Cornerstones of Culture: What does France lose when it loses Latin?
The Forum Romanum in Rome - all images are the author’s own unless otherwise stated
‘If Latin is abandoned, France will no longer be France’ – Pierre Boyancé, a Sorbonne professor, writing a defence of the disciplinary study of Latin in 1946.
Latin has played a fundamental role in developing France: its language, literature and culture were built on the foundations of Latin. For centuries, Latin was a core part of a French education. Yet its study seems to be losing its appeal and its presence in schools has diminished over time. But why does this matter? What could France be losing when it loses Latin? Could Professor Boyancé’s claim, certainly bold, perhaps bordering on the melodramatic, have some truth to it?
Going right back to the medieval period, we see the importance of Latin, serving as the language of the Church, scholarship, diplomacy and early literature. French itself evolved from Vulgar Latin, which gradually merged with local Celtic and Frankish linguistic influences to form Old French by the 9th century. Moving into the Renaissance, humanists championed the study of the literae humaniores, believing in the value of studying Classical languages and literature as a means of cultivating virtue and eloquence. The humanist education emphasised the study of grammar (restoration of Classical Latin and Greek), rhetoric (based on the study of the arts of persuasion, looking at writers like Cicero), and poetry (creative imitation of writers like Virgil and Horace). Latin was essential not only in scholarly circles but also in public life, being the main language for law and administration until 1539, when the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, issued by King François I, required all legal and administrative documents to be written in French.
Writing in 1948, William M. Green, an eminent classicist, notes that Latin was ‘deeply embedded in the great tradition of French culture’. Throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century, the study of Latin was valued in France for the intellectual training it provided, usually involving the explication des textes. This rigorous practice, praised for its cultivation of clarity of thought, precision and communicative skills, required students to study passages in great detail, analysing the grammar and individual phrases, before producing a translation and reading it aloud.
Given the historical appreciation of its intellectual benefits and its prevalence in public spheres for centuries, it is no surprise that Latin was seen as a prestigious subject in schools. In 19th century France, classical studies were the foundation of secondary education and of the baccalauréat examination, which was essential to progress to professional careers. By the early twentieth century, the lycée system offered different tracks, with the most ambitious pupils studying Latin and Greek, considered particularly difficult, the next tier modern languages, and the others mathematics or science.
Yet, echoing broader patterns of social and educational inequality, the study of Classics was not only associated with academic ability, but equally with economic advantage. Until the late 19th century, only affluent groups had access to secondary schooling (or, in some cases, any education at all), thus reinforcing the reputation of Classics as reserved for the elites. While the contemporary school system is radically different from the past, we still observe similar trends: according to the French Ministry of Education, pupils choosing Latin overwhelmingly come from advantaged backgrounds. While overall numbers of students studying Latin in France have dropped over the decades, there are particularly few students taking Latin who come from less privileged milieus. According to statistics from 2007, about one in five students studied Latin in cinquième (Year 8), with the majority of these from middle-class backgrounds. Among the students whose mothers had accessed higher education, around 40% took Latin. For those whose mothers were not diplômées, the figure of those studying Latin is only around 15%. Latin has therefore drifted from being a shared cultural foundation to being a badge of educational and social privilege.
La Maison Carré in Nîmes, France
How can France rewrite the narrative of Latin and elitism? Broadening access would not only demonstrate that Latin can be for everyone, but it would also bring academic benefits. The UK’s recent Latin Excellence Programme (September 2022 - February 2025), which sought to make the subject more accessible in state schools, was shown to benefit disadvantaged pupils the most. Professor Arlene Holmes-Henderson, who leads a department at Durham University that promotes the study of Latin and the Classics, found that there were three groups who benefited most from the Latin programme: young people with special educational needs and disabilities, students who speak English as a second language, and those who qualify for free school meals. Her research showed that groups who faced barriers to their learning unlocked significant benefits in English literacy, since Latin can help students understand the building blocks of language, develop vocabulary knowledge and critical thinking skills. Often seen as an impractical subject with little direct utility, many people overlook its value – especially at a time when education systems increasingly emphasise efficiency and directly transferrable skills to the working world. In my experience, Latin is a subject that requires slow reading, careful reasoning, and sustained attention over years. As the scholars in the early 20th century argued, the patience and dedication it requires and cultivates is part of its value: losing Latin could mean losing ways of teaching and learning that value depth over haste.
France, with its deep classical tradition, has even more reason to rethink who gets access to Latin, and to design policies to encourage uptake of this opportunity. If Latin remains reserved for the privileged, France loses something important: the belief that its cultural inheritance, from Renaissance literature to the structure and forms of the French language itself, belongs to everyone. Latin must be preserved, promoted, and, crucially, democratised. France can reclaim Latin not as a symbol of elitism but as an accessible tool for appreciating culture and developing the mind. Returning to Boyancé’s claim that France would ‘no longer be France’ without Latin, while this may be an extreme position, it nonetheless reflects a real concern. As per its republican values of equality and collective ownership of culture, France should ensure that the study of Latin is open to every student, not just a fortunate few.