How do you say Twitter and Facebook in French? You don’t! At least if you are on TV or radio, where bring them up is banned unless they are specifically part of the story. Actually, a 1992 decree says that mentioning such services by name is an act of advertising.
French anchors should say “Find us on social network” instead of “Follow us on Facebook or Twitter”. This measure is impotent because it won’t stop the viewer from going on Facebook and Twitter, it will only make it harder. This is one of the reasons why Matthew Fraser said in his blog “Anglo-Saxons who live in France, as I do, constantly struggle with the puzzling paradox in a society universally admired for its splendid “joie de vivre” – yet infamous for its oppressive bureaucratic culture of legalistic codes and decrees.”
You are probably wondering how the French government justify this reform. Christine Kelly, France’s Audiovisual Council, said, “Why give preference to Facebook, which is worth billions of dollars, when there are other social networks that are struggling for recognition? This would be a distortion of competition. If we allow Facebook and Twitter to be cited on air, it’s opening a Pandora’s box. Other social networks will complain to us, saying, ‘Why not us?’.” She added that “the authority was not seeking to block the networks, only to foster fairer practices. We encourage the use of social networks … Perhaps one day Facebook will become a generic term, but for the moment it is a commercial enterprise – a leading one, certainly, but not the only one.”
Can you imagine this measure in U.K or America? Everyone would protest to have it abolished. In France, there was scarcely any reaction from media. No stupefaction, no outrage in the mainstream press. However some bloggers and journalists have ventured into a more detailed analysis.
Some commentators have suggested the ban is another effort to control the influence of Anglo-Saxon cultural influences, particularly those seen as encouraging the use of English. Are French holding their language and culture in perhaps too high esteem?
Few days ago French President Nicolas Sarkozy (400 000 fans on Facebook) met with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. But Pierre Haskim, the editor of the online French daily Rue 89, says that beyond that celebrity moment, France is showing itself as “out of touch” thanks to the new law.
On the radio France Inter, journalists in the studio wisecracked on air over what they called a ludicrous law.
Loic Le Meur, French who moved to Silicon Valley, is close from the government as he participated to the web politician campaign of Sarkozy in 2007. However he said on Twitter: “French regulation forbids TV networks to say Facebook or Twitter? My country is screwed…”