A petition calling for Luxembourgish to be made a compulsory integration language received over 8,000 signatures, surpassing the threshold required for parliamentary discussion. The matter was debated on Wednesday morning in the Chamber of Deputies.
David Delvaux, the petitioner, voiced concerns about the declining proportion of people citing Luxembourgish as their main language in recent years. He noted that French now dominates in Luxembourg, with English also becoming increasingly prevalent.
According to Delvaux, this shift creates barriers for those less proficient in French, such as older residents and German cross-border workers. He argued that introducing a single, mandatory language – namely Luxembourgish – would offer a common ground, as is the case in other countries. Delvaux clarified: “It is not about excluding anyone, and we should maintain multilingualism, but we could implement measures that give people enough time and opportunity to learn Luxembourgish.”
Deputies immediately raised questions about how a language requirement would be enforced in practice. Delvaux reiterated several times that the goal was not to exclude anyone.
Instead, he suggested improving access to language courses, for example through paid learning hours or evening classes. However, several deputies highlighted that Luxembourg’s healthcare system, among other sectors, relies heavily on foreign workers, making it unrealistic to expect everyone to have the time and means to learn Luxembourgish.
Culture Minister Eric Thill acknowledged that many promising ideas had emerged from the discussion, but dismissed the notion of a legal obligation. “As you might imagine, I am not a big fan of making this compulsory. For various reasons, including European law, this is not possible. We already have laws and regulations in place, but we must equip ourselves with the right tools to motivate people to learn Luxembourgish – more courses, for example, as I have explained.”
After a closed-door meeting, deputies from the Petitions Committee agreed not to pursue the idea of an obligation. However, committee chair Francine Closener proposed drafting a motion outlining concrete measures, including the training of language instructors, language leave, the deployment of linguistic mediators (especially in the hospital sector), and possible incentives for learning Luxembourgish in other fields. The motion will be formulated and discussed in the Chamber.
