[R] dates in French format

[Denis Chabot]

Hello R users,

I have to import a file with one column containing dates written in  
French short format, such as:

    7-déc-07
   11-déc-07
   14-déc-07
   18-déc-07
   21-déc-07
   24-déc-07
   26-déc-07
   28-déc-07
   31-déc-07
   2-janv-08
   4-janv-08
   7-janv-08
   9-janv-08
  11-janv-08
  14-janv-08
  16-janv-08
  18-janv-08

There are other columns for other (numeric) variables in the data  
file. In my read.csv2 statement, I indicate that the date column must  
be imported "as.is" to keep it as character.

I would like to transform this into a date object in R. So far I've  
used chron for my dates and times needs, but I am willing to change if  
another object/package will ease the task of importing these dates.

My reading of the chron help led me to believe that the formats it  
understands are only month names in English.

Are there other "formats" I can use with chron, or must I somehow edit  
this character variables to replace French month names by English ones  
(or numbers from 1 to 12)?

Thanks in advance,

Denis
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