Sebastien's profile

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Sunday, July 27th, 2025

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Genre and subgenre translation problems in French IMDb version

Hi, As a French user, I appreciate that you label the movies on your website with French names for genre and subgenre. I thank you for that and most of them are appropriate. Though, I noticed some translations that sound weird in French. As the genre appears at the top of every movie page on IMDb, it would be nice to improve the French wording for what I report here after. 1- « Short » genre translated into « Brève »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000212 It’s for less than 45 mns movies. In French, the only way to say it is « Court » or « Court-métrage ». « Brève » is confusing and not appropriate, cos in France, it is only used as a noun for « brief news item ». Please find evidence: https://www.linternaute.fr/dictionnaire/fr/definition/breve 2- « Musical » genre translated into « Musical »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000133 In English, « Musical » is a noun that is translated in French in « Comédie musicale ». So, please use « Comédie musicale » genre on the French IMDb version. Indeed, « Musical » in French is only an adjective that refers to music. So, the English distinct genres « Music » and « Musical » on IMDb (clear difference in English) are not distinct anymore in French. « Musical » and « Musique » mean the same thing in French, whereas « Comédie musicale » and « Musique » are different in French and every French speaking person will understand the nuance between the « Comédie musicale » and « Musique » genres. 3- « Fantasy » genre translated into « Fantaisie »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000098 In French, we either use « Fantasy » (English word) or « Fantastique » to label this movie genre. « Fantaisie » is unknown in French as a movie genre. « Fantaisie » means creativity and imagination in French. Please find evidence: https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/fantaisie/32835 4- « Supernatural fantasy » subgenre translated into « Fantaisie surnaturelle »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000099 I was born as a French and all my life long, I have never heard in my native country the expression « Fantaisie surnaturelle ». Please just say/use « Surnaturel » on French IMDb and everyone speaking French will understand. 5- « Teen Fantasy » subgenre translated into « Fantaisie pour adolescents »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000101 I was born as a French and all my life long, I have never heard in my native country the expression « Fantaisie pour adolescents ». Please say/use « Fantastique pour adolescents » on French IMDb and everyone speaking French will understand. 6- « Holiday Family » subgenre translated into « Famille de vacances »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000195 I was born as a French and all my life long, I have never heard in my native country the expression « Famille de vacances ». Please say/use « Famille et fêtes » on French IMDb and everyone speaking French will understand. Thanks for your answer. Best regards

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11 months ago

Hi Sebastien- Thank you for reporting! I've forwarded this information to the appropriate team for further investigation (Ref Ticket #V1875067002). We'll reply once we receive further information. Cheers!

