A name for an effect
Sir: Mr Anthony Gilbey writes (Letters 12 June) that he was profoundly irritated by the coincidence of the shift made by French radio from reference to 'Port Stanley' to reference to a certain 'Puerto Argentino', and the destruction by British forces of one of the vaunted French Exocet missiles. Yet he will perhaps take heart from the ling- uistic behaviour of the other French media.
As far as I know they did not once refer to 'Puerto Argentino', Their discrimination was more fundamental and earlier made — should the islands be ,Les Malouines' or 'Les Falkland'? At first, universally the former: Argentina was in possession. But, although Le Monde was to remain by and large true to the Malvinan name, Le Figaro soon began to refer to the islands as both, even in the same article .
Television, however, was more in- genuous: when not given to recording the grave assurances of the President that though he had not yet done anything about these islands he would do something when the time was ripe for intervention, it took to the Falklands appellation and keenly retain- ed it since, as its special reporter in London, a Monsieur Bernard Rapp, had judged after the establishment of the British bridgehead on the the eastern island, 'this is what these islands have now become'.
The French are perhaps more confident about their Exocet missiles than Mr Gilbey implies. That the British have destroyed some is no bad thing for France: replace- ments will be bought, and the prospective influx of alien currency can only alleviate the consequences of a devalued franc.
Edwin Day
44 rue Emile-Lepeu, Paris, France
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