France has banned the use of gender-neutral language in official documents, cheering defenders of linguistic tradition and angering feminists who see it as a setback for equal rights.
Word declensions in the highly regularized French language mean the ending of many words signals whether they refer to men or women, and so-called inclusive writing had been used to get around this and make some words gender-neutral.
But in a memo to ministers Tuesday, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe banned inclusive writing, saying: "In official documents, the masculine is a neutral form that should be used for terms applicable to women as well as men."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.