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157-612: The French Riviera , known in French as the Côte d'Azur ( IPA: [kot dazyʁ] ; Provençal : Còsta d'Azur , IPA: [ˈkwɔstɔ daˈzyʀ] ; lit. ' Azure Coast ' ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France . There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department , extending from
314-538: A British nobleman and politician named Henry Peter Brougham , First Baron Brougham and Vaux, who had played an important part in the abolition of the slave trade, travelled with his unwell daughter to the south of France, intending to go to Italy. A cholera epidemic in Italy forced him to stop at Cannes , where he enjoyed the climate and scenery so much that he bought land and built a villa. He began to spend his winters there and, owing to his fame, others followed: Cannes soon had
471-403: A French businessman already operating a successful casino at Baden-Baden (southwestern Germany), to build a resort and new casino. Blanc arranged for steamships and carriages to take visitors from Nice to Monaco, and built hotels, gardens and a casino in a place called Spélugues. At the suggestion of his mother, Princess Caroline , Charles III renamed the place Monte Carlo after himself. When
628-720: 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
785-492: A complete renovation (with all airlines relocating to 2D) and received upgrades including the addition of a second floor completely dedicated to arrivals. Terminal 2B reopened on 2 June 2021. Airlines including the Lufthansa group , Aegean Airlines , easyJet , Icelandair , LOT Polish Airlines , Norwegian Air Shuttle , Play , Royal Air Maroc , and Scandinavian Airlines began operations at Terminal 2B until 2 December 2022, when
942-431: 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,
1099-598: A destination for international congresses and conventions. He built the Palais des Congrès at the Acropolis in Nice, and founded a Chagall Museum and a Matisse Museum at Cimiez . High-rise apartment buildings and real estate developments began to spread. At the end of August 1997, Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed spent their last days together on his father's yacht off Pampelonne Beach near Saint-Tropez , shortly before they died in
1256-543: 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
1413-444: A new departure lounge designed by French designers Maxime Liautard and Hugo Toro, which reflects the ambiance of a Parisian bistro. All Star Alliance airlines use Terminal 1. Other carriers using Terminal 1 include Oneworld carriers Cathay Pacific , Qatar Airways and SriLankan Airlines and non-aligned carriers Aer Lingus , Emirates , Etihad Airways , Eurowings , Icelandair , Kuwait Airways and Oman Air . Terminal 2
1570-640: 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
1727-498: A recent renovation. The majority of check-in counters, however, are located on the third floor, which also has access to taxi stands, bus stops and special pick-up vehicles. Departing passengers with valid boarding passes can reach the fourth floor, which houses duty-free stores and border control posts, for the boarding gates. The fifth floor contains baggage claim conveyors for arriving passengers. All four upper floors have assigned areas for parking and airline offices. Passages between
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#17332025262341884-494: 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
2041-583: A research and technology centre at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis . The region has 35,000 students, of whom 25 percent are working toward a doctorate. The French Riviera is a major yachting and cruising area with several marinas along its coast. According to the Côte d'Azur Economic Development Agency, each year the Riviera hosts 50 percent of the world's superyacht fleet, with 90 percent of all superyachts visiting
2198-573: 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
2355-513: 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
2512-897: 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
2669-634: A small British enclave . Robert Louis Stevenson was a later British visitor who came for his health. In 1882 he rented a villa called La Solitude at Hyères , where he wrote much of A Child's Garden of Verses . In 1864, six years after Nice became part of France following the Second Italian War of Independence the first railway was completed, making Nice and the Riviera accessible to visitors from all over Europe. One hundred thousand visitors arrived in 1865. By 1874, residents of foreign enclaves in Nice, most of whom were British, numbered 25,000. In
2826-536: 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
2983-584: A winter season to a summer season. Americans began coming to the south of France in the 19th century. Henry James set part of his novel The Ambassadors on the Riviera. James Gordon Bennett Jr. , the son and heir of the founder of the New York Herald , had a villa in Beaulieu . Industrialist John Pierpont Morgan gambled at Monte Carlo and bought 18th-century paintings by Fragonard in Grasse – shipping them to
3140-404: Is 3 km (1.9 mi); however, the rail station (named as "CDG Airport Terminal 1") for RER and CDGVAL trains are only at a distance of 300 m (980 ft). Terminal 3 has no boarding gates constructed and all passengers are ferried by airport buses to the aircraft stands. Terminal 3 is voted 2024 best low-cost airlines terminal in the world by Skytrax . The airport's services during
