diff --git a/prisma/schema.prisma b/prisma/schema.prisma
index ca42d421f..f62e1a639 100644
--- a/prisma/schema.prisma
+++ b/prisma/schema.prisma
@@ -5226,7 +5226,8 @@ model InsightNarrative {
   userId           String   @map("user_id")
   /// "week" | "month".
   period           String
-  /// Resolved UI locale of the prose ("de" | "en").
+  /// Resolved UI locale of the prose — any shipped UI locale, not just de/en:
+  /// the prose is generated per locale, so the row is keyed by it.
   locale           String
   /// UTC YYYY-MM-DD boundary the narrative was generated for.
   dateKey          String   @map("date_key")
diff --git a/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts b/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
index ec846ba12..ed809c26d 100644
--- a/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/insights/chat/route.ts
@@ -60,6 +60,7 @@ import {
   listConversations,
 } from "@/lib/ai/coach/persistence";
 import { enqueueCoachMemoryRefresh } from "@/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-shared";
+import { instructionLocale } from "@/lib/ai/prompts/output-language";
 import { storeDeterministicFacts } from "@/lib/ai/coach/facts";
 import {
   buildDateKey,
@@ -485,9 +486,12 @@ async function handleChatRequest(request: NextRequest): Promise<Response> {
     void enqueueCoachMemoryRefresh({
       conversationId: workingConversationId,
       userId,
-      // Coach memory prose is composed in de/en only (the snapshot's
-      // coachLocale); collapse the wider UI locale union here.
-      locale: locale === "en" ? "en" : "de",
+      // Coach memory prose is composed in de/en only — it is MODEL-FACING
+      // context (a rolling conversation summary + extracted durable facts),
+      // not user-facing prose, so English is the correct target for every
+      // locale without a reviewed body. The former `=== "en" ? "en" : "de"`
+      // binary composed and keyed a French account's memory in German.
+      locale: instructionLocale(locale),
     });
   }
   // v1.19.1 (C4) — token efficiency. The full SNAPSHOT (now incl. labs,
diff --git a/src/app/api/insights/narrative/route.ts b/src/app/api/insights/narrative/route.ts
index 43d781c72..fd707f024 100644
--- a/src/app/api/insights/narrative/route.ts
+++ b/src/app/api/insights/narrative/route.ts
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ import { apiSuccess, returnAllZodIssues } from "@/lib/api-response";
 import { apiHandler, requireAuth } from "@/lib/api-handler";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import { resolveServerLocale } from "@/lib/i18n/server-locale";
+import { locales, defaultLocale, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import { requireAssistantSurface } from "@/lib/feature-flags";
 import { requireModuleEnabled } from "@/lib/modules/gate";
 import { readPeriodNarrative } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate";
@@ -37,8 +38,17 @@ const narrativeQuerySchema = z.object({
 /** A narrative read this recently is considered fresh; no warm is enqueued. */
 const NARRATIVE_FRESH_MS = 20 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
 
-function narrowLocale(locale: string): "de" | "en" {
-  return locale === "en" ? "en" : "de";
+/**
+ * The narrative row is keyed `(user, period, locale)` across the full UI
+ * locale union, so the resolved locale is carried through as-is.
+ *
+ * This used to be `locale === "en" ? "en" : "de"` — which sent every French,
+ * Spanish, Italian and Polish reader to the German narrative row and the
+ * German prompt behind it. `resolveServerLocale` already returns a validated
+ * `Locale`; an unknown value falls back to the app default (`en`) there.
+ */
+function narrowLocale(locale: Locale): Locale {
+  return locales.includes(locale) ? locale : defaultLocale;
 }
 
