Over the last few days, alt-right supporters, conspiracy theorists, and groups of yellow-vests have been sharing the news that the regions of Alsace and Lorraine will be “surrendered to Germany.”
Even worse, according to these groups, is that Alsace would abandon the use of French as its administrative language, to be replaced by German.
The conspiracy theorists believe all of this will be done to stab the French in the back as they celebrate the centenary of the end of World War One.
Certainly an absurd rumour. For those well-versed in French and German history, this sounds more like events that occurred following the Franco-Prussian War. As a reminder, the German Empire annexed the regions of Alsace and Lorraine in 1871.
Obviously, the rumours that Macron will hand the two regions over to Germany are completely false. Courtesy of our colleagues at 5minutes, have a look at the exact fake news debunking below.
Several days ago, the French MEP Bernard Monot, formerly of the Front National but having joined the party Debout la France in 2018, uploaded a scaremongering video titled “The Aix-la-Chapelle treaty: a new betrayal of the nation”.
In the video, Monot explained that Macron, described as a Judas, will give the regions of Alsace and Lorraine to a foreign power.
He stressed the “high treason” of Macron’s presumed actions, claiming that German will become the administrative language of the Alsace region. Since the initial upload, the video has been removed from his YouTube channel.
On 22 January, Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel will meet in Aix-la-Chapelle, or Aachen, to sign a new 16-page treaty 56 years after Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer met to sign the Elysée treaty.
This treaty signed by de Gaulle and Adenauer heralded a new period of friendship between France and Germany. Think of Merkel and Macron’s meeting as a renewal of vows.
5minutes fact-checked the treaty to make sure there were no mentions of handing over French territory to Germany. The document, as shared by Contexte does not envision any territorial handovers.
Instead, it focuses on the two countries hoping to further strengthen Franco-German cooperation, notably the convergence of social models and their economies, supporting cultural diversity and bringing French and German societies and citizens closer.
The two countries will prioritise cooperation between their armies and the fight against organised crime and terrorism. To this end, governments will meet once a year and a minister will visit the other state’s ministerial council once each trimester.
The treaty also anticipates supporting educational exchanges and incentives to learn the other country’s language. Both countries are dedicated to working on bilingualism in border areas. The focus on bilingualism does not, as Monot interpreted it, mean that French will be replaced by German.
In conclusion, is the treaty stabbing the French people in the back? Not at all. Macron and Merkel announced the treaty a year ago and it was covered in the press at the time of the announcement and coverage has increased over the last few days.
In conclusion, conspiracy theorist hysteria appears to be just that, hysteria.
