An interesting exception to this cultural distinctiveness may be found in Belgium where the government indicated the need to simplify public documents in the late 90's with the publication of Écrire pour être lu, a general style guide by Michel Leys, which is quite similar to any equivalent work in English. The book is available on line, as the French language document that explains the Fight the Fog Campaign within the European Union.

With the recent online publication by the French government of the tools designed by COSLA, things are bound to change. It is the sign that a genuine change is coming, based on the culturally inherent trait in favour of equality of opportunity. The efforts of the French Committee are inspired by a true will to reach out and include and the work that was accomplished will certainly have interesting repercussions on the way public communication is made. It may also lead to the production of new style checkers and "simplifiers". Among the tools made available free of charge, a lexicon of administrative vocabulary, a guide to administrative writing and the LARA style checking software where readability and Plain Language are the rule. The project has produced significant results as a great number of administrative forms have already been simplified.

The impact of the research and policy developments in France have yet to be analysed in order to conclude to the birth of a Plain French movement. The project had a limited scope, namely administrative forms. We are far from a general and multidisciplinary enterprise to revamp official and legal communication. French legistics, for instance, has yet to benefit from the innovations. In that respect, the recent publication by the European Commission of the multilingual Joint Practical Guide for persons involved in drafting legislation within the Community institutions will constitute a precious source of information regarding the integration of a Plain Language model in legal writing and the impact it has on French legal writing principles. Besides, there is already a great deal of experience of legal simplification both in the Canadian and the Quebec jurisdictions from which interesting examples may be drawn. Apart from the Canadian need for more French contributions to strengthen the foundation of a French model, all Latin languages may have a definite interest in the debate and the solutions offered.

The stakes are high, considering the importance of the Spanish language as an official language for translation within the context of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Its presence has yet to be fully noticed but demographics may pay a key role in the future. Latin audiences will need the same adjustments to a Plain Language model as it has been, and is still the case for the French culture. The similarities do not end there as Mexico, within NAFTA, and Latin America are subject to Civil Law. Therefore, any reflection on the value and limitations of the Plain English model for French is bound to find applications in many other Latin languages. A thorough review is to be made of the techniques and principles cherished by Civil Law writers and drafters in order to come up with a French and, more generally, Latin model which will help standardize the analysis of issues and the solutions. We may find that universality of goals and results is ensured but with some necessary compromises.