 export const GET = apiHandler(async (request: NextRequest) => {
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/coach-locale-no-german-default.test.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/coach-locale-no-german-default.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0572940cf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/coach-locale-no-german-default.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/**
+ * Regression-class ban for the German-default locale binary.
+ *
+ * The bug this pins had exactly one shape: `locale === "en" ? "en" : "de"`
+ * (and its `=== "de" ? ... : ...` inversions with a `de` fallback). Every
+ * occurrence sent French, Spanish, Italian and Polish accounts down the German
+ * branch. This walks the source of the surfaces that carried it and fails on
+ * the shape itself, so a future edit cannot quietly reintroduce it.
+ *
+ * Scoped to the files this change owns — the coach memory refresh, the coach
+ * snapshot's narrative recall, the narrative route + generator + warm, and the
+ * dashboard briefing recall. Blunt by design: it matches text, not behaviour,
+ * which is precisely what makes it survive a refactor of the logic around it.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect } from "vitest";
+import { readFileSync } from "node:fs";
+import { resolve } from "node:path";
+
+const ROOT = resolve(__dirname, "../../../..");
+
+const GUARDED_FILES = [
+  "app/api/insights/chat/route.ts",
+  "app/api/insights/narrative/route.ts",
+  "lib/ai/coach/snapshot.ts",
+  "lib/ai/coach/memory-snapshot.ts",
+  "lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-refresh-worker.ts",
+  "lib/dashboard/snapshot.ts",
+  "lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate.ts",
+  "lib/jobs/period-narrative-warm.ts",
+  "lib/jobs/period-narrative-shared.ts",
+];
+
+/**
+ * A ternary whose FALSE branch is the German literal — the de-default shape.
+ * Deliberately narrow: it must not flag `locale === "de" ? deBody : enBody`,
+ * which is the correct polarity (German only for German readers).
+ */
+const DE_DEFAULT_TERNARY = /\?\s*"[a-z]{2}"\s*:\s*"de"/;
+
+/** `payload.locale ?? "de"` and friends — a German default by omission. */
+const DE_DEFAULT_NULLISH = /\?\?\s*"de"/;
+
+/**
+ * Read a guarded file with comments stripped.
+ *
+ * The comments at these call sites deliberately QUOTE the banned shape to
+ * explain what was fixed; scanning them would make the guard self-tripping.
+ * Only executable source is checked.
+ */
+function readCode(rel: string): string {
+  return readFileSync(resolve(ROOT, rel), "utf8")
+    .replace(/\/\*[\s\S]*?\*\//g, "")
+    .replace(/^\s*\/\/.*$/gm, "");
+}
+
+describe("no German-default locale binary", () => {
+  it.each(GUARDED_FILES)("%s carries no de-default ternary", (rel) => {
+    expect(readCode(rel)).not.toMatch(DE_DEFAULT_TERNARY);
+  });
+
+  it.each(GUARDED_FILES)("%s carries no de-default fallback", (rel) => {
+    expect(readCode(rel)).not.toMatch(DE_DEFAULT_NULLISH);
+  });
+
+  it("recognises the shape it bans", () => {
+    // Guard the guard: the patterns must actually match the bug they describe,
+    // so a typo cannot turn this file into a silent pass.
+    expect(`locale === "en" ? "en" : "de"`).toMatch(DE_DEFAULT_TERNARY);
+    expect(`payload.locale ?? "de"`).toMatch(DE_DEFAULT_NULLISH);
+    // ...and must NOT match the correct polarity.
+    expect(`instructionLocale(locale)`).not.toMatch(DE_DEFAULT_TERNARY);
+    expect(`locale === "de" ? DE_BODY : EN_BODY`).not.toMatch(
+      DE_DEFAULT_TERNARY,
+    );
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/memory-snapshot.test.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/memory-snapshot.test.ts
index ecc316bc5..7b620f5a2 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/memory-snapshot.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/__tests__/memory-snapshot.test.ts
@@ -168,4 +168,19 @@ describe("buildCoachMemoryBlock", () => {
     await buildCoachMemoryBlock(USER, PROFILE, NOW, "en");
     expect(readPeriodNarrative).toHaveBeenCalledWith(USER, "month", "en");
   });
+
+  // The narrative row is keyed by the full UI locale union. A French account's
+  // recall must read the `fr` row — narrowing it to `de` (the old behaviour)
+  // recalled a German narrative, and narrowing it to `en` would read a row
+  // that account never has.
+  it.each(["fr", "es", "it", "pl"] as const)(
+    "reads the %s narrative row without narrowing the locale",
+    async (locale) => {
+      readPeriodNarrative.mockResolvedValue(null);
+      buildPeriodNarrativeContext.mockResolvedValue(readyContext([]));
+
+      await buildCoachMemoryBlock(USER, PROFILE, NOW, locale);
+      expect(readPeriodNarrative).toHaveBeenCalledWith(USER, "month", locale);
+    },
+  );
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-refresh-worker.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-refresh-worker.ts
index 1f93d7f4b..3867844f8 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-refresh-worker.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-refresh-worker.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@ export async function runCoachMemoryRefresh(
   payload: CoachMemoryRefreshPayload,
 ): Promise<void> {
   const { conversationId, userId } = payload;
-  const locale = payload.locale ?? "de";
+  // A payload without a locale (an older queued job) composes ENGLISH memory,
+  // not German — the memory prose is model-facing context and English is the
+  // fallback body for every locale that has no reviewed one.
+  const locale = payload.locale ?? "en";
 
