In the "Chronology of the history of the French language", which appears on Wednesday, the authors published under the Bescherelle brand take a particular position on the very controversial midpoint.

This sign wants to mark in inclusive writing an equality between masculine and feminine, as in "the craftsmen" (example taken from a 2017 school textbook).

But according to the Bescherelle, it "does not contribute to simplifying the spelling" - which is not its purpose - and, more unfortunate, "does not correspond to a pronunciation".

If the Bescherelle is irreplaceable for learning the conjugation of moudre, is it a reference today?

For many parents and teachers, yes.

Editions Hatier, which claim the number one position in France for "extracurricular" (books intended for students outside their establishment), have successfully brought the brand to life since 1913.

Editions of some of their conjugation manuals have exceeded one million copies.

At the end of August, they systematically reappear among the best sellers in bookshops.

Sea full of pitfalls

Others find an outdated side to these normative tables, such as Sylvain Wagnon, professor of Education Sciences.

"The Bescherelle, relying exclusively on rote learning, does not take into account the evolution of education", he accused in an article.

As the "Chronologie de la langue française" recalls, the concept is 180 years old.

The Bescherelle brothers published in 1842 "Véritable manuel des conjugaisons", a 700-page manual to finally navigate in this sea full of pitfalls that are French verbs.

The librarian and grammarian Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle (1802-1883) did not leave the same mark on the language as Émile Littré, Pierre Larousse, Maurice Grevisse, or even Édouard Bled.

A great linguist of our century, Alain Rey, interviewed by AFP in 2013, was even surprised by the popularity of the brand.

But the success of a parody, in 2014, proved its immense notoriety, even its love rating.

Its creator Sylvain Szewczyk had the audacity to appropriate the username @Bescherelle on Twitter, to create the brand "Bescherelle your mother".

He corrected the most absurd mistakes in French.

Bescherelle then created his account, @BescherelleFR.

"It was our entry on social networks. And it was nice to see how many people were interested in the language and in French mistakes," Véronique Cabon-Tournier, from Hatier editions, told AFP.

"Need references"

At times, this account is thought to be too directive.

In March, he wrote that "the word afternoon is masculine and invariable".

However, the feminine is frequent both orally and in writing, which even the French Academy recognizes.

And the very official spelling reform of 1990 dubs "the afternoons".

"We know the French system, the very centralized education, the attachment to speaking well and writing well... This need for references is felt. But we are not a dictionary, nor an authority that legislates" , comments the editor of Bescherelle.

Louis-Nicolas Bescherelle and his brother had nevertheless published in their time a "National Dictionary" which had fallen into disuse compared to its competitors.

They stated in the introduction: "Language does not need to be limited, but fixed, which is quite another thing".

Their successors embarked on other adventures.

25 years ago they tackled foreign languages: Spanish first, then English, German, Italian and Chinese.

They publish, also on Wednesday, two first works of mathematics, "Bescherelle maths school" and "college".

© 2022 AFP