Member of the Breton Democratic Union (UDB) and deputy of the French National Assembly Paul Molac is proposing, along with other 17 AMs, to pass a constitutional law amending Article 53 of the Constitution of the French Republic. Molac's proposal aims to add these words to the Article: "The Republic can ratify the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ​​adopted in Strasbourg [by the Assembly of the Council of Europe] on 5 November 1992, supplemented by its interpretative declaration".

In an interview to Le Journal du Pays Basque, Molac underlines that, being a constitutional law, it will require a three-fifths majority for the amendment to be approved. Molac is optimistic about reaching support from at least 50% of the deputies in the National Assembly (especially among the Socialist ranks, but also among the conservative UMP). Nevertheless, he admits that reacginh 60 % will be "a little more complicated".

All but one the AMs who support the proposal along with Molac are members of Europe Ecology Greens (EELV, French acronym). AMs argue that the proposal enjoys a social consensus, given that tens of thousands marched on 31 March 2012 in various towns in Brittany, Occitania, Alsace, Northern Basque Country and Northern Catalonia asking for recognition of languages spoken in France. According to the ecologist deputies, the French society is now understanding that it can be "reconciled with the multiplicity of its roots".

President Hollande promised ratification

The ecologist AMs also recall that French President François Hollande had promised to ratify the European Charter of Languages, even if that meant an amendment to the French Constitution. Molac and the other 17 deputies regret that the French Council of State released a negative opinion over the Charter's ratification, but nevertheless they believe that "no solid juridical or political argument" can be employed against their proposal.

The AMs also point out that France should be coherent in the defence of languages. They recall that the French Government defends a strong position for French in the international arena when resisting to an ever increasing presure by English, and that this same approach is needed within France when it comes to the position of non-state languages such as Breton, Occitan, Basque, Corsican or Catalan.