   let summaryStatus = "error";
   try {
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-shared.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-shared.ts
index 31fc00b2e..6fcebdd67 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-shared.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/coach-memory-shared.ts
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ export const COACH_MEMORY_REFRESH_QUEUE = "coach-memory-refresh";
 export interface CoachMemoryRefreshPayload {
   conversationId: string;
   userId: string;
-  /** Locale to compose the summary / facts prose in; defaults to "de". */
+  /** Locale to compose the summary / facts prose in; defaults to "en". */
   locale?: "de" | "en";
 }
 
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/facts.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/facts.ts
index c210823f1..265598d64 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/facts.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/facts.ts
@@ -558,7 +558,10 @@ function deterministicFactText(
   subject: string,
   locale: string | undefined,
 ): string {
-  const de = locale?.toLowerCase().startsWith("de") ?? true;
+  // German only for a German reader; every other locale — and an absent one —
+  // composes ENGLISH. The fact text is model-facing memory, so English is the
+  // fallback body; the previous `?? true` made an unknown locale German.
+  const de = locale?.toLowerCase().startsWith("de") ?? false;
   switch (kind) {
     case "allergy":
       return de
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/memory-snapshot.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/memory-snapshot.ts
index 5909dfa2f..4093b3e28 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/memory-snapshot.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/memory-snapshot.ts
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ import {
   type BandTransition,
 } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative";
 import type { BaselineProfile } from "@/lib/insights/derived";
+import type { Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import { buildCoachFactsBlock } from "./facts";
 import {
   buildCoachPlansBlock,
@@ -138,7 +139,12 @@ export async function buildCoachMemoryBlock(
   userId: string,
   _profile: BaselineProfile,
   now: Date,
-  locale: "de" | "en",
+  /**
+   * The reader's UI locale — the narrative row is keyed by it, across the full
+   * six-locale union. Narrowing it here would read a row the narrative
+   * pipeline never writes for that user.
+   */
+  locale: Locale,
 ): Promise<CoachMemoryBlock | null> {
   let priorNarrative: PriorNarrativeRecall | undefined;
   // Sub-source 1: the latest period-narrative headline + driver recall.
diff --git a/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot.ts b/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot.ts
index e7363b863..d93b12c2f 100644
--- a/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot.ts
+++ b/src/lib/ai/coach/snapshot.ts
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
   type CoachDataCluster,
 } from "@/lib/validations/coach-prefs";
 import { DEFAULT_TIMEZONE } from "@/lib/tz/resolver";
+import { locales, defaultLocale, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import { resolveGlucoseUnit } from "@/lib/glucose";
 import type { SleepStageRow } from "@/lib/analytics/sleep-night";
 import { compactSections } from "@/lib/ai/prompts/compact-sections";
@@ -339,9 +340,13 @@ async function buildCoachSnapshotImpl(
   );
   const prefs = parseCoachPrefs(prefsRow?.coachPrefsJson);
   // Resolve the UI locale for the rolling-profile narrative recall. The
-  // narrative rows are keyed by ("de" | "en"); default to "de" (the app
-  // default locale) when the user never picked one.
-  const coachLocale: "de" | "en" = prefsRow?.locale === "en" ? "en" : "de";
+  // narrative rows are keyed by the full UI locale union, so the stored value
+  // is carried through as-is; an unset or unknown value falls back to the app
+  // default (`en`), never to German. The former `=== "en" ? "en" : "de"`
+  // binary made a French account recall a German narrative row.
+  const coachLocale: Locale = locales.includes(prefsRow?.locale as Locale)
+    ? (prefsRow?.locale as Locale)
+    : defaultLocale;
   const clusterDefault = clusterSourcesFromPrefs(prefs.dataClusters);
   const { sources: scopedSources, window } = resolveScope(
     scope,
diff --git a/src/lib/dashboard/snapshot.ts b/src/lib/dashboard/snapshot.ts
index c1ee08a27..5ce296350 100644
--- a/src/lib/dashboard/snapshot.ts
+++ b/src/lib/dashboard/snapshot.ts
@@ -1046,10 +1046,12 @@ function localisedMeasurementLabel(
   return resolved === key ? type.replace(/_/g, " ").toLowerCase() : resolved;
 }
 
