Overview
- In a December 31 decision disclosed this week, the Conseil d’État rejected Francophonie Avenir’s appeal and validated two Paris City Hall plaques reading “conseiller·e·s” and “président·e·s.”
- The court reasoned that abbreviated forms reflecting feminine and masculine variants fall within admissible French usage and do not, by themselves, convey a political message or breach administrative neutrality.
- The Académie française issued a formal protest, condemning points médians as harmful to readability and to the language’s patrimonial dimension.
- Constitutional specialists caution that the ruling is case-specific and does not establish a general rule, as some lawmakers advance bills to prohibit inclusive forms in public space.
- Local practices remain uneven, with Paris acting on a 2017 municipal vote and Lyon using inclusive forms since 2020, while debates persist over accessibility and reading research that offers mixed, often nuanced findings.