diff --git a/pkgs/development/python-modules/configparser/default.nix b/pkgs/development/python-modules/configparser/default.nix
index 682c5b83215f..61cabb76d732 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/python-modules/configparser/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/python-modules/configparser/default.nix
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ buildPythonPackage rec {
   doCheck = false;
 
   preConfigure = ''
-    export LC_ALL=C.UTF-8
+    export LC_ALL=${if stdenv.isDarwin then "en_US" else "C"}.UTF-8
   '';
 
   meta = with stdenv.lib; {