Mauritania denies banning French from parliament
Mauritania’s parliament has denied accusations by French international broadcaster RFI that the country’s National Assembly has banned deputies from using French in the chamber.
The Assembly posted its denial, in French, on its official website.
“The report has no basis. French has never been banned... in fact deputies expressed themselves in that language most eloquently at the last plenary session... and French along with Arabic remains a language of written communication for the laws, documents and correspondence of the National Assembly," the statement says.
The RFI report quoted the Chairman of the National Assembly, Cheikh Ould Baya, telling the previous session of parliament that “a speech in French no longer makes sense here in the Assembly, as you have four languages in which to address Mauritanians as provided for in the Assembly”.
The four languages to which Mr Ould Baya referred are Arabic, the only official language, and the three indigenous languages that enjoy ‘national status’ in Mauritania. These are Pulaar, Soninké and Wolof.
The French language has no official status in the country but is still widely used as an international communal language, especially in the media and business.
The online statement clarified that Mr Ould Baya had meant that speeches in the National Assembly would no longer be simultaneously translated into French, because the interpreting service “can no longer cover more than four languages”.
Senior parliamentary official Sid’Ahmed Ould Saleh confirmed this, telling RFI that it was no longer technically possible to translate French but that deputies “can and will always be able to speak in French”.
Nevertheless, opposition party Rassemblement des Forces Democratiques (RFD) has criticised the restriction on the use of the French language as a “demagogic measure that does not serve the national interest”, and called for a reassessment.
RFD also called the move a “serious attack on national cohesion”.
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