I’m unaware of what the French did. Did they ban English in publications as well for the “purity” of the French langauge?
Yeah. It was a few decades ago. Of course it’s difficult to ban the language of the folks who invented almost everything.
In the 90’s the French didn’t like how english words were creeping ino taily use, words like mouse, re-boot ect.. so they forced everyone to use french words. Also french TV has mandated french content, to avoid american shows from taking over the airwaves.. If you’ve seen the shows on Telemundo with 50 yr old hosts treating women like crap... welcome to French TV prime time
The French Government established the “Academie Francaise” about two hundred and fifty years ago. They stocked it with the leading intellectuals of the day, including Voltaire, Montesqieu, and even a few Americans. Their mission was to protect the purity of the French language.
There’s nothing new in history. The French have been uppity for centuries.
/English is a living language, made up of German, Latin, French, and Greek elements. Anglophones, people that speak primarily English, make up more new words each year than all other language-speakers combined. There are economic reasons for “English First,” but no historical/cultural ones beyond fear of change.