La francophonie : 法語國家和地區 (Speaking French countries and territories). L’Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF) 法語圈國際組織 88 states and governments in 2019 (more than 1 billion people). International Francophonie Day (March 20) – French Language and Francophonie Week (March 16 to 24).
Louise Mushikiwabo (born 22 May 1961) is the fourth and current Secretary General of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. She previously served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Rwanda from 2009 to 2018. She also served as Government Spokesperson. She had previously been Minister of Information. On 12 October 2018, she was elected for a four-year term for the position of Secretary General of Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) at the Summit of Francophonie in Yerevan, Armenia. She was re-elected in November 2022.
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In the majority of countries that belong to the Francophonie, more than 60 percent of the population is under 30 years old.
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It is the fourth most widely used on the Internet (after English and German), and French-speaking areas account for almost 20 percent of world import and export trade.
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Consequently, French is a clearly advantageous language to speak for international business. It is the second business language in Europe and the third in the world.
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French is one of the working languages of the United Nations alongside English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.
Latest data: 88 members, 321 million francophones. 5th most spoken language in the world.
On YouTube, members of the organization.
French also has a role to play in global communication, thanks to international media channels TV5Monde (55 million weekly viewers), France 24 (45.4 million weekly viewers) and RFI (40.1 million listeners). 法國文化協會 (French Alliance) is an international organization that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name Alliance française pour la propagation de la langue nationale dans les colonies et à l'étranger (French alliance for the propagation of the national language in the colonies and abroad), its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris. The Alliance was created in Paris on 21 July 1883 by a group of eminent men, including the scientist Louis Pasteur路易·巴斯德, the diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps斐迪南·德·雷賽布, the writers Jules Verne朱爾·凡爾納, and the publisher Armand Colin.
French is one of the working languages of the United Nations alongside English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese.
French is one of the three procedural languages of the European Union, along with English and German, and the sole language used for the deliberations of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
French is the sole official language of the Universal Postal Union (UPU).
It is one of the working languages of many other international institutions: the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Council of Europe, the African Union (AU), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).
It is also one of the preferred working languages of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
French plays a special role in international sporting life as an official language of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and hence of the Olympic Games. The inauguration in 1989 of the Francophone Games has underscored the existence of a real international French-speaking sports community.
France and the French-speaking countries play an active part in the world economy, accounting for some 20% of world trade in goods.
