Paris - The arrival of the euro has provoked one of those fierce linguistic debates so enjoyed by the French, writes Lara Marlowe. What should the 11 countries who share the new currency be called?
British and US banks began using "Euro-land" two years ago. As the term crept into French with all the perfidy of "parking" or "weekend", linguistic purists went on the offensive.
"This expression `Euroland' is simply abominable and should be struck from our vocabulary," the Avenir de la langue francaise association said in a letter to Le Monde. The conservative Le Figaro asked its readers to take a stand, and seemed pleased when the majority proved violently hostile. "Have we ever talked about Dollar-land, Sterling-land, Franc-land?" one asked. "So why this term, which reminds us of Disneyland?"
In a tiny minority, the writer Michel Butor said, "I accept the term willingly. Anyway, aren't 60 per cent of the words in English of French origin?"
The left-wing daily Liberation (acute eee) has taken the clearest stand, telling its readers that it has decided to write "Eurolande" with an "e" "like in Finlande or Irlande.