3297-611: Is 5.4 °C (41.7 °F); the January average daily low temperature in Toulon is 6.2 °C (43.2 °F). The average high temperature in August in Nice is 28.6 °C (83.5 °F); in Toulon the average daily high temperature is 29.7 °C (85.5 °F) French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
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#17332025262343454-437: 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
3611-745: 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 the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French
3768-558: Is a complex consisting of office buildings, shopping areas, hotels, and a bus coach and RER B station within Charles de Gaulle Airport. The complex includes the head office of Air France, Continental Square , the Hilton Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and le Dôme building. Le Dôme includes the head office of Air France Consulting, an Air France subsidiary. Continental Square has the head office of Air France subsidiary Servair and
3925-467: 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
4082-484: 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
4239-430: 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
4396-456: 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
4553-628: 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
4710-655: Is found in the online Larousse encyclopedia to refer to the holidays of a group of English workers (moreover, in Occitan, the word ribiera "coastline" mostly works as a common name, whereas in French, the old-fashioned term Rivière de Gênes was used to refer to the Italian Riviera whose center is Genoa ). Côte d'Azur and the French Riviera have no official boundaries. Some sources put the western boundary at Saint-Tropez . Others include Saint Tropez, Hyères or Toulon in
4867-495: 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
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5024-404: 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
5181-435: Is named for World War II leader and French president Charles de Gaulle (1890–1970), whose initials form its IATA airport code . Charles de Gaulle Airport serves as the principal hub for Air France and a destination for other legacy carriers (from Star Alliance , Oneworld and SkyTeam ), as well as an operating base for easyJet and Norse Atlantic Airways . It is operated by Groupe ADP (Aéroports de Paris) under
5338-462: 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
5495-775: 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
5652-453: Is presumed to have been an outdoor religious sanctuary, having over 40,000 drawings of people and animals, dated to about 2000 BC. Beginning in the 7th century BC, Greek sailors from Phocaea in Asia Minor began to visit and then build emporia along the Côte d'Azur. Emporia were started at Olbia ( Hyères ); Antipolis ( Antibes ) and Nikaia (Nice). These settlements, which traded with
5809-416: Is spread across seven sub-terminals: 2A to 2G. Terminals 2A to 2F are connected by inter-terminal walkways, but Terminal 2G is a satellite building 800 m (0.5 mi) away. Terminal 2G can only be accessed by shuttle bus from Terminals 1, 2A to 2F and 3. The CDGVAL inter-terminal shuttle train, Paris RER Regional-Express and high-speed TGV rail station, Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV , is located within
5966-562: 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 ,
6123-538: 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
6280-479: 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
6437-492: 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
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6594-424: 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
6751-552: Is to the east of all terminals and can only be reached by shuttle bus. Terminal 2G is used for passengers flying in the Schengen Area (and thus has no passport control) and handles Air France regional and European traffic and provides small-capacity planes (up to 150 passengers) with a faster turnaround time than is currently possible by enabling them to park close to the new terminal building and boarding passengers primarily by bus, or walking. A bus line called "navette orange" connects
6908-638: The Airbus A380 . Check-in and baggage handling are provided by the existing infrastructure in Terminals 2E and 2F. Satellite 3 was opened in part on 27 June 2007 and fully operational in September 2007. It corresponds now to gates L of terminal 2E. The satellite S4, adjacent to the S3 and part of terminal 2E, officially opened on 28 June 2012. It corresponds now to gates M of terminal 2E. Dedicated to long-haul flights, it has
7065-673: The Alma Tunnel in Paris. Places on the Côte d'Azur (following the broadest definition), following the coast from south-west to north-east, include: Some data related to tourism on the Riviera in 2006: The French Riviera is mostly subtropical, featuring a Mediterranean climate , with sunny, hot, dry summers and mild winters. Winter temperatures are moderated by the Mediterranean; days of frost are rare. The average daily low temperature in Nice in January
7222-738: 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
7379-459: 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
7536-591: The Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV and RER station located between Terminals 2C, 2D, 2E, and 2F LISA ( Liaison Interne Satellite Aérogare , English: Connection internal satellite terminal) links Terminal 2E to the Satellite S3 (L Gates) and Satellite S4 (M Gates). Charles de Gaulle Airport is connected to central Paris by the RER B , a hybrid suburban commuter and rapid transit line. The service has two stations on