-/** Narrow a 6-locale `Locale` to the de/en the narrative pipeline generates. */
-function narrativeLocale(locale: Locale): "de" | "en" {
-  return locale === "de" ? "de" : "en";
-}
+/**
+ * The narrative row is keyed by the full six-locale union — the pipeline
+ * generates and stores a row per UI locale — so the briefing memory recall
+ * reads the caller's locale directly. This used to narrow to de/en, which
+ * would now read a row a fr/es/it/pl account never has.
+ */
 
 /**
  * Assemble the full snapshot in ONE `Promise.all`. Every sub-read is
@@ -1079,8 +1081,8 @@ export async function buildDashboardSnapshot(
     /**
      * v1.21.2 — active locale for the A4 briefing memory prose. Defaults to
      * English; the route resolves it from the request (cookie / header / user
-     * preference). The recall headline is read locale-specific; non-de locales
-     * fall back to the English narrative read inside `buildCoachMemoryBlock`.
+     * preference). The recall headline is read locale-specific: the narrative
+     * row `buildCoachMemoryBlock` reads is keyed by this exact locale.
      */
     locale?: Locale;
     /**
@@ -1269,7 +1271,7 @@ export async function buildDashboardSnapshot(
             user.id,
             narrativeProfile,
             now,
-            narrativeLocale(locale),
+            locale,
           ),
         ).catch(() => null)
       : Promise.resolve(null),
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-generate.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-generate.test.ts
index 04f0b6bcd..12fec86c8 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-generate.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-generate.test.ts
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@ describe("buildNarrativeUserPrompt", () => {
     expect(prompt).toContain("WEIGHT");
     expect(prompt).toContain("ACTIVITY_STEPS ~ SLEEP_DURATION");
     expect(prompt).toContain("12 pairs tested");
-    expect(NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION).toBe("1.13.0");
+    expect(NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION).toBe("1.14.0");
   });
 });
 
