The Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua (AVL) is under pressure after its new president, Maria Àngels Francés, took office at a ceremony in Valencia on September 3, 2026. President Juanfran Pérez Llorca led the ceremony at the Palau de la Generalitat as the academy faced a 25% budget cut from the regional government. The reduction comes amid rising criticism of the academy’s language policies from Vox and Partido Popular; Vox representatives did not attend the inauguration.
Francés, a philologist and writer from Alcoy, used her first speech to defend the idea of a "unitary and unique" Valencian language. She described it as central to the region’s culture, emphasizing its distinctiveness and its ties to the wider Catalan-speaking world. Francés said the AVL would maintain its academic position on linguistic unity despite political pressure for a more separatist approach.
President Juanfran Pérez Llorca, representing the Generalitat and the Partido Popular, attended with other senior officials. He voiced support for the AVL and the Valencian language, while warning that the language should remain "flexible and close to the people," not "artificial." Last year’s funding cut forced the AVL to rely on emergency support from the central government. Spanish media reported that PP and Vox negotiated the current cut, with Vox pushing for deeper reductions and calling the academy’s spending unnecessary.
Vox’s absence was intentional. The party has targeted the AVL, accusing it of promoting language policies that clash with its view of Valencian identity. The AVL’s legal status, but, makes it difficult to dismantle. Tensions were apparent at the ceremony: some education and culture officials were absent, while university and social group representatives attended in support. Local news described Vox’s absence as a deliberate signal in the ongoing dispute over the academy’s future.
Francés set out immediate priorities: making language rules clearer and more practical for native speakers and newcomers, while encouraging the use of Valencian in daily life. She also wants to update the AVL’s resources for younger generations, with new technology and artificial intelligence in mind. She said the academy’s work needs to be accessible and relevant, and promised to adapt its communication to modern platforms. The overall Generalitat budget for 2026, which includes the AVL cuts, is 33.305 billion euros, up 3.1% from the previous year, information from official figures. Les Corts definitively approved the budget on July 22. Vox has publicly said it sees no point in negotiating new budgets before the 2027 elections.
Francés’s connection to the language is personal, shaped by her upbringing and years of academic work at the University of Alicante. She takes the helm as politicians who view language as a tool in regional identity debates question the AVL’s future. Pérez Llorca called for "dialogue and consensus," echoing the AVL’s founding ideals. Still, the academy faces budget cuts and political confrontation.
The AVL is not alone in facing financial pressure. Across Spain, regional institutions have dealt with similar challenges as political parties use funding to influence cultural and language policy. Spain’s chief prosecutor recently intervened in the case of unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, as reported earlier. The case shows how regional and central authorities often clash over sensitive issues.
In Valencia, academic consensus on language is running up against political maneuvering. The AVL’s defense of linguistic unity rests on decades of research and international recognition, yet the academy now has to justify its existence to politicians who see advantage in division. The budget cut is a move to weaken the academy’s influence and shift the debate over Valencian identity. Unless the Generalitat changes course or new allies emerge, the AVL will have to operate with fewer resources and more scrutiny. The dispute will shape whether Valencian remains a living language in daily life or becomes further divided by politics.
