And journalist Bernard Pivot, a respected figure in French cultural circles, has argued that the measure could sound the death knell for what locals fondly call “the language of Moliere”.
“If we allow English to be introduced into our universities and for teaching science and the modern world, French will be vandalised and become poorer,” he said.
“It will turn into a commonplace language, or worse, a dead language.”
France has for decades zealously propagated the use of French both at home and abroad through cultural institutions and the French-speaking Francophonie bloc of nations.
But despite this, the use of English has made rapid inroads in France.
Many youths now respond to telephone calls with an energetic “Yes?” in place of the traditional “allo” or “oui”.
English is seen more and more in graffiti in Paris and “franglais” – the use of English words when speaking French – is also gaining ground.
A survey released Wednesday also revealed that a large majority of French scientists currently conduct their research and teach in English.
“The current debate does not take into account the reality at all,” said Francois Heran, who conducted the research between 2007 and 2009, questioning nearly 2,000 laboratory directors and almost 9,000 researchers.
“The reality is that there are whole areas of international science where French is already marginalised.”
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