When discussing activism and environmental issues, you will often need to state facts that provoke strong reactions. In French, we use the expression le fait que (the fact that) to introduce these statements.
| the fact that | le fait que |
Le fait que + Subjunctive
Although le fait que introduces a reality or a fact, it requires the subjunctive mood in French. This is because the fact is being framed so that the speaker can comment on it, judge it, or express an emotional reaction to it.
Whether regular or irregular, the verb following le fait que must be in the subjunctive. Let's look at it in action when it acts as the subject of the sentence, often paired with strong verbs like révolter (to outrage).
| The fact that the climate is changing outrages the activist. | Le fait que le climat change révolte le militant. |
Notice that for regular verbs ending in -er (like changer), the subjunctive often looks identical to the present indicative. To see the subjunctive form clearly, we can look at irregular verbs like faire (subjunctive: fasse) and être (subjunctive: soit).
| The fact that the government does nothing outrages them. | Le fait que le gouvernement ne fasse rien les révolte. |
| The fact that the problem is global revolts the activists. | Le fait que le problème soit global révolte les militants. |
Le fait que as an Object
You can also use le fait que after a main verb. It is frequently used as an object after verbs like dénoncer (to denounce) to express exactly what a group is protesting against.
| The activist denounces the fact that the inaction continues. | Le militant dénonce le fait que l'inaction continue. |
| We denounce the fact that global warming is fast. | Nous dénonçons le fait que le réchauffement global soit rapide. |
Elision with Que
Remember that like all instances of que, it must contract to qu' when the following word begins with a vowel or a silent h.
| The fact that he reads this placard mobilizes the crowd. | Le fait qu'il lise cette pancarte mobilise la foule. |