The language war: French vs English in France

A diplomat has recently stated that French President Emmanuel Macron is drawing up plans for French to replace English as the official “working language” of the European Union when France takes over the presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2022. (Currently, English is the 'working language' of the EU and is used in high-level meetings between representatives from across the bloc's 27 member states.)  Well, replacing English with French was not well received by everyone in the EU, however.  One diplomat said: “It could divide."  Other comments were: "Some are afraid of missing something because their French is not very good" and "We are so used to English.“  Replacing English with French in the EU sounds like a tall order for France accomplish during its six month term as President of the Council of the European Union!

So, what about at home?  What is the French government doing to promote the use of the French language in France in the meantime?  Well, Paris now requires that all official documents and meetings be held in French.  And, a French diplomat recently said, "We will always ask the Commission to send us in French the letters it wishes to send to the French authorities, and if they do not do so, we will wait for the French version before sending it."  

So how about a little reality check?  From what we have observed, M Macron is facing an uphill battle on the homefront.  Here are just a few examples we see in Lyon:

It seems that every time we come we see more English words.  We have heard that English is now the preferred language taught in schools, after French, of course.   And, cashiers and others we meet casually seem to love to try out their English with us.  Time will tell how successful France will be in having the French use only French.  We're taking bets, and we're betting "not a chance!"