It’s Not Just France!
Many people think French is spoken only in France; however, it is a global language.
29 countries have French as an official language.
There are currently 220 million French speakers around the world.
It is one of the United Nations’ five official languages. The French Colonial Empire
As with other colonialFrom empires, the 17 thmany century of these until countriesthe 1960s, became independent; As a result, the French language was spread around the world by colonisers. however,France some ruled territories many are colonies still governed around theby Franceworld. today. French-Speaking Europe
French is spoken by 80 million people living in Europe.
FranceBelgium:LuxembourgMonaco: Switzerland: The official languagelanguages of of FranceMonaco BelgiumLuxembourg is is French;are French. French,are however,French, However, Flemish German many English Dutch people and isand Luxembourgish.spoken alsoGerman. speak widely The official languages of Switzerland are French, German, Italian and regionalAlthoughas well as languages, Luxembourgish the Italian such dialect asis theCorsican, of Ligurianmost popularBreton, and the Gallo,spoken French Basque, language, regional Franco all language laws-Provençal, are Romansh. French is spoken widely in the west of Switzerland. OccitanAroundwrittenof Occitan. in40%and French. Catalan.of Belgians speak French as their mother tongue. La Francophonie The French-Speaking World
There are French speakers living in every continent of the world!
There are French-speaking areas in the Pacific Ocean. Most French speakers There are five French overseas departments: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Québec96.2live million in was French aFrench French Polynesia speakers colony but fromlive also in 1534 in Africa. Vanuatu to 1750. and Wallis and Futuna. Martinique, Mayotte and Réunion. People here also speak Tahitian and other Polynesian languages. French-Speaking Africa
This map shows the countries in Africa that speak French either as an official language or as an additional language. Morocco Algeria Libya Egypt Western Sahara Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Mauritania Mali Niger Chad Sudan Republic of Congo, is the second largest Sengal Burkina Faso Guinea Benin French-speaking city in the world. Nigeria Togo Cote d’lvoire Ghana Central African South Ethiopia Republic Cameroon Sudan Somalia Equatorial Guinea Uganda Kenya Sao Tome and Democratic Principe Republic of the Francophone countries Congo Tanzania Seychelles
Comoros Mayotte Malawi Angola Zambia Mozambique
Mauritius Zimbabwe Part Francophone Namibia Madagascar
Botswana Swaziland Reunion
South Africa Other French Canadians
French settlers arrived in Canada in the 1600s.
Around 80% of the population of Quebec speak French. However, many Canadians living in other provinces can also speak it.
Montreal is the fourth-largest French- speaking city in the world.
Quebec Louisiana
The state of Louisiana in the USA was named after the French King Louis XIV by the French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle. In 1682, it became part of the Kingdom of France.
In Louisiana, many people speak French as well as English and Creole. Jeux de la Francophonie
The Jeux de la Francophonie is an art and sporting event held every four years in a French-speaking country.
The 2017 games were in the Côte d'Ivoire, and the next games will be in New Brunswick, Canada, in 2021.