Former GG Michaelle Jean urges French presence at the Olympics

[Michaelle Jean was chosen as the secretary-general of the International Organization of la Francophonie in 2014. Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press]

They take place in all corners of the world. Victories are celebrated in hundreds of different mother tongues.

But the official language of the Olympic Games is French and it’s the job of former governor general Michaelle Jean, now secretary-general of the International Organization of la Francophonie, to monitor use of le francais at the Rio Games.

She has not been terribly happy.

“The French language sacrificed in Rio,” blared a headline from La Presse.

“Where is the French in Rio?” asked the Journal de Montreal.

Jean has called it “disappointing.”

“The modern Olympic Games were created in French and our language has had for many years a priority place as the first official language of International Olympic Committee, ahead even of English, as stipulated in rule No. 23 of the Olympic Charter,” she tells Yahoo Canada News in an email exchange on the eve of the closing ceremonies.

In practice, the IOC requires organizing committees for all games to treat both official languages of the Games equally in all principle communications, including websites and main signage.

The founder of the modern Olympic Games, Pierre de Coubertin, was French, so French became the official language of the event.

But the ubiquity of English as the language of common commerce has pushed le francais to the wayside.

Since 2004, la Francophonie has appointed a “Great Witness” to monitor the French language presence at the Games.

In Rio, where Brazilians speak Portuguese and English has become the default that bridges the constant language divide, the French presence is lacking.

Jean says it’s important that the tradition is recognized.

“The Olympic Games are the international event that today brings together the largest number of nations, more than 200 for the Summer Games,” she says.
“It is by its excellence the most important meeting place and expression of the diversity of humanity.”

There are 16,000 athletes in Rio living together in the Olympic Village, she says.

“How could we imagine that they could be welcomed, cared for, educated in a single language, as suggested by the proponents of monolingualism?” Jean says.

Linguistic and cultural diversity is our common future, she says.

“It is a matter of international democracy and the Olympics are no exception,” she says. “It is also a question of consistency with Olympic values and the spirit of solidarity, openness to others so they can inspire us.”

It’s not just in principle, Jean says.

She points out that there are 3,000 athletes in Rio from 77 French-speaking nations.

“There is a need in everyday life,” she says.

It is no secret that Rio organizers struggled to be ready for the Games. There was political chaos and there were budget woes.

Jean says la Francophonie, of which Canada is a member, is not the “policeman of the French language.”

Rather, it is a partner to the Olympic movement and has a good relationship with the International Olympic Committee, she says.

La Francophonie has been monitoring French at the Games since Athens in 2004.

“Each Olympic edition is organized in a specific political, economic and financial situation with varying means.

“We try to adapt to each situation while remaining committed and attentive that the role of French and linguistic diversity are taken into account.”

That commitment shouldn’t just be to French or English or, in Rio, to Portuguese, she says.

“During the games, the services are not only available in French and English, or Portuguese as in Rio, but often also in eight, fifteen or nearly twenty languages,” Jean says.

“Our commitment for the future must be that of linguistic diversity and it is in this sense that we have already started working with the OCOG Pyeongchang in 2018.”