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UNI-013 · Spaces

NNBSP

Thin and welded: the space French demands before the exclamation mark.

French typography calls for a blank before !, ? and ; and inside guillemets — but a blank that can neither become a line break nor be wide. The narrow no-break space is that gem: thin like U+2009, welded like U+00A0.

It is also the recommended thousands separator: 1 000 000 will not part at the end of a line. No named entity — you call it  .

Wrong:  Bonjour ! — the ordinary space lets the mark fall alone
Right:  Bonjour ! — narrow and welded, as French demands
The thin blank that never becomes a break.