Collaborateur or collabo? Why the distinction matters in French

As strikes and protests continue across France and the country gears up for next year’s presidential election, an old wartime insult has been creeping back into political debate.

Some politicians, police forces and local officials are being branded collabos on social media, a loaded, accusatory word that can only be understood by looking back at France's wartime past.

The Connexion looks at the two meanings of the word collaborateur - inoffensive in the corporate world but insulting in today’s political climate. 

What does collaborateur mean?

This noun literally translates as ‘collaborator’ and stems from the verb collaborer (to collaborate) meaning: to work together. 

There are several ways of using this word in French. 

It can be used in a business sense to describe a group of employees or team members:

• Notre entreprise compte plus de 500 collaborateurs. - Our company has over 500 employees.

In a similar vein, it can be a formal way of referring to a colleague or co-worker:

• Je travaille avec mon collaborateur pour mener à bien ce projet. - I am working with my partner to see this project succeed.

You can use collaboratrice for a female co-worker.

You may also come across the term collaborateur parlementaire, which refers to an assistant or aide who works within a parliamentary institution for an MP or a political party. People working in law are also referred to as ‘collaborateur/collaboratrice’.

In its historical sense

Collaborateur also has links to France’s history during the period of World War Two. It refers to people who collaborated with Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1944. The period is referred to as ‘La collaboration’.

It is still considered a politically-charged and insulting term in certain contexts, especially when shortened to collabo.

It is used to suggest that a particular person is working with the enemy, much like the expression: vendre du beurre aux Allemands (to sell butter to the Germans).

It evokes a strong sense of betrayal and délation (denunciation motivated by revenge, jealousy or greed).

"Collaboration remains above all associated with a moral fault: the term 'treason' imposes itself massively, well before any attempt at explanation or contextualisation,” historian Pierre Branda told Historia.

“Vichy France, Marshal Philippe Pétain, nazism, treason and shame are dominant words associated with it,” he added.

In today’s political climate

To call someone a collabo today is to claim that they are siding with, working for or giving a leg up (faire la courte échelle) to an enemy or betraying their own side.

The term recently featured in debates surrounding media outlets such as Le Figaro and Marianne, which both avoid using the term ‘far-right’ to describe the Rassemblement National.

In an interview with Libération Media historian Alexis Lévrier said that this editorial preference [not a blanket decision] means the outlets are “playing into the hands of the far right,” and that they are among elites who se préparent à collaborer (are preparing to collaborate). 

Leading figures at Marianne recently published an open response to this use of the term collaborer, deeming it an “insult that is far too grotesque to even dignify with a reaction.”

The term has also been used to describe local officials. In Palaiseau (Essonne), deputy mayor Virgile Monnot was shocked to receive comments describing him as a collabo after posting a message in support of police and gendarmerie officers on social media in the aftermath of protests on October 17.

The word's spread says much about the tense political climate ahead of next year’s presidential election - a short insult that carries in seven letters the weight of 1940.

If you would like us to explain a particular word or expression, or if you have any other Learning French suggestions, let us know at: feedback@connexionfrance.com