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Notre-Dame sued for English-only translations

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is being sued by French language purists for only translating its signs into English.

Published: 21 March 2023 15:57 CET
Notre-Dame sued for English-only translations
The towers of the Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris in October 2022. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

The group has already succeeded in forcing the Eiffel Tower to add Spanish to its information signs alongside English and French.

The Association for the Defence of the French Language claims that only translating signs into English helps increase the international dominance of that language.

It has French law on its side — an oft-ignored 1994 regulation requires all public buildings to translate all their signs and information into at least two languages.

READ MORE: ‘Right to French’ : When is it illegal to use English in France?

The association filed a complaint against Notre-Dame with a Paris court on Monday, demanding the change.

It says the Eiffel Tower agreed in November to add Spanish after it threatened similar legal action.

Many of the panels explaining the ongoing reconstruction of Notre-Dame following a devastating fire in 2019 are written in French and English.

“If there is a foreign language, it is always Anglo-American,” bemoaned the association’s spokesman Louis Maisonneuve (speaking, of course, in French).

He insisted on differentiating “Anglo-American” from English, and says it is always the first choice of French authorities — for instance in the use of “downtown” instead of “city centre”.

“The law protects French because it promotes linguistic pluralism,” Maisonneuve said.

The association is targeting 20 other public bodies, including the national post office over the name of its banking service, “Ma French Bank”.

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PARIS

Blades of Paris landmark Moulin Rouge windmill collapse

The blades of the Moulin Rouge windmill, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris, collapsed during the night, firefighters said on Thursday, just months before the French capital hosts the Olympics.

Published: 25 April 2024 08:07 CEST
Blades of Paris landmark Moulin Rouge windmill collapse

There was no risk of further collapse, Paris firefighters said. The reason for the accident was not yet known.

“Fortunately this happened after closing,” a Moulin Rouge official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“Every week, the  cabaret’s technical teams check the windmill mechanism and did not note any problems,” the source said, adding that there was no more information on the reason for the collapse.

“It’s the first time that an accident like this has happened since” the cabaret first opened its doors on October 6, 1889, the source said.

Images on social media showed the blade unit lying on the street below, with some of the blades slightly bent from the apparent fall.

The Moulin Rouge cabaret, with its distinctive red windmill blades, is located in northern Paris and is one of the most visited landmarks in the city.

Known as the birthplace of the modern dance form the can-can, it opened its doors in October 1889 at the foot of the Montmartre hill.

It quickly became a hit and a stop to look at its facade or catch a show inside is a must-do on most tourists’ lists of things to do in the French capital.

The accident will add to concerns of whether Paris, one of the most visited cities in the world, is ready to host the thousands more that will descent during July-August for the Olympic Games.

The only serious accident the landmark has endured was a fire that erupted during works in 1915, which forced the venue to close for nine years.

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