Jacobins, regionalists and the Council of Europe's Charter for Regional and Minority Languages

This paper charts the recent debates in France in response to the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages which, if ratified and implemented, would grant limited protection to minority regional languages there. Even though the consequences of ratifying and implementing the Charter in France are largely minimal, its potential adoption has nonetheless generated considerable controversy and opposition. This has resulted in the process of ratification and implementation being stalled at this present time. The paper charts the tenor and substance of the debates surrounding the fate of the Charter. It argues that much of the opposition to the Charter rests on France's long-standing Jacobin commitment to cultural and linguistic homogeneity - itself the product of the French Revolution - and a related, almost visceral fear of minority languages.