117-486: Francis II ( French : François II ; 19 January 1544 – 5 December 1560) was King of France from 1559 to 1560. He was also King of Scotland as the husband of Mary, Queen of Scots , from 1558 until his death in 1560. He ascended the throne of France at age 15 after the accidental death of his father, Henry II , in 1559. His short reign was dominated by the first stirrings of the French Wars of Religion . Although
234-720: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
351-516: A Greek scholar originally from Naples . He learned dancing from Virgilio Bracesco and fencing from Hector of Mantua. King Henry II, his father, arranged a remarkable betrothal for his son to the five year old Mary, Queen of Scots , in the Châtillon agreement of 27 January 1548, when Francis was only four years old. Mary had been crowned Queen of Scotland in Stirling Castle on 9 September 1543 at
468-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
585-457: A connection between Condé and the conspiracy. Condé denounced accusations thrown at him as the work of 'scum' and more pressingly for honour in aristocratic circles, propagated by 'liars.' The Queen Mother assured him that no one doubted his innocence. However, on 18 April his chambers were raided while he was attending the kings levée. Unable to find proof however, he was allowed to leave court. Condé hurried south, uniting with his brother Antoine in
702-543: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
819-688: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
936-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
1053-573: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as a working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and
1170-513: A second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only
1287-897: A second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as
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#17328583387981404-536: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
1521-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
1638-467: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
1755-484: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
1872-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including
1989-456: Is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share
2106-628: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
2223-495: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
2340-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
2457-462: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
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#17328583387982574-775: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
2691-562: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
2808-538: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
2925-479: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
3042-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
3159-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
3276-738: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
3393-459: The Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to the OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as
3510-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
3627-459: The Edict of Amboise was propagated, offering a retroactive amnesty for those convicted of heresy, on the condition they live as good Catholics. This began the distinction between the crimes of heresy and the crime of sedition, which had during the reign of Henri II been treated as a unified crime. Whilst the rebellion outside the castle of Amboise may have been crushed, the situation was deteriorating in
Francis II of France - Misplaced Pages Continue
3744-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
3861-547: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
3978-475: The Habsburg empire . At the expense of its influence in Europe, France continued to restore lands conquered over the previous 40 years. In this sense, Francis II's reign began the decline of French influence throughout Europe, to the benefit of Spain . When Henry II died, the restitution of these territories was well under way. Francis II, aware of the kingdom's weaknesses, reassured Spain of its intention to fulfill
4095-820: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
4212-609: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
4329-852: The Parliament of Scotland established Protestantism as the state religion. When Francis II and Mary Stuart were presented with the Treaty of Edinburgh, they were outraged and refused to sign it; they also challenged the legitimacy of the Scottish parliament's decision. The king's health deteriorated in November 1560. On 16 November he fainted. After only 17 months on the throne, Francis II died on 5 December 1560 in Orléans , Loiret, from an ear condition. Multiple diseases have been suggested, such as mastoiditis , meningitis , or otitis exacerbated into an abscess. Ambroise Paré ,
4446-951: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , the World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
4563-502: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
4680-798: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
4797-682: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
Francis II of France - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-886: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
