Regional and minority languages in France: Policies of homogenization or a move toward heterogeneity? A case study on Francoprovençal

It has been argued that France has long viewed its regional and minority languages (RMLs) with an “unusual intolerance.” France’s one-language-one-nation ideology is enshrined in Article 2 of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic: “La langue de la République est le français.” This article presents an overview of France’s political stance toward RMLs, highlighting the homogenizing tendencies that have predominated for centuries. However, in examining a case study on Francoprovençal, this article argues that cracks are beginning to emerge in this long-established tradition.