diff --git a/src/uu/basenc/locales/en-US.ftl b/src/uu/basenc/locales/en-US.ftl
index 520292c85..a851acae9 100644
--- a/src/uu/basenc/locales/en-US.ftl
+++ b/src/uu/basenc/locales/en-US.ftl
@@ -5,3 +5,18 @@ basenc-about = Encode/decode data and print to standard output
   the formal alphabet. Use --ignore-garbage to attempt to recover
   from any other non-alphabet bytes in the encoded stream.
 basenc-usage = basenc [OPTION]... [FILE]
+
+# Help messages for encoding formats
+basenc-help-base64 = same as 'base64' program
+basenc-help-base64url = file- and url-safe base64
+basenc-help-base32 = same as 'base32' program
+basenc-help-base32hex = extended hex alphabet base32
+basenc-help-base16 = hex encoding
+basenc-help-base2lsbf = bit string with least significant bit (lsb) first
+basenc-help-base2msbf = bit string with most significant bit (msb) first
+basenc-help-z85 = ascii85-like encoding;
+  when encoding, input length must be a multiple of 4;
+  when decoding, input length must be a multiple of 5
+
+# Error messages
+basenc-error-missing-encoding-type = missing encoding type
diff --git a/src/uu/basenc/locales/fr-FR.ftl b/src/uu/basenc/locales/fr-FR.ftl
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7bf87265f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/uu/basenc/locales/fr-FR.ftl
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+basenc-about = Encoder/décoder des données et afficher vers la sortie standard
+  Sans FICHIER, ou lorsque FICHIER est -, lire l'entrée standard.
+
+  Lors du décodage, l'entrée peut contenir des nouvelles lignes en plus des octets de
+  l'alphabet formel. Utilisez --ignore-garbage pour tenter de récupérer
+  depuis tout autre octet non-alphabétique dans le flux encodé.
+basenc-usage = basenc [OPTION]... [FICHIER]
+
+# Messages d'aide pour les formats d'encodage
+basenc-help-base64 = identique au programme 'base64'
+basenc-help-base64url = base64 sécurisé pour fichiers et URLs
+basenc-help-base32 = identique au programme 'base32'
+basenc-help-base32hex = base32 avec alphabet hexadécimal étendu
+basenc-help-base16 = encodage hexadécimal
+basenc-help-base2lsbf = chaîne de bits avec le bit de poids faible (lsb) en premier
+basenc-help-base2msbf = chaîne de bits avec le bit de poids fort (msb) en premier
+basenc-help-z85 = encodage de type ascii85 ;
+  lors de l'encodage, la longueur d'entrée doit être un multiple de 4 ;
+  lors du décodage, la longueur d'entrée doit être un multiple de 5
+
+# Messages d'erreur
+basenc-error-missing-encoding-type = type d'encodage manquant
diff --git a/src/uu/basenc/src/basenc.rs b/src/uu/basenc/src/basenc.rs
index 9da71e9de..d06ac3af7 100644
--- a/src/uu/basenc/src/basenc.rs
+++ b/src/uu/basenc/src/basenc.rs
@@ -13,46 +13,49 @@ use uucore::{
     encoding::Format,
     error::{UResult, UUsageError},
 };
-const ENCODINGS: &[(&str, Format, &str)] = &[
-    ("base64", Format::Base64, "same as 'base64' program"),
-    ("base64url", Format::Base64Url, "file- and url-safe base64"),
-    ("base32", Format::Base32, "same as 'base32' program"),
-    (
-        "base32hex",
-        Format::Base32Hex,
-        "extended hex alphabet base32",
-    ),
-    ("base16", Format::Base16, "hex encoding"),
-    (
-        "base2lsbf",
-        Format::Base2Lsbf,
-        "bit string with least significant bit (lsb) first",
-    ),
-    (
-        "base2msbf",
-        Format::Base2Msbf,
-        "bit string with most significant bit (msb) first",
-    ),
-    (
-        "z85",
-        Format::Z85,
-        "ascii85-like encoding;\n\
-        when encoding, input length must be a multiple of 4;\n\
-        when decoding, input length must be a multiple of 5",
-    ),
-];
+
+fn get_encodings() -> Vec<(&'static str, Format, String)> {
+    vec![
+        ("base64", Format::Base64, get_message("basenc-help-base64")),
+        (
+            "base64url",
+            Format::Base64Url,
+            get_message("basenc-help-base64url"),
+        ),
+        ("base32", Format::Base32, get_message("basenc-help-base32")),
+        (
+            "base32hex",
+            Format::Base32Hex,
+            get_message("basenc-help-base32hex"),
+        ),
+        ("base16", Format::Base16, get_message("basenc-help-base16")),
+        (
+            "base2lsbf",
+            Format::Base2Lsbf,
+            get_message("basenc-help-base2lsbf"),
+        ),
+        (
+            "base2msbf",
+            Format::Base2Msbf,
+            get_message("basenc-help-base2msbf"),
+        ),
+        ("z85", Format::Z85, get_message("basenc-help-z85")),
+    ]
+}
 
 pub fn uu_app() -> Command {
     let about: &'static str = Box::leak(get_message("basenc-about").into_boxed_str());
     let usage: &'static str = Box::leak(get_message("basenc-usage").into_boxed_str());
 
+    let encodings = get_encodings();
     let mut command = base_common::base_app(about, usage);
-    for encoding in ENCODINGS {
+
+    for encoding in &encodings {
         let raw_arg = Arg::new(encoding.0)
             .long(encoding.0)
-            .help(encoding.2)
+            .help(&encoding.2)
             .action(ArgAction::SetTrue);
-        let overriding_arg = ENCODINGS
+        let overriding_arg = encodings
             .iter()
             .fold(raw_arg, |arg, enc| arg.overrides_with(enc.0));
         command = command.arg(overriding_arg);
@@ -64,10 +67,17 @@ fn parse_cmd_args(args: impl uucore::Args) -> UResult<(Config, Format)> {
     let matches = uu_app()
         .try_get_matches_from(args.collect_lossy())
         .with_exit_code(1)?;
-    let format = ENCODINGS
+
+    let encodings = get_encodings();
+    let format = encodings
         .iter()
         .find(|encoding| matches.get_flag(encoding.0))
-        .ok_or_else(|| UUsageError::new(BASE_CMD_PARSE_ERROR, "missing encoding type"))?
+        .ok_or_else(|| {
+            UUsageError::new(
+                BASE_CMD_PARSE_ERROR,
+                get_message("basenc-error-missing-encoding-type"),
+            )
+        })?
         .1;
     let config = Config::from(&matches)?;
     Ok((config, format))