5031-513: The Chapelle des Trinitaires in Fontainebleau . His godparents were Francis I (who knighted him during the ceremony), Pope Paul III , and his great-aunt Marguerite de Navarre . He became governor of Languedoc in 1546 and Dauphin of France in 1547, when his grandfather Francis I died. Francis's governor and governess were Jean d'Humières and Françoise d'Humières , and his tutor was Pierre Danès,
5148-524: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
5265-476: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
5382-456: The Guise administration which had been bubbling under the surface during Francis II's reign, coalesced around two primary axes. Firstly there was religious opposition from Protestants such as La Roche Chandieu, secondly there was opposition from military men of the minor gentry, such as Castlenau; these groups came together under the leadership of the seigneur de la Renaudie to form a conspiracy to seize
5499-482: The Parlement and merchants of Paris in October 1560, shortly after the convoking of the estates had taken place. In religion, the Guises initially continued the repression of Protestantism started by King Henry II. From July 1559 to February 1560 they would pass four more persecutory edicts, including such provisions as the razing of any house which a Protestant meeting occurred in, and the prosecution of landlords who knowingly harboured heretics as tenants. Opposition to
5616-460: The TV drama The Serpent Queen . French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are
5733-413: The age of nine months, following the death of her father James V . Mary was a granddaughter of Claude, Duke of Guise , a very influential figure at the court of France. Once the marriage agreement was formally ratified, the five-year-old Mary was sent to France to be raised at court until the marriage. She was tall for her age and eloquent, and Francis was unusually short and stuttered. Henry II said, "from
5850-457: The arrival in April of 6000 soldiers and 3000 horsemen, which began the siege of the city . Just as English troops were not particularly successful, the French troops found themselves in a better strategic position. But the French government's poor financial situation and internal turmoil in the French kingdom prevented any military reinforcements from being sent. When the Bishop of Valence and Charles de La Rochefoucault, sieur of Randan, sent by
5967-418: The court of what was happening. Finally on 12 February while the court was travelling to Amboise, the Duke's secretary arrived, bringing a lawyer who had got cold feet about the direction of the conspiracy. The secretary revealed all the details to the Guise and Francis, including the name of the leader, La Renaudie. With this knowledge to hand, and suspecting the involvement of Condé, the Guise summoned much of
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#17328583387986084-409: The court, while Mary Stuart, Francis II's widow, returned to Scotland . Louis, Prince of Condé, who was jailed and awaiting execution, was freed after some negotiations with Catherine de Médici. On 23 December 1560, Francis II's body was interred in the Basilica of St Denis by the Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon . Francis II had a brief reign. He became king as an inexperienced teenager, at a time when
6201-405: The day after the death of the king, he was present at the council meeting and was also at the coronation. Later he supported the repression of the Amboise conspiracy of 1560, notably by going to the Parlement to communicate to its members the measures taken by the king. In July 1560 he came back to court and to the council, although in a much less flamboyant manner than before. The Guises were now
6318-404: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
6435-461: The ecclesiastical courts instead of the Parlement . This was significant as the ecclesiastical courts lacked the ability to provide death sentences, and while they could technically still refer cases to the Parlements for sentencing, this acted as a de facto abolition of the death penalty for heresy. For more 'seditious' offences, such as heretical preaching, pamphlet producing and services, the Présidaux courts would have jurisdiction. Conscious that
6552-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
6669-489: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
6786-409: The financial and religious problems of the crown had not yet gone away, and desiring to create a more definitive solution, the Guise oversaw the calling of an Assembly of Notables . Conscious that they were liable to be arrested, Condé and Navarre were not among the leading nobility who attended. Lorraine intended to guide the assembly towards his proposed idea of a national religious council, to reunify
6903-406: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
7020-439: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
7137-715: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
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#17328583387987254-416: The government of Francis II had to negotiate, pay, or claim compensations for people whose properties were taken or destroyed during the war. It also had to reach an agreement with Spain about the prisoners of war held by both sides. Many noblemen were still prisoners and unable to pay their ransom. Common soldiers were consigned to use as rowers on the royal galleys . Even after a reciprocal release compromise
