French court removes regulation that allowed Catalan language in plenary sessions

The Administrative Court of Montpellier has annulled a change in regulation that allowed plenary sessions to be conducted in Catalan and translated into French. 

The regulation had been in effect in Elna, Els Banys, Tarerac, Portvendres, and Sant Andreu de Sureda, in an area known as 'Northern Catalonia,' administratively part of Catalonia until the 17th century, but which now forms part of France.

Catalan was previously permitted to be spoken in plenary sessions on the condition that interventions be translated into French.

The court has struck down this change, arguing that the French language is the language of the state as established by the French constitution, and that it cannot be relegated to a language of translation.

The affected councils consider it a "slap" to the language and have announced that they will appeal the decision. 

"We will not act like fools and change the language to make the French happy. Not at all. Residents here should at least understand Catalan language," Maria Costa, Banys mayor, said during a press conference.

The lawyer handling the case, Mateu Pons, assures that despite the court decision, the sentence "implicitly" opens the door to speaking first in French and then translating it into Catalan.

Catalonia "regrets" decision

Patrícia Plaja, spokesperson for the Catalan government, said that the executive "regrets" the decision of the French courts to ban plenary sessions in Catalan.

For the executive, the decision follows "a very restrictive reading of the French Constitution" which also "contradicts the European spirit of respect for plurality."

The government has already sent its support to the heads of the affected councils and has made itself available to the entities that promote the use of Catalan in the institutions and society in Northern Catalonia.

Northern Catalonia

Located just north of the Catalan Pyrenees, Northern Catalonia, now in France, shares a language and culture with its southern neighbors. It has a Catalan soul after being administratively part of Catalonia until the 17th century.

Northern Catalonia is nowadays the département of the Pyrénées-Orientales in France, which has a population of 481,691. 

Of these, 52,829 can write in the Catalan language, according to a survey published by the Catalan government in 2015.

Many more people, 225,445, can understand it, the research found, after interviewing 1,760 people. 

Eight years ago, 47,115 inhabitants used Catalan as their main language, representing 12.7% of the population.

The use of Catalan dates back centuries, as the area was part of Catalonia until the modern era. Spain signed the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659, ceding Northern Catalonia to France, thus putting an end to the Thirty Years’ War.