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-locale.test.ts b/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-locale.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c2531088e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/insights/narrative/__tests__/period-narrative-locale.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,215 @@
+/**
+ * Output-language contract for the PERIOD NARRATIVE surface.
+ *
+ * The bug this pins: the read route narrowed every non-English locale to `de`,
+ * so a French, Spanish, Italian or Polish reader received a German
+ * retrospective composed from the German instruction body. The fix keeps the
+ * two reviewed bodies (de, en) and lets the other four ride the English body
+ * with their language named and their OWN reply-language directive appended.
+ *
+ * Three things are asserted here, in ascending strength:
+ *  1. the four locales name their language and carry the verbatim directive
+ *     from the translator-facing `safety-contracts.<locale>.yaml`;
+ *  2. no non-German prompt contains a German-body sentinel — the "nothing
+ *     silently falls back to German" assertion this whole change exists for;
+ *  3. the German and English prompts are byte-identical to their pre-change
+ *     form, modulo the prompt-version string, pinned by content hash.
+ */
+import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";
+
+vi.mock("@/lib/crypto", () => ({
+  encrypt: (s: string) => `enc:${s}`,
+  decrypt: (s: string) => s.replace(/^enc:/, ""),
+}));
+vi.mock("@/lib/logging/context", () => ({ annotate: vi.fn() }));
+vi.mock("@/lib/db", () => ({ prisma: {} }));
+
+import { createHash } from "node:crypto";
+import {
+  buildNarrativeSystemPrompt,
+  generatePeriodNarrative,
+  NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION,
+} from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate";
+import { loadSafetyContracts } from "@/lib/ai/prompts/safety-contracts";
+import { locales, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
+import type { PeriodNarrativeContext } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative";
+
+/** The four locales that ride the English body. */
+const RIDING_LOCALES: Locale[] = ["fr", "es", "it", "pl"];
+
+const LANGUAGE_NAMES: Record<string, string> = {
+  fr: "French",
+  es: "Spanish",
+  it: "Italian",
+  pl: "Polish",
+};
+
+/**
+ * Sentinels that only ever appear in the GERMAN instruction body. A hit on a
+ * non-German prompt means that locale fell back to German — the exact bug.
+ */
+const GERMAN_SENTINELS = [
+  "AUSGABEFORMAT",
+  "Antworte",
+  "auf Deutsch",
+  "Feste Regeln",
+  "Prompt-Version",
+];
+
+/**
+ * sha256 of the composed prompt with the version string normalised away.
+ *
+ * The version is deliberately excluded: bumping `NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION` is
+ * a required part of any prompt change and is the ONE byte the de/en prompts
+ * are allowed to move by. Everything else is frozen.
+ */
+function promptHash(locale: "de" | "en"): string {
+  const normalised = buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale)
+    .split(NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION)
+    .join("VERSION");
+  return createHash("sha256").update(normalised, "utf8").digest("hex");
+}
+
+/**
+ * Hashes captured from the prompts as they stood at NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION
+ * 1.13.0, before the output-language change. If either moves, the de or en
+ * prompt drifted — which this change promised would not happen.
+ */
+const FROZEN_PROMPT_HASHES: Record<"de" | "en", string> = {
+  de: "be667f16beeb44f51a81fedd929716b2249579fe914b45bb8cba0cd9e64a8c6d",
+  en: "bb0b080e21a2b9729bdf0047ae221c326ec29ecd74d0999f19ea8deabcbf078a",
+};
+
+describe("period-narrative output language", () => {
+  it("keeps the German and English prompts byte-identical modulo the version", () => {
+    expect(promptHash("de")).toBe(FROZEN_PROMPT_HASHES.de);
+    expect(promptHash("en")).toBe(FROZEN_PROMPT_HASHES.en);
+  });
+
+  it("appends no directive to the two reviewed bodies", () => {
+    expect(buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("de")).not.toContain("OUTPUT LANGUAGE:");
+    expect(buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("en")).not.toContain("OUTPUT LANGUAGE:");
+    // The English body must not grow a language rule for its own locale.
+    expect(buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("en")).not.toContain(
+      "Write the summary in English.",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it.each(RIDING_LOCALES)(
+    "names the language and carries the verbatim directive for %s",
+    (locale) => {
+      const prompt = buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale);
+      const directive = loadSafetyContracts(locale).reply_language_directive;
+
+      expect(prompt).toContain(
+        `Write the summary in ${LANGUAGE_NAMES[locale]}.`,
+      );
+      expect(prompt).toContain(`OUTPUT LANGUAGE: ${directive}`);
+      // The directive is the LAST instruction the model reads.
+      expect(prompt.trimEnd().endsWith(directive.trimEnd())).toBe(true);
+      // The scaffolding is the English body, not a translation of it.
+      expect(prompt).toContain("Hard rules:");
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("specifically composes the French prompt in English with the French directive", () => {
+    const prompt = buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("fr");
+    expect(prompt).toContain("Write the summary in French.");
+    expect(prompt).toContain(
+      loadSafetyContracts("fr").reply_language_directive,
+    );
+    expect(prompt).toContain(
+      "You summarise one person's health-tracking PERIOD",
+    );
+  });
+
+  it.each(locales.filter((l) => l !== "de"))(
+    "leaks no German instruction body into the %s prompt",
+    (locale) => {
+      const prompt = buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale);
+      for (const sentinel of GERMAN_SENTINELS) {
+        expect(prompt).not.toContain(sentinel);
+      }
+    },
+  );
+
+  it("keeps the German prompt German", () => {
+    const prompt = buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("de");
+    expect(prompt).toContain("Feste Regeln:");
+    expect(prompt).toContain("Prompt-Version:");
+  });
+});
+
+describe("period-narrative locale storage", () => {
+  function readyContext(): PeriodNarrativeContext {
+    return {
+      status: "ready",
+      period: "week",
+      metricDeltas: [
+        {
+          type: "WEIGHT",
+          unit: "kg",
+          current: 80,
+          prior: 81,
+          delta: -1,
+          deltaPercent: -1.2,
+          currentDays: 6,
+          priorDays: 7,
+        },
+      ],
+      bandTransitions: [],
+      drivers: [],
+      coincidentFlags: [],
+      pairsTested: 12,
+      fdrQ: 0.1,
+      provenance: {
+        metrics: ["WEIGHT"],
+        window: {
+          from: "2026-05-01T00:00:00.000Z",
+          to: "2026-05-15T00:00:00.000Z",
+        },
+        computedAt: "2026-05-15T05:00:00.000Z",
+      },
+    };
+  }
+
+  it("keys the row by the reader's own locale and prompts in their language", async () => {
+    const upsert = vi.fn(async (args: { create: { locale: string } }) => args);
+    const prisma = {
+      user: { findUnique: vi.fn(async () => ({ timezone: "Europe/Berlin" })) },
+      insightNarrative: { findUnique: vi.fn(async () => null), upsert },
+    };
+    let capturedSystemPrompt = "";
+    const runCompletion = vi.fn(async (args: { systemPrompt: string }) => {
+      capturedSystemPrompt = args.systemPrompt;
+      return {
+        kind: "ok" as const,
+        content: "Votre semaine.",
+        providerType: "mock",
+      };
+    });
+
+    const outcome = await generatePeriodNarrative("user-1", {
+      period: "week",
+      locale: "fr",
+      force: true,
+      buildContext: vi.fn(async () => readyContext()) as never,
+      runCompletion: runCompletion as never,
+      prisma: prisma as never,
+    });
+
+    expect(outcome).toEqual({ status: "generated", providerType: "mock" });
+    // The row is stored under `fr` — NOT collapsed into the de or en row, so a
+    // French retrospective is never served to a German or English reader.
+    expect(upsert.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
+      create: { locale: "fr" },
+      where: { userId_period_locale: { locale: "fr" } },
+    });
+    expect(capturedSystemPrompt).toContain("Write the summary in French.");
+    expect(capturedSystemPrompt).not.toContain("AUSGABEFORMAT");
+    // The provider cache action is locale-scoped too.
+    expect(runCompletion.mock.calls[0]?.[0]).toMatchObject({
+      cacheAction: "insights.narrative.week.fr",
+    });
+  });
+});
diff --git a/src/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate.ts b/src/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate.ts
index 3d7df2654..41c862547 100644
--- a/src/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate.ts
+++ b/src/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate.ts
@@ -42,6 +42,12 @@ import {
   DETERMINISTIC_PROVIDER_TYPE,
 } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-deterministic";
 import { composeSharedContracts } from "@/lib/ai/prompts/shared-contracts";
+import {
+  instructionLocale,
+  targetLanguageName,
+  withOutputLanguage,
+} from "@/lib/ai/prompts/output-language";
+import type { Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import {
   validateNarrativeText,
   buildNarrativeCorrection,
@@ -51,8 +57,15 @@ import {
  * Stable identifier for the narrative prompt revision. Bumped whenever the
  * prompt below changes so the cross-feature attribution aggregator can slice
  * quality per (provider × prompt) and a prompt change is observable.
+ *
+ * 1.14.0 — output language: French, Spanish, Italian and Polish readers used
+ * to fall to the German instruction body (the route narrowed every non-`en`
+ * locale to `de`), so they received German retrospectives. They now compose
+ * the English body with their language named in an added rule and the
+ * locale's own reply-language directive appended last. The German and English
+ * prompts are unchanged apart from this version string (test-pinned).
  */
-export const NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION = "1.13.0" as const;
+export const NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION = "1.14.0" as const;
 
