Défense de la langue française is a French association whose objective is the defense and promotion of the French language at the national and international level. DLF has received approval from associations for the defense of the French language. Its head office is in Paris.
History Founded in 1958 by Paul CamusPaul Camus (1897-1984), Ingénieur des Arts et Manufactures, journaliste à l'ORTF, secrétaire général fondateur de DLF (1958-1982). Grand-Prix du Rayonnement de la Langue française de l'Académie Française (1966), French Maurice Rat and others, it is the continuation and extension of the "Richelieu Press Circle" created in 1953. by the same Paul Camus with a view to stopping the degradation of language in the press. Among its first supporters were members of the Académie Française (Louis de Broglie, Jean Cocteau, Georges Duhamel, Maurice Genevoix, Édouard Herriot, Alphonse Juin, André Maurois, Jules Romains, André Siegfried) and the grammarians René Georgin and Émile Moussat.
In 1995, in application of the Toubon Law, it received approval from the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Culture as an association for the defense of the French language, which has been renewed every three years since then.Order of 3 May 1995, JORF, No. 111, 12 May 1995, NOR MCCA9500253A.Order of 27 May 1998, JORF, No. 128, 5 June 1998, NOR MCCB9800367A.Order of 25 June 2001, JORF, No. 153, 4 July 2001, NOR MCCG0100377A.Order of 24 May 2004, JORF, No. 137, 15 June 2004, text No. 29, NOR MCCG0400507A.Order of 26 March 2007, JORF, No. 106, 6 May 2007, text No. 14, NOR MCCD0700300A.Order of 14 May 2010, JORF, No. 116, 21 May 2010, text No. 43, NOR MCCB1010769A.Order of 13 May 2013, JORF, No. 121, 28 May 2013, text No. 20, NOR MCCB1310780A.Order of 8 September 2016, JORF, No. 234, 7 October 2016, text No. 36, NOR MCCB1617031A.Order of 14 October 2019, JORF, No. 258, 6 November 2019, text No. 42, NOR MICB1928578A.Order of 19 April 2022, JORF, No. 97, 26 April 2022, text No. 33, NOR MICB2212192A.
Presidents Since its foundation, the association has been chaired by an academic. Its leaders have been Léon Bérard (1958-?), Maurice Genevoix (?), Jean Mistler (?), Jean Dutourd (1989-2009), Angelo Rinaldi (2009-2011), Philippe Beaussant (2011-2016) and Xavier Darcos (from 2016).
Controversies In March 2011, the association awards the Prix Richelieu to Éric Zemmour, despite his conviction the previous month for incitement to racial hatred by the 17th chamber of the Tribunal de Paris. In protest, the president of the association, Angelo Rinaldi, resigns. He is replaced by Philippe Beaussant.
References