329 Messages

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9.7K Points

11 months ago

Hi, As a native French user of IMDb, I read the genre and subgenre list in French that is displayed on your website: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/all This list is important, because these genres and subgenres are displayed at the top of each movie. Two weeks ago, I opened a first ticket on this forum that is still in progress: https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdbcom/genre-and-subgenre-translation-problems-in-french-imdb-version/688658e77dd0d712ceeaadfd Since that ticket, I have made a more detailed analysis of this French genre and subgenre titles on IMDb. Please find my additional remarks about translation problems: 1- « Caper » subgenre translated into « Capre »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000050 The « Câpre » movie subgenre does not exist in French, because « Câpre » only exists in French as a bud eaten pickled (cooking): https://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/c%C3%A2pre It’s a problem of literal translation. Please use the same word as in English, « Caper », which does not have a real equivalent into French. 2- « Sword and Sandal » subgenre translated into « Épée et sandale »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000009 The « Épée et sandale » movie subgenre does not exist in French (never heard any expression like that, but it sounds funny). This is a problem of literal translation. Please use « Péplum », which is the correct subgenre in French: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%C3%A9plum 3- « Slasher Horror » subgenre translated into « Slasher d’horreur »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000115 This is a clumsily said and not used in France. It is a problem of literal translation. We say in French « Slasher » to name this movie subgenre (and that’s all): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slasher 4- « Zombie Horror » subgenre translated into « Horreur zombie »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000122 This is clumsily said and not used in France. It is a problem of literal translation. We say in French « Zombies » or « Film de zombies »: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_de_zombies I think « Zombies » is shorter and better in that context of display within a small space. 5- « Vampire Horror » subgenre translated into « Horreur vampire »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000119 This is clumsily said and not used in France. It is a problem of literal translation. We say in French « Vampires » or « Film de vampires »: https://www.europeanstudios.fr/encyclopedie/film-de-vampires I think « Vampires » is shorter and better in that context of display within a small space. 6- « Splatter Horror » subgenre translated into « Horreur Splatter »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000116 This is clumsily said and not used in France. We name this subgenre « Gore » in French: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9ma_gore 7- « Found Footage Horror » subgenre translated into « Film d’horreur de type « found footage » »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000111 It is correct but much too long to be displayed on a phone screen. Please replace it with « Found footage », which means the same and is perfectly understood in France (no French equivalent for this English expression): https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Found_footage 8- « Witch Horror » subgenre translated into « Horreur des sorcières »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000121 This is clumsily said and not used in France. It is a problem of literal translation. We use « Sorcellerie » to name this movie subgenre: https://www.senscritique.com/liste/les_meilleurs_films_de_sorcellerie/1299160 9- « Werewolf Horror » subgenre translated into « Horreur des loups-garous »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000120 This is clumsily said and not used in France. It is a problem of literal translation. We say in French « Loups-garous » to name this movie subgenre: https://www.senscritique.com/top/resultats/les_meilleurs_films_de_loups_garous/1048792 10- « Western » genre and subgenre translated into « Occidental »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000191 This is a problem of literal translation. There is no equivalent in French for the movie genre « Western », so we use the English word that is famous and that everyone understands: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western 11- « Western epic » subgenre translated into « Épopée occidentale »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000189 This is clumsily said and not used in France. We use « Western épique » to name this movie subgenre: https://www.europeanstudios.fr/encyclopedie/film-western-epique 12- « Screwball Comedy » subgenre translated into « Comédie Screwball »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000043 This is not a proper way to name this movie subgenre in French. We use « Comédie loufoque » that everyone understands: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Com%C3%A9die_loufoque 13- « Buddy Cop » subgenre translated into « Copain Cop »: Here is the IMDb page: https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000033 This expression is unknown in French. Please keep the native English expression to name this movie subgenre, because there is no equivalent in French to name it: https://lemeilleurdespiresclichesducinema.wordpress.com/2017/03/27/buddy-cop 14- Capital letter missing at the beginning of 3 correct movie French subgenres: Here are the 3 movie subgenre IMDb pages, where you need to add a capital letter on the first letter (« Sitcom » instead of « sitcom » for instance): https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000044 https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000056 https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000172 Thanks for your answer. Best regards Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdbcom/genre-and-subgenre-translation-problems-in-french-imdb-version-2/68989583cea32b0b5dc773ba Title : Genre and subgenre translation problems in French IMDb version (2)

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17 days ago

Hi,

I spent half a day to work on the post here below, in order to correct the French genre and subgenre section, further to the addition of a new section « Franchise ». I join it at the end of a post already opened, but I received no answer:

https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/imdbcom/genre-and-subgenre-translation-problems-in-french-imdb-

Please handle it

I indicate the correction to make in the title of each part and join the IMDb page concerned in the content of each part:

1- « Avatar: The Last Airbender » to be corrected to « Avatar, le dernier maître de l’air »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000312

This franchise has its own French name different from the English original one:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar,_le_dernier_maître_de_l%27air

2- « Lord of the Rings » to be corrected to « Le Seigneur des anneaux »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000279

This franchise is known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Seigneur_des_anneaux_(série_de_films)

3- « Masters of the Universe » to be corrected to « Les Maîtres de l’univers »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000280

This franchise is known in France under this title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Maîtres_de_l%27univers

4- « The Conjuring Universe » to be corrected to « Conjuring »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000287

This franchise is known under this title in France:

https://www.allocine.fr/article/fichearticle_gen_carticle=1000157580.html

5- « Despicable me » to be corrected to « Moi, moche et méchant »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000267

This franchise is only known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moi,_moche_et_méchant_(série_de_films)

6- « Planet of the Apes » to be corrected to « La Planète des singes »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000275

This franchise is only known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Planète_des_singes_(franchise)

7- « Mission: Impossible » to be corrected to « Mission impossible »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000284

This franchise is known under this French title and with this punctuation in France:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_impossible_(série_de_films)

8- « The Matrix » to be corrected to « Matrix »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000304

This franchise is known that way in France:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matrix_(série_de_films)

9- « SpongeBob SquarePants » to be corrected to « Bob l’éponge »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000288

This franchise is only known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_l%27éponge

10- « The Chronicles of Narnia » to be corrected to « Le Monde de Narnia »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000289

This franchise is only known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Monde_de_Narnia_(série_de_films)

11- « RuPaul’s Drag Race » to be corrected to « Drag Race »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000253

This franchise is known under this title in France:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drag_Race_(téléréalité)

12- « The Addams Family » to be corrected to « La Famille Addams »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000313

This franchise is known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Famille_Addams

13- « Frozen » to be corrected to « La Reine des neiges »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000293

This franchise is known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Reine_des_neiges_(franchise)

14- « Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles » to be corrected to « Les Tortues Ninja »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000271

This franchise is only known in France under this French title:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Tortues_Ninja_(série_de_films)

15- « Drame historique » to be corrected to « Histoire »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000080

On IMDb, this genre both applies to movies and documentaries:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/title/tt7905466

https://m.imdb.com/fr/title/tt7528992

https://m.imdb.com/fr/title/tt15398776

As a consequence, the name in French can only be « Histoire », because « Histoire » both matches movies and documentaries, whereas « Drame historique » only matches movies. A documentary is indeed not a drama, but reality.

