We whisper it louder and louder.
Emmanuel Macron is in the process of appointing a woman to the post of Prime Minister.
If so, what will it take to address her?
“Madam Prime Minister”
?
“Madam Prime Minister”
?
With the increasingly frequent feminization of trade titles, approved but not imposed by the French Academy, the question is legitimate.
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The new generations prefer the differentiation between male and female
There are many forms of feminization.
In its Report on the feminization of trade and function names, the French Academy notes a great wavering between uses.
Some speakers maintain the masculine form with the masculine article.
They would say in our case:
“the Prime Minister”
, even if it is a woman.
Others add the feminine article to a masculine noun and would therefore say:
"the Prime Minister"
.
It should be noted that for a long time,
"women made do with masculine designations (...) because they were keen to mark, in the designation of their profession, equality of competence and merit with men"
, recall the academicians.
This is less and less the case today, the new generations preferring names that differentiate men from women.
Far from enacting feminization rules for job names, the French Academy observes usage.
In this regard, the feminization of the responsibilities entrusted to the top of the State has taken place naturally.
The first way to speak of a female minister is to say
“the minister”
.
At the same time, we can therefore, in the event of the appointment of a woman to the post of Prime Minister, assume that
“Prime Minister”
will prevail
“as easily in French as “Chancellor””
, note the wise men.
Proof that habits evolve, Edith Cresson, the first and only woman who led a government (under the second seven-year term of François Mitterrand), held in her time to the male form.
"Mr. Prime Minister"
was according to her the only name that marked the degree of elevation of this load.
No obligation
There is therefore no obligation to say
"Madam Prime Minister"
, the French Academy refusing to impose anything, provided that
"the fundamental rules of the language and spirit of French law"
are respected.
If Emmanuel Macron therefore chooses a woman, will she want us to address her by saying
“Madam Prime Minister”
?
For some time now, when a woman is mayor or deputy, she is commonly called
"madame la mayor"
, or
"madame la deputy"
(the name remains in the masculine).
The Larousse specifies that the use of the word
“minister”
in the feminine is
“now allowed in France, even in formal use”
.
He cites as examples:
“Mme the Minister of Defence”
and
“The Minister of the Budget”
.
Same observation in Le Robert, which accepts
"Madame laMinister"
and
"Minister of National Education"
.
Leaving the choice to feminize or not the titles of trades is conducive to some algarades.
In October 2021, a small scandal resonated between the walls of the National Assembly.
Barbara Pompili, then Minister for the Ecological Transition, was indignant against the deputy Julien Aubert (Les Républicains), who had called her on several occasions
"Madame le Minister"
.
But in the absence of an official framework on the feminization of these job names, it is impossible to prohibit the use of the masculine.
Like feminine.
