YEREVAN, JUNE 15, ARMENPRESS. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, wants to replace English with French as the default language in EU institutions, the way it was before Britain joined the bloc in 1973, WSJ reports.

With the U.K. negotiating to leave the EU next spring, he is eager to restore the linguistic ancien regime.

English has probably never been so present in Brussels as when we’re talking about Brexit,” Mr. Macron said in March on the Day of Francophonie—a celebration of French language and culture observed in more than 70 countries. “This domination is not inevitable,” he declared.

Macron’s recently appointed ambassador to the EU, Philippe Léglise-Costa, walked out of a budget meeting in April because English was the only working language.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan