France’s biometric identity cards, which were brought into use in August, have got the Académie Francaise – which upholds the French language – in a hissy fit.
The cards contain a microchip, a QR code and the holder’s name, place and date of birth, nationality, photograph and signature. All the words are in French and… (whisper it) English. According to the European regulation of 20 June 2019, only the card’s title – that is, the words ‘Identity card’ – need to be translated into at least one other language, but the Académie is up in arms about the entire card having as much English as French on it and has asked the French Prime Minister Jean Castex to have this rectified.
All the rest of the EU countries have also opted for English as the second language for their cards’ title, though some, such as Italy and Poland, have gone the whole hog and translated all the words into English as well. Germany has even gone one step further, translating their entire ID cards into both English and French.
