In parliament, the press and the academy, France is bitterly divided over whether its universities should be allowed to teach courses in English. However, recent findings show that the use of English is widespread in French higher education, suggesting that the intense debate has been overtaken by events.

On May 28, the French National Assembly passed a Bill to reform higher education, paving the way for greater university autonomy and changes in governance. But Article 2 of the legislation, which concerns courses in foreign languages, has provoked uproar among politicians and academics. Under current legislation known as the Toubon Law, all university courses must be taught in French, with exceptions for language and so-called ‘international’ courses.

The new legislation, set to be examined by the Senate this summer, does not scrap the Toubon Law but extends the exceptions. Under the provision, universities will be able to run courses in English if they have agreements with foreign institutions or are part of European higher education programmes.

Pierre Tapie, president of the business school ESSEC and head of the Conference des Grandes Écoles, which represents France’s elite institutions, says the reform is a step in the right direction. “English is the language of globalisation, much like Latin was during the Middle Ages,” he says. “International students should be given the opportunity to study in France and the French need to progress in English. It means less and less to say that the English language threatens the use of French. Some people, however, perceive globalisation as a threat and associate English with it.”

Many academics and politicians nevertheless accuse the government of failing to defend the French language. The Academie Francaise, the country’s pre-eminent learned body on matters pertaining to the la belle langue, has called for the Bill to be shelved.

However, recent findings show the majority of French researchers are already using English on a regular basis and believe it to be the key to academic success. According to a recent report by INED, the French National Institute for Demographic Studies, 83 percent of academics admit that English dominates their area of research. Around 25 percent give classes in the tongue from time to time or on a regular basis, it adds.

Francois Heran, director of research at INED and the report’s author, says the findings show the row is irrelevant. “The debate on the use of English is obsolete and it is largely dominated by literary researchers and the Academie Francaise,” says Heran. “Their point of view is very narrow and not applicable to the rest of French academia.”

The INED report also shows a change in mentality in recent years. While 67 percent of researchers born prior to 1955 think that using English contributes to Anglo-American cultural dominance, the ratio drops to 40 percent for researchers born after 1980.

Many think the change in legislation will better equip French universities to compete on the global stage and attract the best international students.

(Excerpted and adapted from Times Higher Education)