7371-560: The government were also contested. To try and set about fixing the realm's finances, they embarked upon an aggressive campaign of cost cutting, scaling down the size of the army from its height in the wars, and deferring payments to the troops, who angrily protested against the Guises. This would not however be enough, so they were moved to raise forced loans from the provinces, such as 800,000 livres from Normandy, to cover shortfalls. They further suppressed Venal office . Forced loans would continue into 1560, with 100,000 crowns being demanded of
7488-442: The high nobility to Amboise, and began fortifying the castle in preparation. In March the court struck, arresting a band of the conspirators who had assembled to discuss the delivery of money for the operation. Several days later a larger host of soldiers were bloodily repulsed from Amboise. On 17 March, Francis II made the duke of Guise the Lieutenant General of the kingdom, giving him final authority for all military matters. Realising
7605-480: The involvement of Condé in this affair. This was confirmed when an agent of his carrying papers that implicated him was intercepted. The king's reaction was fierce and determined: he mobilised his troops, sent the army to the rebellious areas to quell the sedition, and ordered governors to return to their positions. To isolate the renegade princes of the blood further the administration created two super-governorships giving one to Charles, Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon and
7722-419: The king and arrest or kill the Cardinal de Lorraine and the Duke de Guise. The group planned to push for Antoine of Navarre to lead them, and become a 'regent' for Francis II. When he proved uninterested in their plot, they moved to the more dubious claim of his brother Condé. He was more receptive to the plan. As details of the conspiracy were finalised and arms raised for the day, rumours began to leak out to
7839-428: The king to negotiate, arrived in Scotland, they were treated almost like prisoners. With Marie of Guise shut up in Edinburgh Castle , the two men were forced to negotiate a peace that was disadvantageous to France. On 6 July 1560, they signed the Treaty of Edinburgh , which ended French occupation of Scotland. Francis II and Mary Stuart had to withdraw French troops and stop displaying England's arms. A few weeks later,
7956-472: The kingdom was struggling with religious troubles. Historians agree that Francis II was fragile, both physically and psychologically, and his frail health led to his early death. The question of whether his marriage was consummated or not remains unanswered. Francis is portrayed by Toby Regbo in the CW show Reign , by Richard Denning in Mary, Queen of Scots (1971), by Sebastian Stragiotti-Axanciuc in Mary, Queen of Scots (2013), and by George Jaques in
8073-401: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
8190-424: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
8307-501: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
8424-475: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
8541-560: The loss at the Battle of Saint-Quentin (1557) and then around the trial of the heretic parlementaire Anne du Bourg . From the beginning of their assumption of government, the Guises faced opposition from several factions. Their rise to dominance had come at the expense of Anne de Montmorency and the House of Bourbon who resented their total ascendency to varying degrees. The political decisions of
8658-457: The marriage, Francis became king consort in Scotland until his death. The marriage produced no children, and may never even have been consummated, possibly due to Francis's illnesses or undescended testicles . A little over a year after his marriage, on 10 July 1559, Francis became king at age 15 upon the death of Henry II, who had been killed in a jousting accident. On 21 September 1559, Francis II
8775-462: The monarchy of France. While there was to be no allowance for heretical worship, it was hoped this would avoid needless bloodshed, and reunify the kingdom around the crown. This changing of the political winds was furthered when in April the former Guise client Michel de l'Hôpital became Lord Chancellor of France replacing the ailing François Olivier . Hôpital was a humanist Catholic, little interested in
8892-441: The motley nature of the conspiracy, a mixture of fairly harmless heretics and hardened military men, an amnesty was declared on 17 March for those who laid down their arms and went home within 48 hours. Operations would continue as the court began to fan out troops into the countryside to mop up stragglers. The court was left with a tricky situation as to how to deal with those captured alive. Interrogations began, attempting to prove
9009-478: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
9126-456: The new masters of the court. The king granted them numerous favours and privileges, one of the most significant being the title of Grand Master of France , a title until then held by the son of the Constable, François de Montmorency . With the peace of Cateau Cambresis in 1559, the crown had been left on the cusp of bankruptcy. The public deficit stood at 40 million livres, of which 19 million
9243-574: The official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco;
9360-570: The other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to the French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French
9477-528: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