7693-792: The Bosonids dynasty (879–1112), then by the Catalans (1112–1246), and finally by the Angevins (1246–1382, elder branch , 1382–1483 ( younger branch ). In the 13th century, another powerful political force appeared, the House of Grimaldi . Descended from a Genoese nobleman expelled from Genoa by his rivals in 1271, members of the different branches of the Grimaldis took power in Monaco , Antibes and Nice, and built castles at Grimaud , Cagnes-sur-Mer and Antibes . Albert II ,
7850-478: The COVID-19 pandemic , Charles de Gaulle Airport had assigned all Star Alliance members to use Terminal 1, Oneworld members to use Terminal 2A and SkyTeam members to use Terminals 2C, 2E (intercontinental), 2D, 2F and 2G (European routes). The assignments changed several times due to the pandemic. Today, the airport has assigned Star Alliance airlines to Terminal 1, Oneworld airlines to use Terminal 1 for routes to
8007-539: 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
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#17332025262348164-485: 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
8321-441: 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,
8478-473: The Grotte du Vallonnet , near Roquebrune-Cap-Martin , with stones and bones of animals, including bovines, rhinoceros, and bison. At Terra Amata (380,000 to 230,000 years ago), near the Nice Port , a fireplace was discovered that is one of the oldest found in Europe. Stone dolmens , monuments from the Bronze Age , can be found near Draguignan , while the Valley of Marvels ( Vallée des Merveilles ) near Mount Bégo , at 2,000 m (6,600 ft) elevation,
8635-456: The High Command had ordered, and crumbled in days. Saint-Tropez was badly damaged by German mines at the time of the liberation. The novelist Colette organized an effort to assure the town was rebuilt in its original style. When the war ended, artists Marc Chagall and Pablo Picasso returned to live and work. The Cannes Film Festival was launched in September 1946, marking the return of French cinema to world screens. The Festival Palace
8792-439: 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
8949-412: The Metropolitan Museum in New York. A feature of the French Riviera in the inter-war years was the Train Bleu , an all first-class sleeper train which brought wealthy passengers down from Calais . It made its first trip in 1922, and carried Winston Churchill , Somerset Maugham , and the future King Edward VIII over the years. While Europe was still recovering from the war and the American dollar
9106-420: 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
9263-426: The Rothschild family . In the first half of the 20th century, it was frequented by artists and writers, including Pablo Picasso , Henri Matisse , Francis Bacon , Edith Wharton , Somerset Maugham and Aldous Huxley , as well as wealthy Americans and Europeans. After World War II , it became a popular tourist destination and convention site. Many celebrities, such as Elton John and Brigitte Bardot , have homes in
9420-520: 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
9577-411: The Var (departement) , or as far as Cassis in the Bouches-du-Rhône departement. In her 1955 novel, The Talented Mr. Ripley , Patricia Highsmith describes the Riviera as including all of the coast between Toulon and the Italian border. The region of the French Riviera has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Primitive tools dating to between 1,000,000 and 1,050,000 years ago were discovered in
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#17332025262349734-430: The Western Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century was followed by invasions of Provence by the Visigoths , the Burgundians and the Ostrogoths . There was then a long period of wars and dynastic quarrels, which in turn led to further invasions by the Saracens and the Normans in the 9th century. Some peace was restored to the coast by the establishment in 879 of a new kingdom of Provence , ruled first by
9891-425: The "Indicatif ADP" chime. On 14 April 2016, the Groupe ADP rolled out the Connect 2020 corporate strategy and the commercial brand Paris Aéroport was applied to all Parisian airports, including Le Bourget airport. Charles de Gaulle Airport has three terminals: Terminal 1 is the oldest and situated opposite to Terminal 3; Terminal 2 is located at another side with 7 sub-terminal buildings (2A to 2G). Terminal 2
10048-455: 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;
10205-412: The 19th century, the British referred to the region as the Riviera or the French Riviera , usually referring to the eastern part of the coast, between Monaco and the Italian border. Riviera is an Italian noun which means "coastline". The name Côte d'Azur was given to the coast by the writer Stéphen Liégeard in his book, La Côte d’azur , published in December 1887. Liégeard was born in Dijon , in
10362-474: 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
10519-425: The 4th century, and bishoprics were established: in Fréjus at the end of the 4th century, Cimiez and Vence in 439, and Antibes in 442. The oldest Christian structure still in existence on the Côte d'Azur is the baptistery of Fréjus Cathedral , built at the end of the 5th century, which also saw the founding of the first monastery in the region, Lerins Monastery on an island off the coast at Cannes. The fall of