16- « Drame dans le show-business » to be corrected to « Drame sur le monde du spectacle »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000087

First, the expression « monde du spectacle » is the French idiomatic way for « show-business ». Second, it is « about » (sur), more than « in » (dans). Please find evidence:

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/9f069818-f6ee-4a33-95fc-25be0fea6fe5

17- « Détective dur à cuir » to be corrected to « Détective dur à cuire »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000138

The idiomatic expression in French is « dur à cuire » (no other way to say it):

https://www.expressio.fr/expressions/dur-a-cuire

18- « Téléréalité de rencontre et de séduction » to be corrected to « Télé-réalité de rencontre et de séduction »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000144

On this IMDb genre and subgenre section, you always translate Reality TV in « Télé-réalité » (using a dash). So, in order to be coherent, I wrote here also « Télé-réalité » (homogenisation).

19- « Casse et Braquage » to be corrected to « Film de braquage »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000056

There has already been a IMDb section named « Film de casse ». So, first, it is useless to use « Casse » again here (confusing with the other IMDb section) and, second, I found a similar way to name it (« Film de... »), frequently used in France for this kind of movie:

https://www.allocine.fr/tag-5125/films

Please use singular form (« Film de braquage »), as it is associated each time to a single movie only.

20- « Film d'action série B » to be corrected to « Film d'action de série B »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000003

This is the idiomatic way to say it in French.

Please find evidence: 

https://forum.atnl.fr/index.php?threads/commando-ninja-le-film-daction-de-série-b-à-la-sauce-française.442

21- « Crimes et Drogue » to be corrected to « Crimes et drogue »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000053

In French, we only use a capital letter for a proper noun or for the first word of a sentence (here « Crimes »). « drogue » does not need a capital letter (not a proper noun and not the first word of the sentence).

22- « Gun Fu » to be corrected to « Gun fu »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000197

Please find evidence:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_fu

Same reason as for correction number 21.

23- « Kung-Fu » to be corrected to « Kung-fu »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000198

Please find evidence: 

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung-fu_(terme)

Same reason as for correction number 21.

24- « Stand-Up » to be corrected to « Stand-up »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000047

Please find evidence:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand-up

Same reason as for correction number 21.

25- « Road Trip » to be corrected to « Road trip »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000020

Please find evidence:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_trip

Same reason as for correction number 21.

26- « Dark Fantasy » to be corrected to « Dark fantasy »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000095

Please find evidence:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_fantasy

Same reason as for correction number 21.

27- « Super héros » to be corrected to « Super-héros »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000008

Please find evidence:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super-héros

There is a dash in French.

28- « Brève » to be corrected to « Court-métrage »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/all

NB: You find this title in the recap page (what you call « all »), as a genre including one or several subgenres.

A short film is translated « Court-métrage » in French. And only that way. « Brève » is meaningless in that context.

29- « Saisonnier » to be corrected to « Fêtes de fin d’année »:

Here is the IMDb page: 

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/all

NB: You find this title in the recap page (what you call « all »), as a genre including one or several subgenres.

« Saisonnier » is meaningless in that context. This genre refers to several subgenres talking about Christmas holidays (mainly) or public holidays like Thanksgiving.

30- « Fantaisie » to be corrected to « Fantastique »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://m.imdb.com/fr/interest/all

NB: You find this title in the recap page (what you call « all »), as a genre including one or several subgenres.

« Fantaisie » is meaningless in that context. The only way to say it in French is « Fantastique ».

Best regards

Note: This comment was created from a merged conversation Link : https://community-imdb.sprinklr.com/conversations/data-issues-policy-discussions/post-to-handle/6a23f32b806d6310eb108cac Title : Post to handle

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9.7K Points

Hi,

What does happen with this post?

If you let it in progress, please answer. Or close it and explain to me why.

I joined new corrections last week further to a new section « Franchise » recently added to the genre/interest IMDb page. As this new section « Franchise » is only in English (?) even on French IMDb, I noticed that 15 corrections are necessary in order to have everything understandable in France. And I added the remainder of 15 previous corrections still not implemented (I checked before joining them).

I noticed that genre/interest corrections I asked were sometimes not implemented. Hopefully, it also happened that genre/interest corrections I asked were all implemented. It depends. So I keep hope everything will be done this time. I do not quit.

We have already done a good job, but when new sections are added like here, new corrections have sometimes to be done.

