This is the end of a legal drama that has long agitated Brittany and well beyond. On January 23, 2026, the Ministry of Justice sent a general instruction to public prosecutors, particularly in Pau and Rennes, asking them to no longer initiate proceedings against parents who give their child a first name including a tilde, such as Fañch — the Breton equivalent of François.
This decision marks a turning point in a case emblematic of the tensions between administrative regulation and recognition of regional languages.
A long legal battle over a diacritic sign
The case dates back to 2017, when a Breton family was refused registration of the first name Fañch for their child by the civil registry. At issue: a ministerial circular of July 23, 2014 prohibiting the use in civil status of certain diacritics and ligatures specific to regional languages.
The Quimper high court then ordered the rectification of the first name, considering that the use of the tilde could undermine “the desire of our rule of law to maintain the unity of the country and equality without distinction of origin”.
The affair quickly becomes symbolic and is repeated in several cities, from Saint-Brieuc to Angers via Rennes, Brest, Lorient and Caen. Despite these administrative refusals, the court decisions systematically ended up ruling in favor of the parents. As early as November 2018, the Rennes Court of Appeal recalled that the tilde “is not unknown to the French language”.
A relief for families and defenders of regional languages
For the families concerned, the new instruction marks the end of a long legal process. “This is a real relief for the families and a common sense decision, even if it took a lot of procedures to get to this point.“, reacts Me Iannis Alvarez, lawyer who defended several couples in these cases cited by Le Parisien.
The decision is also welcomed by Breton political leaders. The president of the Brittany region, Loïg Chesnais-Girard, welcomes this turnaround by the State. “It was time for this to end. The Republic is not in danger of falling for a tilde“, he says, recalling that Édouard Philippe had already committed in 2019 to respecting diacritical marks.
After nearly a decade of controversy, little Fañch — and all those who bear this first name — will therefore officially be able to keep their tilde. A modest symbol, but important for the recognition of regional languages in the French public space.