En Garde/

The French last week declared war on the English language. Worried about the incursions of terms like le whisky and le weekend, the government banned 350 offenders from official usage and urged the French to drop them from everyday currency as well. In place of the Anglicisms, the government proposed French substitutes. Flashback, for example, can be replaced by retrospectif; hit parade will succumb to pal-mares (literally, prize list); one-man show will be rendered spectacle solo; tanker will become navire citerne.

Frenchmen sincerely believe that their language, logical and precise, is the foundation of their civilization. They are especially worried, now that Britain has joined the Common Market, that English, rather than French, will become the primary language of European commerce and technology.

But the French may forget that the Anglo-Americans could engage in that traditional tactic known as la riposte. Comfortably embedded in the English language are many French phrases that could be driven out. In the art of politics, coup d'etat might be replaced by kayo, laissez-faire by leave it alone and chauvinist by superpatriot. In the art of love, soiree would give way to the bash, rendezvous to date and femme fatale to sexpot. As for savoir-faire-cool, man. But then, plus ca change...

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