Editing Language policy in France (section)

====The debate about the Council of Europe's Charter for Regional or Minority Languages====
In 1999 the Socialist government of [[Lionel Jospin]] signed the [[Council of Europe]]'s European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, but it was not ratified. The [[Constitutional Council of France]] declared that the Charter contains unconstitutional provisions since the Constitution states that the language of the Republic is French.<ref>{{Citation |title=Décision n° 99-412 DC du 15 juin 1999 |url=https://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/decision/1999/99412DC.htm |language=fr |via=Conseil constitutionnel |mode=cs1}}</ref>

The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages is a European [[Treaty|convention]] (ETS 148) adopted in 1992 under the auspices of the Council of Europe to protect and promote historical [[regional language|regional]] and [[minority language|minority]] languages in [[Europe]], ratified and implemented by 25 States, but not by France, {{As of|2014|lc=on}}. The charter contains 98 articles of which signatories must adopt a minimum of 35 (France signed 39).{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}} The signing, and the failure to have it ratified, provoked a public debate in French society over the charter.

More recently, in a letter to several deputies dated 4 June 2015, [[François Hollande]] announced the upcoming filing of a constitutional bill for the ratification of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.<ref>{{Cite news |date=4 June 2015 |title=Vers un projet de loi constitutionnelle pour ratifier la Charte des langues régionales |language=fr |work=[[Le Monde]] |url=https://lemonde.fr/politique/article/2015/06/04/vers-un-projet-de-loi-constitutionnelle-pour-ratifier-la-charte-des-langues-regionales_4647527_823448.html |access-date=1 November 2015}}</ref> On 30 July 2015, the [[Conseil d'État (France)|Council of State]] gave an unfavorable opinion on the charter.<ref>{{Cite news |last=de Montvalon |first=Jean-Baptiste |date=1 August 2015 |title=Nouvel obstacle à la ratification de la Charte des langues régionales |language=fr |work=[[Le Monde]] |url=https://lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/08/01/les-langues-regionales-bientot-reconnues-par-la-constitution_4707451_3224.html |access-date=1 November 2015}}</ref> On 27 October 2015, the [[Senate (France)|Senate]] rejected the draft law on ratification of the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]] driving away the assumption of Congress for the adoption of the constitutional reform which would have given the value and legitimacy to regional languages.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 October 2015 |title=Le Sénat dit non à la Charte européenne des langues régionales |language=fr |work=France Info |url=http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/politique/article/le-senat-rejette-le-projet-de-loi-de-ratification-de-la-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-741405 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030004435/http://www.franceinfo.fr/actu/politique/article/le-senat-rejette-le-projet-de-loi-de-ratification-de-la-charte-europeenne-des-langues-regionales-741405|archive-date=30 October 2015|access-date=1 November 2015}}</ref>