 /** A narrative cached this recently is served without regenerating. */
 const NARRATIVE_FRESH_MS = 20 * 60 * 60 * 1000;
@@ -67,8 +80,14 @@ export type NarrativeGenerateOutcome =
 interface GenerateOptions {
   /** Which period to narrate. */
   period: NarrativePeriod;
-  /** Resolved UI locale for the prompt + row. */
-  locale: "de" | "en";
+  /**
+   * Resolved UI locale for the prompt + row.
+   *
+   * The full six-locale union: the row is keyed `(user, period, locale)`, so a
+   * French reader's French retrospective is stored under `fr` rather than
+   * mislabelled as German or English prose.
+   */
+  locale: Locale;
   /** Skip the freshness short-circuit and force a fresh generation. */
   force?: boolean;
   /** Injected clock for deterministic tests; defaults to now. */
@@ -105,7 +124,24 @@ function dateKeyFor(now: Date, tz: string): string {
 
 // ── prompt ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
-const SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN = `You summarise one person's health-tracking PERIOD (a week or a month) for that person.
+/**
+ * Placeholder for the extra output-language rule inside the English body.
+ *
+ * Empty for `en` (whose body is written in the language it asks for), so the
+ * composed English prompt stays byte-stable; for the four locales that ride
+ * the English body it renders one more hard rule naming the reader's
+ * language. The German body carries no token — it names its language by being
+ * written in it.
+ */
+const LANGUAGE_RULE_TOKEN = "{{LANGUAGE_RULE}}";
+
+function languageRule(locale: Locale): string {
+  return locale === "de" || locale === "en"
+    ? ""
+    : `\n- Write the summary in ${targetLanguageName(locale)}.`;
+}
+
+const SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN_TEMPLATE = `You summarise one person's health-tracking PERIOD (a week or a month) for that person.
 Prompt version: ${NARRATIVE_PROMPT_VERSION}.
 
