La plume de ma tante...

One can have some sympathy with President Chirac in his attempts to maintain the status of the French language and to fight against the hegemony of English, but it is, I'm afraid, rather like Canute trying to hold back the tide. I can't help but feel that much of the problem, historically, lies with the Académie Française and its insistence over the years in attempting to maintain the "purity" of the French language. One of the reasons English has been so successful - apart from being the language of the USA - is that it absorbs words and ideas from other languages like a sponge. It's a mongrel language, with minimal grammar, and an ever changing vocabulary. It is capable of being all things to all people - that is its strength. The French language sees itself as a thing of beauty, with heavy reliance on correct grammar, and - if the Académie had its way - with a strictly controlled vocabulary. That is its weakness.