9594-399: The other to Louis, Duke of Montpensier , thus divorcing their interests from those of their cousins. Heavily outnumbered Condé and Navarre decided making a stand and fighting would be pointless, and they departed their southern regional powerbase at the kings request to attend the forthcoming Estates General. This distinction between heresy and sedition, represented a new religious policy for
9711-465: The persecution that had defined the administration in the 1550s. In conjunction with Charles Cardinal of Lorraine, Catherine de Medici and Admiral Coligny, he began pushing this new religious policy further. In May 1560 a further edict was passed, the Edict of Romorantin . This edict denounced the spread of heresy in the kingdom, but also noted the failure of the policies on the 1550s. The edict proposed that going forth trial for heresy would be handled by
9828-462: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
9945-678: The provinces. Troops raised for the conspiracy in Dauphine, Provence, and the Lyonnais were left without central direction, creating the nucleus of guerrilla armies that caused chaos in their localities. Beyond the planned regional elements of Amboise, many Protestants began seizing churches independently, and engaging in acts of unauthorised iconoclasm, as in Rouen and Provence. During the summer, this rebellious movement gained intensity; several cities in southern France were by now engulfed in revolt. The climax of
10062-452: The regional disorder came in the early autumn, where on 4 September in Lyon , a large stockpile of weapons was discovered in the city of Lyon by the authorities, after a brief firefight with a group of Protestants the weapons were seized, narrowly foiling a planned coup in the city by several days. The narrow foiling of this conspiracy only further enraged the king and his administration who suspected
10179-464: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
10296-473: The righteous). According to French law, Francis was an adult who did not need a regent ; but since he was young, inexperienced, and in fragile health, he delegated his power to his wife's uncles from the noble House of Guise : Francis, Duke of Guise , and Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine. His mother, Catherine de' Medici , agreed to this delegation. On the first day of his reign, Francis II instructed his four ministers to take orders from his mother, but since she
10413-632: The royal age of majority was 14, his mother, Catherine de' Medici , entrusted the reins of government to his wife Mary's uncles from the House of Guise , staunch supporters of the Catholic cause. They were unable to help Catholics in Scotland against the progressing Scottish Reformation , however, and the Auld Alliance was dissolved. After dying of an ear infection, Francis was succeeded by two of his brothers in turn, both of whom were also unable to reduce tensions between Protestants and Catholics. Francis
10530-421: The royal surgeon, considered performing a trepanation . Some suspected Protestants of having poisoned the king, a view held by Catholics as the tensions between them and Protestants were on the rise, but this has not been proven. Francis II died childless, so his younger brother Charles , then ten years old, succeeded him. On 21 December, the council named Catherine de' Medici , Regent of France. The Guises left
10647-452: The south-west. For the military conspirators who had remained under arms there would be little mercy, many would be executed in the following days, and hanged from the battlements as a warning. To the shock of members of the court, this included men of 'good birth' such as the Baron de Castlenau. Nevertheless, the court was conscious its religious policy had been a failure, and as early as 8 March,
10764-461: The throne, the two brothers split the custody of the kingdom: Duke Francis became head of the army and Charles the head of finance, justice, and diplomacy. The rise of the House of Guise worked to the detriment of its old rival, Anne de Montmorency , Constable of France. At the new king's suggestion, he left the court for his estates to get some rest. Diane de Poitiers, the mistress of the previous king,
10881-462: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
10998-610: The treaty just signed. The Maréchal de Brissac , who displayed some unwillingness to evacuate Piedmont, was asked to change his behaviour and accelerate the withdrawal. By the autumn of 1559, France had completely left Savoy, and Piedmont, except for the five locations agreed upon in the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis. If these were returned to the Duke of Savoy Emmanuel Philibert , Montferrat would be returned to Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua . Both were allies of Spain. Finally, Valenza , which Brissac
11115-552: The two faiths peacefully, this was however taken off course by Coligny, who presented a petition from the Norman church seeking the right to establish temples. The duke of Guise was infuriated by this proposal, suggesting if two religions were tolerated 'his sword would not remain sheathed for long.' The assembly drew up a reform package of tax ideas, and closed by convening the Estates General to whom this package would be presented. It
11232-673: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
11349-562: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
11466-479: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
11583-519: The very first day they met, my son and she got on as well together as if they had known each other for a long time". On 24 April 1558, Francis and Mary married in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. It was a union that could have given the future kings of France the throne of Scotland and also a claim to the throne of England through Mary's great-grandfather, King Henry VII of England . As a result of
