Le français dans le monde - Karambolage - ARTE

(Narrator) You all know the UN,

the United Nations

which brings together
193 member states.

Okay, and how many official
languages does the UN have?

Six.

Arabic, Chinese, English,
French, Russian, and Spanish.

Well, imagine

that each of the six
languages has the right

every year, to an official day

and today, Sunday March 20,

The UN celebrates
French Language Day.

And that's how it is.

Every year on March 20,

It's the celebration of
our language, us French.

Actually, not only to us French people

since the UN has synced its date

of that of the international
Francophonie day.

Francophonie is a
very abstract, very institutional word.

And yet,

it covers a wider
international reality.

Just 50 years ago,
on March 20, 1970,

It is in Niamey,
capital of Niger,

which were laid,
with great fanfare,

the foundation of the term
Francophonie.

It was not a French
political initiative.

to the glory of France.

No, not really.

The initiative came
from personalities

like Leopold Sedar Senghor,

poet, writer and first president
of the Republic of Senegal,

Habib Bourguiba,
President of Tunisia,

Norodom Sihanouk,
Head of State of Cambodia,

and Hamani Diori, President
of the Republic of Niger.

Because, let's not be mistaken.

The largest number of
French speakers isn't in France.

In fact, nearly 44% of people

who speak French on a daily
basis, live in sub-Saharan Africa

and in the Indian Ocean.

Fifteen percent in North
Africa and the Middle East,

These are, of course,

the remains of
French colonial policy

of the 19th century. (trumpet)

Us, in France,

we represent only 28% of people

who speak French worldwide.

And of course,

we must not forget Belgium,
or actual, Wallonia and Brussels,

neither French-speaking
Romandy Switzerland

nor finally the 7% of French speakers

who live in Canada and,
more specifically, in Quebec.

In any case, one
thing is certain

the first French-speaking
city in the world is not Paris,

but Kinshasa,

the capital of the
Democratic Republic of Congo

with its 17
million inhabitants.

In short worldwide,

some 300 million
people live with
the French language.

Even if often

except for the French who have
difficulty with foreign languages,

These people are
bilingual, even trilingual.

Well, this figure of
300 million given by the IOF,

the International Organisation
of Francophonie,

is a bit of a stretch,
from various sources.

It would be more like
160 million of people.

But who knows!

Currently, it is the Rwandan,
Louise Mushikiwabo

who is the general secretary

of the International
Organisation of Francophonie.

Which brings together
88 states

Yes, it's huge —
initiates all kinds of

of cultural, educational,
economic cooperation,

but above all its aim is to
promote the French language

and to try to resist
the English bulldozer.

A rather unequal fight
which evil tongues say

the fight is already lost.

Come on now!

Well, anyway,

France chose this
March 20, 2022,

Francophonie Day,

to inaugurated
with great fanfare

the International City
of the French Language.

Well, the big fanfare,

that's what was planned,

but COVID forced
the official inauguration
to be postponed

at a later date.

This was one of
the major projects

of Emmanuel
Macron's five-year term

who wanted so much
to see it completed

before the end of
his five-year term

before May.

This futuristic laboratory
of the French language,

place of research
and exchange,

is about to settle down

in Villers-Cotterêts,
in the Aisne

in the beautiful
Renaissance castle

that François I had
decided to build in 1528

on the edge of the Retz forest

where he enjoyed hunting.

A castle fallen
into disrepair

over the centuries,

and whose renovation work
has been significantly delayed.

And be warned,

This place was not
randomly picked.

It was there,
in 1539,

that François I signed the famous
ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts

which makes the use of the
French language compulsory

in the administration's bills

and justice instead of Latin.

It's a bit like the
official birth certificate

of the French
language, nothing less.

Quite a symbol for our
beloved French language.

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