diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index cb057075..70c92ee6 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ bugfixes
 
 * fix #883: use HeadersParser to ensure only mime metadata in headers is used
 * fix #884: parse calver dates from versions with the v prefix
+* don't use a C locale without UTF-8 support, when running commands.
 
 v7.1.0
 ======
diff --git a/src/setuptools_scm/_run_cmd.py b/src/setuptools_scm/_run_cmd.py
index b1e5f1ab..3c938d81 100644
--- a/src/setuptools_scm/_run_cmd.py
+++ b/src/setuptools_scm/_run_cmd.py
@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ def run(
         env=dict(
             avoid_pip_isolation(no_git_env(os.environ)),
             # os.environ,
-            # try to disable i18n
-            LC_ALL="C",
+            # try to disable i18n, but still allow UTF-8 encoded text.
+            LC_ALL="C.UTF-8",
             LANGUAGE="",
             HGPLAIN="1",
         ),