 Hard rules:
@@ -115,7 +151,7 @@ Hard rules:
 - No diagnosis, no medical advice, no alarm. Calm, factual, second person ("your"). When the period earned it, name one genuine win plainly; keep it warm and second-person, never a reflexive compliment.
 - SHAPE: lead with the period's one-line verdict (the overall read in plain words), then connect the top movers and surviving associations into a short arc, and close on continuity or one watch-item — synthesize, do not list each metric in turn.
 - 2 to 4 short sentences. Plain text only — no markdown, no headings, no bullet points, no emojis.
-- If the context is thin, say plainly that there is little to report this period rather than inventing detail.
+- If the context is thin, say plainly that there is little to report this period rather than inventing detail.${LANGUAGE_RULE_TOKEN}
 
 ${composeSharedContracts("en", ["toneContract", "grounding", "openingShape", "safetyGlp1", "safetyAcute", "metricIdentifierBan", "forbiddenFiller", "formattingContract"])}`;
 
@@ -133,14 +169,33 @@ Feste Regeln:
 
 ${composeSharedContracts("de", ["toneContract", "grounding", "openingShape", "safetyGlp1", "safetyAcute", "metricIdentifierBan", "forbiddenFiller", "formattingContract"])}`;
 
+/**
+ * The system prompt for one reader.
+ *
+ * German readers compose the reviewed German body; every other locale
+ * composes the English body and is told, in its own language, which language
+ * to write in. The former `locale === "de" ? DE : EN` binary was fed by a
+ * route that narrowed every non-`en` locale to `de`, so French, Spanish,
+ * Italian and Polish readers received German retrospectives.
+ */
+export function buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale: Locale): string {
+  const body =
+    instructionLocale(locale) === "de"
+      ? SYSTEM_PROMPT_DE
+      : SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN_TEMPLATE.split(LANGUAGE_RULE_TOKEN).join(
+          languageRule(locale),
+        );
+  return withOutputLanguage(body, locale);
+}
+
 /**
  * Test-only view of the composed system prompts (incl. the appended shared
  * contracts), so the cross-surface coverage test can assert fragment presence
  * without re-deriving the composition.
  */
 export const SYSTEM_PROMPTS_FOR_TEST: Record<"de" | "en", string> = {
-  de: SYSTEM_PROMPT_DE,
-  en: SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN,
+  de: buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("de"),
+  en: buildNarrativeSystemPrompt("en"),
 };
 
 /** Render the typed context into a compact, model-readable block. */
@@ -249,6 +304,10 @@ export async function generatePeriodNarrative(
   options: GenerateOptions,
 ): Promise<NarrativeGenerateOutcome> {
   const { locale } = options;
+  // The de/en body language the user prompt, the deterministic fallback and
+  // the grounding correction are composed in. The ROW stays keyed by the full
+  // `locale`; only the prose scaffolding collapses to a reviewed body.
+  const bodyLocale = instructionLocale(locale);
   const force = options.force === true;
   const now = options.now ?? new Date();
   const prisma = options.prisma ?? defaultPrisma;
@@ -289,8 +348,8 @@ export async function generatePeriodNarrative(
     userId,
     cacheAction: `insights.narrative.${period}.${locale}`,
     consentSurface: "insights",
-    systemPrompt: locale === "de" ? SYSTEM_PROMPT_DE : SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN,
-    userPrompt: buildNarrativeUserPrompt(context, locale),
+    systemPrompt: buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale),
+    userPrompt: buildNarrativeUserPrompt(context, bodyLocale),
     temperature: AI_BUDGETS.narrative.temperature,
     maxTokens: AI_BUDGETS.narrative.maxTokens,
     // v1.18.7 / v1.22 (W6) — the reference/diff path pins the deterministic
@@ -363,7 +422,7 @@ export async function generatePeriodNarrative(
   // the same structured context, so the retrospective card is never empty for
   // an active account (iOS H2). A later AI warm overwrites this row in place.
   if (completion.kind === "none") {
-    const text = buildDeterministicNarrative(context, locale);
+    const text = buildDeterministicNarrative(context, bodyLocale);
     await persist(text, DETERMINISTIC_PROVIDER_TYPE);
     return { status: "generated", providerType: DETERMINISTIC_PROVIDER_TYPE };
   }
@@ -395,10 +454,10 @@ export async function generatePeriodNarrative(
       userId,
       cacheAction: `insights.narrative.${period}.${locale}`,
       consentSurface: "insights",
-      systemPrompt: locale === "de" ? SYSTEM_PROMPT_DE : SYSTEM_PROMPT_EN,
+      systemPrompt: buildNarrativeSystemPrompt(locale),
       userPrompt:
-        buildNarrativeUserPrompt(context, locale) +
-        buildNarrativeCorrection(findings, locale),
+        buildNarrativeUserPrompt(context, bodyLocale) +
+        buildNarrativeCorrection(findings, bodyLocale),
       temperature: AI_BUDGETS.narrative.temperature,
       maxTokens: AI_BUDGETS.narrative.maxTokens,
       seed: REFERENCE_AI_SEED,
@@ -430,7 +489,7 @@ export async function generatePeriodNarrative(
 /** The narrative row, decrypted for a read. */
 export interface NarrativeRead {
   period: NarrativePeriod;
-  locale: "de" | "en";
+  locale: Locale;
   text: string;
   dateKey: string;
   provenance: NarrativeProvenancePayload | null;
@@ -448,7 +507,7 @@ export interface NarrativeRead {
 export async function readPeriodNarrative(
   userId: string,
   period: NarrativePeriod,
-  locale: "de" | "en",
+  locale: Locale,
   prisma: PrismaClient = defaultPrisma,
 ): Promise<NarrativeRead | null> {
   const row = await prisma.insightNarrative.findUnique({
@@ -475,7 +534,7 @@ export async function readPeriodNarrative(
 