It’s not very nice to keep the silence. It looks like these 30 necessary corrections will never be taken into account. As a French native speaking person born and living in France, I know when corrections have to be done in French.

Please explain to me what happens

(edited)

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@Sebastien​ - Hi, 

Apologies for the delayed response! 

The reports have been passed to the respective team and we continue to follow-up with the team on them. However, there has been setbacks with the corrections and previous fixing of the display as well. 

Unfortunately, these changes might not be immediate and are taking longer than expected. Therefore, I cannot give you an approximate of when they will be implemented. 

We appreciate the reports on this translations issues! 

(edited)

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Thank you so much Maya for your answer 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

I checked everything last week before joining the 30 requested corrections. It means you can delete/forget my previous requested corrections not implemented before last week and only focus on these 30 ones. I Hope it will help. Unless you make changes or add new sections in the genre/interest page, everything will be alright on my side after the implementation of these 30 corrections ☺️

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@Sebastien​ - You're welcome!

Thank you! We have passed them along to team.

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Hi Sebastien,

I'm happy to let you know that the 30 corrections from your most recent post have now been implemented and are live on the site. You should now be able to see the changes on the Interest pages (with French-France selected).

This includes all 14 franchise name localizations (Avatar, Le Seigneur des anneaux, Bob l'éponge, La Reine des neiges, etc.), the genre/subgenre fixes (Film d'action de série B, Film de braquage, Détective dur à cuire, Histoire, etc.), the capitalization corrections (Road trip, Dark fantasy, Stand-up, Gun fu, Kung-fu, Crimes et drogue), the Super-héros hyphen fix, and the category labels on the "all" page (Court-métrage, Fantastique, Fêtes de fin d'année).Please do let us know if that looks correct now, or if any further changes are needed.

We sincerely apologize for how long this has taken. Your detailed reports, complete with evidence and references, were invaluable in getting these corrections right. Thank you for your patience and your dedication to improving IMDb for French-speaking users.

Best regards

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9.7K Points

Hi Dylan,

Thank you so much for your prompt action. I confirm that these 30 corrections have been implemented 👏.

While checking, I noticed 6 additional corrections that you can implement when you have time:

1- « Comédie musicale de chansons populaires » to be corrected to « Comédie musicale jukebox »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000132

This is how this material is named in France (mixing French and English):

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comédie_musicale_juke-box

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/383549de-c197-422a-8334-3b332f44c263

2- « Micro-drame » to be corrected to « Micro-drama »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000310

This is the way we say it in France:

https://www.eicar.fr/a-la-une/les-actualites-de-l-ecole/eicar-micro-drama

https://www.ouest-france.fr/high-tech/reseaux-sociaux/video-dans-les-coulisses-dun-micro-drama-francais-d2941924-29f3-11f1-a0a4-5254d693e09d

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/ad08fc8d-b713-47b0-8762-ac37964cad24

3- « Mystère cosy » to be corrected to « Cosy mystery »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000137

We keep the English expression in France:

https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosy_mystery

https://www.fnac.com/n530392/Roman-Policier-et-Thriller/Cosy-mystery

4- « Criminel » to be corrected to « Crime »:

Here are the 2 IMDb pages:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000052

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/all

Indeed, « Criminel » is used twice (look at the 2 titles circled here after):

It’s better in French to use a noun (« Crime ») than an adjective (« Criminel ») to label a genre. All the other French genres on this IMDb page (« Drame », « Famille », « Comédie », etc.) are nouns, so please make it uniform. Moreover, it is shorter, so more practical to display on the screen (less space used):

https://www.senscritique.com/liste/genre_crime/3011794

https://www.cinefil.com/genres-de-films/crime/tous-les-films

https://www.dvdclassik.com/genre/crime

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/b9dbf3d5-f849-4156-b3ad-f53d9f6785a4

5- « Film de braquage » to be corrected to « Braquage »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000056

Both can be said in France, but I realized that the shorter, the better. Indeed, it is useless to use too much place for display on IMDb when a shorter and less wordy form exists. We indeed use for instance « Action » and not « Film d’action » for another genre on French IMDb (though both can be said). Please find evidence:

https://www.senscritique.com/liste/braquage/141299

https://similaires.com/sur/2649-braquage

https://www.perplexity.ai/search/3c5df338-0b03-45d5-8f8c-edb93b769f04

6- « Film de casse » to be corrected to « Casse »:

Here is the IMDb page:

https://www.imdb.com/fr/interest/in0000050

Same reason as for correction number 5

Best regards

(edited)

Employee

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Hi Sebastien,

Thank you for confirming, and for these 6 additional corrections! We'll get them implemented shortly. They all make sense — particularly the consistency point about using shorter noun forms (Braquage, Casse, Crime) to match the pattern of other genre labels.

Best regards