France and Germany disregard each other's language

Le Monde newspaper discusses how French and Geman are being neglected as foreign languages in the neighbouring countries. "The bad news is that cooperation is going through hard times. There are problems with French teaching in Germany and with German teaching in France, both of which are on the decline despite repeated promises at summit meetings. ... Even the laudable efforts in the border areas often fail because parents tend to prefer English as their children's first foreign language. ... The cultural institutes could make up for the weaknesses of the education systems, but on both sides of the Rhine these have fallen victim to budget cuts by small-minded financial accountants at the foreign ministries. The network of French cultural institutes in Germany has melted like snow in the sun, while the Goethe Institutes in France have been subject to similar cutbacks."

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