The Eiffel Tower, 300 meters high, was inaugurated in 1889 and is a symbol of French culture / Photo: Archive.
The signs that guide the ascent to the Eiffel Tower They will include indications in Castilian Spanish in addition to those already existing in English and French.after having accepted the request of an association that fights against the exclusive bilingualism of those two languages and that is now preparing a similar demand for the Notre Dame cathedral and 20 other public entities.
The Association for the Defense of the French Language filed an appeal before the administrative court of Paris, on the occasion of International Francophonie Day, to include Spanish on the information posters of the emblematic iron monument erected in 1889, according to the AFP agency.
The promoters of the initiative want to combat a generalization of English as a universal language
“We threatened them with a lawsuit. It took a year. They made little by little progress but eventually they changed everything to add Spanish” in November 2022, explained to AFP the spokesman for the Association, Louis Maisonneuve.
Ley Toubon
The Association for the Defense of the French Language invoked the Toubon law of August 4, 1994, which obliges the French authorities, when translating public information, to do so in at least two foreign languages.
“The interesting thing about the Toubon law is that it does not grant primacy to the Anglo-American,” explained the promoters of the initiative.
The promoters of the idea they want to combat what they consider a generalization of English as a universal language in all areas of French society, a claim that perhaps covers up the old rivalries that the Gauls maintain with Saxon culture.
The Notre Dame Cathedral could also incorporate Spanish into its signage / Photo: Archive.
On Parisian public means of transport, it is common to hear announcements in French and English and, according to the law, in languages such as Spanish, Italian, German or Japanese, but this is not always reflected on the billboards.
With the goal of the Eiffel Tower fulfilled, the organization goes for its next challenge: oblige the public entity in charge of the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral to change the descriptive posters of the works, which only appear in French and English. They also prepare lawsuits against 20 other public entities.
