diff --git a/internal/config/config.go b/internal/config/config.go
index 6f0169f..8a8f2a2 100644
--- a/internal/config/config.go
+++ b/internal/config/config.go
@@ -70,6 +70,10 @@ type SourceConfig struct {
 	PollIntervalMinutes int    `toml:"poll_interval_minutes"`
 	DirectRoute         string `toml:"direct_route"`
 	Enabled             bool   `toml:"enabled"`
+	// Language, when set, drops feed items whose per-item language tag is
+	// present and does not match (prefix). Useful for multilingual feeds
+	// like Politico Europe that publish English + French side-by-side.
+	Language            string `toml:"language"`
 }
 
 func Load(path string) (*Config, error) {
diff --git a/internal/ingestion/poller.go b/internal/ingestion/poller.go
index 926e7ef..23ad646 100644
--- a/internal/ingestion/poller.go
+++ b/internal/ingestion/poller.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package ingestion
 import (
 	"context"
 	"log/slog"
+	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"time"
 
@@ -109,6 +110,17 @@ func (p *Poller) pollOnceWithErr(ctx context.Context, src config.SourceConfig) e
 			continue
 		}
 
+		// Drop items in languages this source isn't configured to surface.
+		// Items without a language tag pass through — only filter when the
+		// feed explicitly marks an item with a non-matching language.
+		if src.Language != "" && items[i].Language != "" &&
+			!strings.HasPrefix(items[i].Language, strings.ToLower(src.Language)) {
+			slog.Info("dropping story (language filter)",
+				"guid", items[i].GUID, "source", src.Name,
+				"item_lang", items[i].Language, "want", src.Language)
+			continue
+		}
+
 		// Dedup checks first — canonical and headline use the ORIGINAL URL so
 		// they stay stable whether we end up swapping to a Wayback snapshot.
 		originalURL := items[i].ArticleURL