The Académie de la Carpette anglaise, which may be translated as the "English Doormat Academy" (the word carpette means both "rug" and "fawner"), is a French organisation that awards an annual prize to "members of the French
élite who distinguish themselves by relentlessly promoting the domination of the
English language over the
French language in France and in
European institutions." Whether admired or despised for its
tongue-in-cheekrhetoric, the Academy has captured the attention of many in the French-speaking world who genuinely fear that the growing pervasiveness of English will lead to the decline and ultimate demise of French.
The Academy was created in 1999 by a group of four French-language associations.[1] In 2001 a second award was introduced to spotlight "key figures and constituent bodies among the European and international
nomenklatura who actively conspire to promote the use of English within European and international institutions". As one member of the Academy put it, its aim is "to reward all those obscure geniuses (...) who are only too ready to say: 'Welcome to our dearly beloved invaders!' as Ceramix proudly proclaimed in the album Asterix and the Big Fight."[2] Like the
Ig Nobel Prize, the English Doormat Award heaps ridicule on its recipients.
2000:
Alain Richard, French
Minister of Defence, for making it compulsory for French military personnel to speak English within the
Eurocorps, which has no English-speaking nations among its members.
2003: The
HEC Group, whose general manager, Bernard Ramanantsoa, declared: "To say that French is an international language of communication is laughable in this day and age."
2004: Claude Thélot, president of the Commission for National Debate on the Future of Schools, for declaring that English as a language of international communication should enjoy equal status with French in the school curriculum, and for recommending that undubbed American soaps should be broadcast on French television as an aid to learning English. Another nominee was Claude Simonet, president of the
French Football Federation, who adopted the
Jackson 5's hit "
Can You Feel It" as the anthem of the French team.
2005:
France Telecom, the telephone company run by
Didier Lombard, for putting in place services and products with English descriptions (Business Talk, Live-Zoom, Family Talk...). This entry defeated, by a vote of eight to four, the entry for
Yves Daudigny, president of the consul-general for the
département of
Aisne, for his publicity campaign "L'Aisne, it's Open".
2006: The
Constitutional Council of France for its "numerous violations of article 2 of the Constitution which establishes French as the language of the French Republic" and for having "confirmed the
London Protocol on patents as consistent with the Constitution, allowing a text in English or German to have legal effect in France."
2007:
Christine Lagarde, Minister of Economy, for having communicated at times with her staff in English, to the point that, Le Canard enchaîné revealed, it allegedly earned her the nickname of "Christine the Guard".
2008:
Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher Education and Research, for saying that the French language was in decline and that the taboo of English in EU institutions, as well as in French universities, had to be broken, to make intensive education in that language compulsory (which notably goes against the
Élysée Treaty of 1963).[4]
2010:
Martine Aubry, first Secretary of the French
Socialist Party, for her use of English slogans such as "Care" and "What Would Jaurès Do?"
2011:
Jean-François Copé, general Secretary of the French party
Union for a Popular Movement, for his vigorous promotion of English in schools from kindergarten to universities and his desire to make the Anglicisation of public television a party platform in the 2011 presidential elections.
2013:
Guillaume Pepy, president of
SNCF, for the "Smiles, the TGV Family and other linguistic mediocrities" and the proposal of "English classes only, in his Champagne's trains".
2013 (exceptional award):
Geneviève Fioraso,
minister for Higher Education and Research, because just like Valérie Pécresse ("doormatted" in 2008) and despite several warnings, she rendered legal the article 2 of her bill for English teaching by keeping it.
2015:
Alexandre de Juniac, CEO of Air-France-KLM, for the advertisement campaign "Air France, France is in the air", replacing the elegant commercial « Faire du ciel le plus bel endroit de la terre » (Making of the Sky the prettiest place on Earth).
2016: Anne-Florence Schmitt, director of the editorial board of Madame Figaro, for the constant abuse of anglicisms and bogus English, in that magazine targeted for a large feminine public.
2017:
Anne Hidalgo, mayor of Paris, for using English as the main language of communication of the City of Paris.[6]
2018: Olivier Schrameck, President of the
Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel, for refusing to enforce the rules on the use of the French language in radio and television.[7]
2019:
La Banque postale, for its mobile banking product entitled "Ma French Bank" and the related advertising.[8]
2022:
Emmanuel Macron, President, for his numerous violations of the Constitution, Article 2 of which provides that “French is the language of the Republic of France”.[10]
Winners of the special Jury Award
2001:
Lego, the
Danish toy company, for showcasing its products in English, in France and all over the world, with slogans such as "Explore being me", "Explore together", "Explore logic" and "Explore imagination."
2002:
Romano Prodi, president of the
European Commission, for defying community rules by never missing an opportunity to promote English as the one and only language for labelling food products and negotiating with other European countries.
2007: The police of
Geneva, for an advertisement United Police of Geneva (title in English).
2008:
Eurostat, the Statistical Service of the European Commission, for giving up German and French to broadcast since April 2008 its publication Statistiques en bref in English only.