France bans schools from teaching 'gender neutral' words with full stops in the middle because they are 'a threat to the language'

France has banned schools from using 'gender neutral' spellings, saying they are a threat to the French language. 

The country's education ministry issued the ruling last week after a push to include full stops in the middle of written words - dubbed 'midpoints' - which allow both male and female forms to be represented simultaneously. 

But the Academie Francaise, which is responsible for guarding the French language, said the move is 'harmful to the practice and understanding of [French.]'