In France, Accents Are Now Protected by Law
A groundbreaking new rule aims to let people speak freely and without fear of discrimination.
April 2, 2021
Equality campaigners hope the law will be a significant step forward in combating accent bias, which has blocked careers in prominent fields like academia, broadcasting and politics — as well as daily life. “It impacts access to housing, healthcare, education, jobs,” says Philippe Blanchet, a linguist at the University of Rennes who coined the term “glottophobia” (he was born in Marseille but has lived in Brittany for 30 years — both areas with strong accents that have influenced his unique tone). “It’s very spread throughout society.”
In recent years — particularly since the incident involving Mélenchon — glottophobia has been the subject of growing awareness in France and has led a number of public figures to speak out about how they have been shamed for their accents.
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