French language

Disseminating French throughout the world is a traditional and universal priority of French diplomatic policy. Our actions to promote French are at the confluence of the two main objectives that define our cooperation policy: influence and solidarity, and nurture all our fields of intervention (cultural, partnership and educational diffusion, university, scientific and research cooperation as well as audiovisual cooperation...).

Throughout the world today, there are a little over 180 million French speakers (whose native or second language is French) and 82.5 million people learn French as a foreign language learn French as a foreign language in their national educational systems, and 650,000 of them, through networks of French cultural and educational overseas bodies.