French Set to Replace English as EU’s Working Language

A senior French diplomat said: “Even if we admit that English is a working language and it is commonly practiced, the basis to express oneself in French remains fully in place in the EU institutions."

“We must enrich it, and make it live again so that the French language truly regain ground, and above that, the taste and pride of multilingualism”, Politico reported.

The unnamed diplomat said all high-level meetings of the Council – the body which helps sets the political agenda in Brussels – will be conducted in French instead of English during the six-month presidency.

Notes and minutes will also be “French-first” and the Council will expect all letters from the EU Commission to be in French.

“We will always ask the Commission to send us in French the letters it wishes to address to the French authorities, and if they fail to do so, we will wait for the French version before sending it,” the diplomat said.