As Sir Tainly said, in French, the word meaning 'man' is the same as the word meaning 'human being'. This is not really a subject of debate - what is more so is the name of some professions, that have only male forms (for example, a woman would be 'le Président', but not 'la Présidente' !).
------------------
The world is my oyster !
And now I have the knives to open it ...
[This message has been edited by Moiraine (edited 05-09-2001).]