French honorifics

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French honorifics, which are mostly used in French, can also be found in English when talking about French people.

The common ones are "Monsieur" (written M. for short) for a man, "Madame" (Mme) for a married woman and "Mademoiselle" (Mlle) for an unmaried woman. Feminist movements are pushing for "Madame" being used for all women, on the basis that it would be sexist to have only one word for men, whether they're married or not, but two for women. However, calling a young woman "Mademoiselle" is usually considered more polite due to their young age, and calling a middle-aged woman "Mademoiselle" can be a way to tell her that she looks like she's in her twenties. It is therefore often considered flattering.

"Professeur" and "Docteur" are used for educated people who have an advanced diploma, although "Docteur" is commonly associated with medical practitioners, even if the word for "doctor" is "médecin".

"Maître" (literally, "Master") is used for lawyers, whereas judges are not called "You Honour" but simply "Monsieur le Juge" (Mister Judge). This does not change regardless of the sex of the lawyer or judge.

Any other honorific is usually created by using "Monsieur" or "Madame" and then adding a title or profession. For instance, "Monsieur le Président" or "Monsieur le Ministre".