'Mademoiselle' in peril as French town outlaws the term

"THERE ARE no longer any 'mesdemoiselles' in the town of Cesson-Sevigne," reports the BBC. The term has been banned in the small Brittany community after it was decided that women should not be defined by their age and marital status. Across France, meanwhile, there is a wider debate over whether or not it is time to jettison the term, which carries any number of cultural meanings.

"From now on, teenagers, greying grand-meres and 30-something career girls there will all be known as 'madame', just as men of all ages become 'monsieur' as soon as they grow out of shorts," writes Stephanie Holmes.

The move is part of an anti-discrimination drive by mayor Michel Bihan, who was elected in 2008 on a platform of sexual equality. Since then the town council has begun using feminine as well as masculine wording in its texts, and the town's stadium now has changing rooms for both sexes even though they use the facility at different times.

Cesson-Sevigne is not the first town in France to outlaw the word, and there is a growing national movement to abolish the term 'mademoiselle', just as the Germans did with their equivalent, 'fraulein', in 1972.

But as Holmes points out, the distinction between 'madame' and 'mademoiselle' is not as distinct as that between the English Miss and Mrs. "These forms of address are not just about formality and respect, but also about flirtation and familiarity," she explains.

Others worry an argument over what they call "linguistic cosmetics" is diverting attention from more pressing issues like equal pay, child-care and political representation. That does not deter campaigners, who want 'madame' to lose its role as a denoter of age and marital status and become the general term of address for women as 'monsieur' is for men. ·