French language takes some halting steps towards inclusivity

French has always been a much more prescriptive and regulated language than English, and the Académie Française has had a strangle-hold over any innovations and foreign incursions for centuries (at least over "official" French - the language used in the street is a whole other matter). 

However, the winds of change are starting to be felt, albeit gently and haltingly, in the dusty halls of French academe. A recent edict from the French Education Minister (NOT the Académie Française, note) has taken steps to allow the increased feminization and inclusivity of some French words, particularly job titles, in schools, although it drew the line at a more radical practice that has become more popular recently in left-wing circles.

In French, adding an e to the end of a word has the effect of  giving it a feminine slant, and feminists have long complained that many words of power, like dirigeants (leaders) or élus (elected official) are nominally masculine, giving the false impression that those jobs are reserved exclusively for men. 

In recent years, some people have started using the more inclusive, although rather ugly and awkward, construction dirigeant•es and élu•es - that's a middle dot, like a decimal point - similar in some ways to the (equally ugly and awkward) English feminist construction s/he. The powers that be, though, have ruled that this is unacceptable, at least in schools.

As a compromise (or perhaps a sop), though, they are encouraging the use of feminized nouns like présidente, candidate and ambassatrice, in place of président, candidat and ambassadeur, where appropriate, or the use of both (e.g. "le candidat ou la candidate") where either is possible. This is probably the equivalent of the English switch from fireman to firefighter, or chairperson instead of chairman, although perhaps not quite as radical.

Commentators seem to think this is a major concession for the French government to make, even if the more radical feminist front see the banning of the • construction as a hindrance to their cause. And, given the glacial pace at which the French language progresses, they may well be right.