Cannot take ç in $language

For some reason in conf.php if I put

$languages = array("fr" => "français","en" => "english","nl" => "nl");

français will not be displayed in the admin menu (at least)

$languages = array("fr" => "francais","en" => "english","nl" => "nl");

works

Nothing big but if thant language name itself is wrong spelled, it is not good for internationalisation.