The French language watchdog has advised government officials to use French gaming terms rather than English ones.
According to the Académie Française, “jeu video de compétition” should replace “e-sports,” and “streamer” should be replaced by “joueur-animateur en direct.”
According to the French culture ministry, Anglicisms are a “barrier to understanding.”
However, gamers have slammed the ban, with one calling it “completely pointless.”
France frequently warns of the “debasement” of its language by imported English words.
Other official translations include “jeu video en nuage” for “cloud gaming”.
Cardinal Richelieu established the Académie Française in 1635 as the official custodian of the French language.
The forty Académie members even have their own heavily embroidered uniform, complete with ceremonial sword – an outfit that wouldn’t be out of place in a game like Assassin’s Creed Unity from 2014.
The institution has long fought against the infiltration of English words into French, which technology has frequently encouraged.
However, as the news site Thelocal.fr pointed out, a previous attempt to replace “le wifi” with “l’accès sans fil à internet” failed.