11700-418: The way of French control of Scotland apart from English support for the Scottish nobles. Queen Elizabeth I of England was still offended that Francis II and Mary Stuart had put on their coat of arms those of England, thus proclaiming Mary's claims on the throne of England. In January 1560, the English fleet blockaded the port of Leith , which French troops had turned into a military base. They were supported by
11817-531: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
11934-402: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
12051-500: Was already regent for Scotland. Because of French control over their country, a congregation of Scottish lords organised an uprising and made the regent and her French councils leave the capital, Edinburgh , in May 1559. Having taken refuge at the fortress of Dunbar , Marie of Guise asked France for help. Francis II and Mary Stuart sent troops right away. By the end of 1559, France had regained control of Scotland. Nothing seemed to stand in
12168-495: Was asked not to appear at court. Her protégé Jean Bertrand had to surrender his title Keeper of the Seals of France to chancellor François Olivier, whom Diane had removed from this position a few years earlier. It was a palace revolution. The transition has been described as brutal, but while it no doubt caused the Constable considerable frustration, there were no confrontations or reprisals. Montmorency remained tied to power. As soon as
12285-448: Was born 11 years after his parents' wedding. The long delay in producing an heir may have been due to his father's repudiation of his mother in favour of his mistress Diane de Poitiers , but this repudiation was mitigated by Diane's insistence that Henry spend his nights with Catherine. Francis was at first raised at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye . He was baptised on 10 February 1544 at
12402-523: Was crowned king in Reims by his wife's uncle Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine . The crown was so heavy that nobles had to hold it in place for him. The court then moved to the Loire Valley , where the Château de Blois and the surrounding forests were the new king's home. Francis II took the sun for his emblem and for his mottoes Spectanda fides (This is how faith should be respected) and Lumen rectis (Light for
12519-791: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
12636-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
12753-511: Was grumbling about releasing, was to be returned to the Spanish Duchy of Milan . On the Spanish side, King Philip II showed some unwillingness to return four locations in the northeast of the kingdom as required by the treaty. Border disputes renewed tensions between the two nations, but after months of protests Francis II finally obtained these territories. Along with restitution of territories,
12870-629: Was initially intended to host this at Meaux before a location change to Orléans due to religious troubles at the former city. Afraid the proposed council might be highly Gallican , the Pope decided to reopen the general council of Trent , but rejected the attendance of any Protestant, the demands of the French crown to scrap their proposed national council. The calling of the Estates General presented an opportunity to bring Condé into line, and in October he
12987-684: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
13104-436: Was owed immediately. The interest rates on these loans were not insignificant, as lenders had grown wary of the crown's inability to pay over the years and this lack of confidence would only be furthered with Henry II's death. Henri's religious policy had also proved ineffective, his persecutory edicts failing to stop the growth of Calvinism in France. Religious violence was increasing, with attacks in Paris, first in response to
13221-575: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
13338-435: Was signed, Spain was not eager to lose its prisoners. When Francis II died, France withdrew from Scotland, Brazil, Corsica, Tuscany, Savoy and most of Piedmont. With the marriage of Francis II and Mary Stuart, the future of Scotland was linked to that of France. A secret clause signed by the queen provided that Scotland would become part of France if the royal couple did not have children. The queen's mother, Marie of Guise ,
13455-457: Was still in mourning for her husband, she directed them to the House of Guise. The two eldest brothers of the House of Guise had already had major roles in the reign of Henry II. Francis, Duke of Guise, was one of the most famous military commanders in the royal army, and the Cardinal of Lorraine had participated in the most important negotiations and matters of the kingdom. After Francis II ascended
13572-468: Was summoned to present himself at the Estates General. Upon arrival he and several associates were promptly arrested and put on trial. After filibustering the proceedings Condé would eventually be found guilty, and given an indeterminate sentence, likely imprisonment at Loches. In foreign policy, Francis II continued peace efforts Henry II had begun with the signing of the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in April 1559, which ended 40 years of war between France and
13689-554: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
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