Letter: Pure Franglais

Sir. So Maurice Druon, that redoubtable defender of the purity of the French language, is campaigning against the misuse of English in Germany, Japan and elsewhere ("French academic starts campaign against English faux pas", 16 July). He might also have cast an eye on his compatriots.

Apart from the adoption of perfectly sound Anglo-American terms, the French have conjured up an array of terms taken from English which you would never hear in Brighton or Birmingham . Television commentators speak of un tennisman or un rugbyman; a workaholic manager is said to be scotche to his desk; and a redesign becomes a relookage.

But then, of course, French women don't know what brassieres are, preferring to wear soutiens-gorges.