The hashtag has been banned in France

The hashtag really hit mainstream with Twitter, but in France, it looks like it’s about to be put six-feet under. The French government want to preserve their language by changing the settled will of the online community. This translates into the hashtag no longer being used in official communications or papers.

The replacement term? Well, it’s mot-dièse.

mot-dièse, n.m.
Domaine : Télécommunications-Informatique/Internet.
Définition : Suite signifiante de caractères sans espace commençant par le signe # (dièse), qui signale un sujet d’intérêt et est insérée dans un message par son rédacteur afin d’en faciliter le repérage.

So, in order to preserve their language, the French government have banned the use of the hashtag – why not go after swear words? It seems weird, as the hashtag is a standard placement on any keyboard, but I get where they’re coming from.

Source: Forbes