diff --git a/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.cpp b/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.cpp
index b14e86088..013ee0153 100644
--- a/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.cpp
+++ b/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.cpp
@@ -136,18 +136,41 @@ QString FileElementCollectionItem::localName()
 		}
 		else
 		{
+			// Fall back to the raw directory name (m_path) whenever the
+			// translated name can't be obtained -- qet_directory missing,
+			// unreadable (e.g. a Windows path-encoding issue with special
+			// characters, see bugtracker #332), malformed, or present but
+			// without a usable name entry -- rather than leaving the item
+			// blank.
+			QString display_name;
+			bool readable = false;
 			QString str(fileSystemPath() % "/qet_directory");
 			pugi::xml_document docu;
-			if(docu.load_file(str.toStdWString().c_str()))
+			if (docu.load_file(str.toStdWString().c_str()))
 			{
 				if (QString(docu.document_element().name())
 					== "qet-directory")
 				{
+					readable = true;
 					NamesList nl;
 					nl.fromXml(docu.document_element());
-					setText(nl.name());
+						// Deliberately no fallback argument: a non-empty one
+						// is returned *before* NamesList::name() reaches its
+						// "first available translation" step, so passing
+						// m_path here would replace a perfectly good name in
+						// some other language with the raw directory name.
+						// The fallback belongs after the chain, not inside it.
+					display_name = nl.name();
 				}
 			}
+			setText(display_name.isEmpty() ? m_path : display_name);
+
+				// Only a file-level failure counts: a readable qet-directory
+				// with no entry for the current language is not an error,
+				// NamesList::name() resolves that on its own. Recorded here
+				// and reported by setUpData(), which sets the tooltip after
+				// this runs.
+			m_qet_directory_unreadable = !readable;
 		}
 	}
 	else if (isElement()) {
@@ -350,7 +373,21 @@ void FileElementCollectionItem::setUpData()
 		}
 	}
 
-	setToolTip(collectionPath());
+		// Falling back to the raw directory name keeps the folder usable, but
+		// on its own it hides the fact that a file is broken: the user sees a
+		// plausible name and never learns there is anything to repair. Say so
+		// above the collection path, which stays as the last line the way the
+		// element tooltip above builds it.
+	QStringList tip;
+	if (isDir() && m_qet_directory_unreadable)
+	{
+		tip << QObject::tr("Le fichier « %1 » est absent ou illisible : "
+				   "le nom traduit de ce dossier n'a pas pu être lu, "
+				   "son nom de dossier est affiché à la place.")
+		       .arg(fileSystemPath() % "/qet_directory");
+	}
+	tip << collectionPath();
+	setToolTip(tip.join(QLatin1Char('\n')));
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.h b/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.h
index d2c735d72..4c9885f79 100644
--- a/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.h
+++ b/sources/ElementsCollection/fileelementcollectionitem.h
@@ -64,6 +64,11 @@ class FileElementCollectionItem : public ElementCollectionItem
 
 	private:
 		QString m_path;
+			/// True when this directory's qet_directory file is missing or
+			/// unreadable, so setUpData() can say so in the tooltip. Recorded
+			/// rather than acted on in localName(), because setUpData() resets
+			/// the tooltip afterwards and would otherwise discard it.
+		bool m_qet_directory_unreadable = false;
 };
 
 #endif // FILEELEMENTCOLLECTIONITEM2_H