop on the use of franglais in the public space, but covers use of all languages and aims to preserve French and give every French person the ‘right to be informed’ in French.
As well as the law, numerous bodies exist to protect the language from encroaching English – from the Ministry of Culture, and the Académie Française, as well as pressure group the Association Francophonie Avenir, which has form for bringing lawsuits against French businesses that break the rules of loi Toubon.
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The Association has La Poste in its sights over the use of the term ‘supply chain’, without any French translation, on some of its delivery vans, particularly on its commercial business delivery Log’issimo fleet.
A simple internet search reveals that La Poste is not the only business operating in France to use the English phrase ‘supply chain’, a common term in the logistics sector.
But the Association argues this violates one of loi Toubon’s key articles, which states: “Any inscription or announcement affixed or made on public roads, in a place open to the public, or on public transportation and intended to inform the public must be written in the French language.”
Another article in the same law states: “When inscriptions or notices referred to in the preceding article, affixed or made by public-law legal entities or private individuals performing a public service mission, are subject to translation, there must be at least two translations.”
The use of English words or phrases in advertising is becoming increasingly common, but these should always be accompanied by a translation in French - usually in much smaller text at the bottom of the advert.
In a legal filing made to the Administrative Court this week, the Association said that La Poste – despite efforts to resolve the issue amicably – was in breach of both articles, and pointed out that the English-language term ‘supply chain’ has an officially approved French equivalent – chaîne logistique.
In theory failing to respect the law can result in a fine - typically fixed at €135 - with the maximum penalty of €3,750. But it is rare for the penalty to actually be applied.
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