   return {
     period: row.period as NarrativePeriod,
-    locale: row.locale as "de" | "en",
+    locale: row.locale as Locale,
     text,
     dateKey: row.dateKey,
     provenance,
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-shared.ts b/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-shared.ts
index c6829e148..8c2ee54db 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-shared.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-shared.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
 import { getGlobalBoss } from "@/lib/jobs/boss-instance";
 import { annotate } from "@/lib/logging/context";
 import type { NarrativePeriod } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative";
+import type { Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 
 export const PERIOD_NARRATIVE_QUEUE = "period-narrative-warm";
 
@@ -33,8 +34,8 @@ export interface PeriodNarrativePayload {
   userId?: string;
   /** Period to warm on the single-user path. */
   period?: NarrativePeriod;
-  /** Locale to warm; defaults to "de" when absent. */
-  locale?: "de" | "en";
+  /** Locale to warm; defaults to the app default (`en`) when absent. */
+  locale?: Locale;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -47,7 +48,7 @@ export interface PeriodNarrativePayload {
 export async function enqueueNarrativeWarm(payload: {
   userId: string;
   period: NarrativePeriod;
-  locale: "de" | "en";
+  locale: Locale;
 }): Promise<void> {
   const boss = getGlobalBoss();
   if (!boss) return;
diff --git a/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-warm.ts b/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-warm.ts
index 3d72e43cd..785b10739 100644
--- a/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-warm.ts
+++ b/src/lib/jobs/period-narrative-warm.ts
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ import {
   type NarrativeGenerateOutcome,
 } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative-generate";
 import type { NarrativePeriod } from "@/lib/insights/narrative/period-narrative";
+import { locales, defaultLocale, type Locale } from "@/lib/i18n/config";
 import {
   PERIOD_NARRATIVE_QUEUE,
   PERIOD_NARRATIVE_CRON,
@@ -128,11 +129,16 @@ export async function findNarrativeCandidates(
 }
 
 /**
- * Non-German locales resolve to ENGLISH (matching
- * `status-shared.normalizeLocale` and the no-key fallback routing).
+ * The user's stored locale, validated against the shipped UI locale union.
+ *
+ * The narrative row is keyed `(user, period, locale)`, so the nightly warm has
+ * to write the SAME key the read route reads. Collapsing fr/es/it/pl to `en`
+ * here would leave those users' rows permanently cold on the nightly path.
+ * An unset or unknown value falls back to the app default (`en`), never to
+ * German.
  */
-function normalizeLocale(value: string | null): "de" | "en" {
-  return value === "de" ? "de" : "en";
+function normalizeLocale(value: string | null): Locale {
+  return locales.includes(value as Locale) ? (value as Locale) : defaultLocale;
 }
 
 /**
@@ -254,7 +260,7 @@ export async function warmOneNarrative(
   if (!flags.briefing && !flags.insightStatus) return null;
   return generatePeriodNarrative(payload.userId, {
     period: payload.period,
-    locale: payload.locale ?? "de",
+    locale: payload.locale ?? defaultLocale,
     force: true,
   });
 }