10676-420: The Air France Vaccinations Centre. The airport's terminals are served by a free automated shuttle rail system, consisting of two lines ( CDGVAL and LISA). CDGVAL ( Charles de Gaulle Véhicule Automatique Léger , English: Charles de Gaulle light automatic vehicle ) links Terminal 1, parking lot PR, Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 1 RER station (located inside Roissypôle and next to Terminal 3), Parking lot PX, and
10833-400: The Belgians. Queen Victoria was a frequent visitor. In 1882 she stayed in Menton , and in 1891 spent several weeks at the Grand Hotel at Grasse . In 1892 she stayed at the Hotel Cost-belle in Hyères . In successive years from 1895 to 1899 she stayed in Cimiez in the hills above Nice. First, in 1895 and 1896, she patronised the Grand Hôtel, while in later years she and her staff took over
10990-510: 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
11147-614: 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,
11304-469: The Charles de Gaulle Airport: Terminals of the Satellite 1 were to be merged, as well as terminals 2B and 2D. A new luggage automated sorting system and conveyor under Terminal 2E Hall L was installed to speed luggage delivery time. The CDG Express , the direct express rail link from Paris to Charles de Gaulle Airport, is scheduled to open in early 2027. The Frutiger typeface was commissioned for use in
11461-538: The Club Nautique, a private club on the Croisette , the fashionable seafront boulevard of Cannes. He visited there each spring for a two-month period, observing yacht races from shore while the royal yacht, Britannia , was sailed by professional crewmen. After he became King in 1901, he never again visited the French Riviera. By the end of the 19th century the Côte d'Azur began to attract artistic painters, who appreciated
11618-524: 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
11775-527: The French department of Côte-d'Or , and adapted that name by substituting the azure colour of the Mediterranean for the gold of Côte-d'Or. In Occitan ( Niçard and Provençal ) and French , the only usual names are Còsta d'Azur in Occitan and Côte d'Azur in French. A term like "French Riviera" ( Ribiera Francesa in Occitan, Riviera Française in French) would only be used in literal translation, or adaptations of it. For instance, in French, "Riviera Française"
11932-476: 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
12089-480: The Middle East and Asia, and 2B for flights to the Americas, Africa, and Europe (due to the closure of Terminal 2A), and SkyTeam airlines to use Terminals 2E for international routes and 2F for Schengen routes. The first terminal, designed by Paul Andreu , was built in the image of an octopus . It consists of a circular terminal building which houses key functions such as check-in counters and baggage claim conveyors. Seven satellites with boarding gates are connected to
12246-623: The Middle East, French overseas airlines Air Austral and Air Tahiti Nui , and all other non SkyTeam short-haul and mid-haul airlines which do not operate from Terminal 1. and SkyTeam carrier Czech Airlines also use this terminal. Terminals 2E and 2F are dedicated use for Air France and its SkyTeam partners except Czech Airlines (Terminal 2D) and Saudia (Terminal 1). Several other carriers also use Terminal 2E, these are Oneworld carrier Japan Airlines and non-aligned carriers Air Mauritius , China Southern Airlines , Gulf Air , LATAM Chile , and WestJet . On 23 May 2004, shortly after
12403-508: The Night . While Americans were largely responsible for making summer the high season, a French fashion designer, Coco Chanel , made sunbathing fashionable. She acquired a striking tan during the summer of 1923, and tans then became the fashion in Paris. During the abdication crisis of the British Monarchy in 1936, Wallis Simpson , the intended bride of King Edward VIII , was staying at
12560-616: The Terminal 2 complex and between 2C and 2E (on one side) or 2D and 2F (on the opposite side). Terminal 2F was used for the filming of the music video for the U2 song " Beautiful Day ". The band also had their picture taken inside Terminal 2F for the album artwork of their 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind . Terminals 2B and 2D are used by the majority of the airlines part of the Oneworld alliance, except Oneworld's long haul carriers to Asia and
12717-819: The Villa Lou Viei in Cannes, talking with the King by telephone each day. After his abdication, the Duke of Windsor (as he became) and his new wife stayed at the Villa La Croë on the Cap d'Antibes . The English playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham also became a resident in 1926, buying the Villa La Mauresque toward the tip of Cap Ferrat , near Nice. When Germany invaded France in June 1940,
12874-609: The ability to handle 16 aircraft at the same time, with an expected capacity of 7.8 million passengers per year. Its opening has led to the relocation of all SkyTeam airlines to terminals 2E (for international carriers), 2F (for Schengen European carriers) and 2G. Air France has moved all of its operations previously located at 2C to 2E. In October 2012, 2F closed its international operations and became completely Schengen, allowing for all Air France flights previously operating in 2D to relocate to 2F. Further, in April 2013, Terminal 2B closed for
13031-509: The airlines except easyJet and Royal Air Maroc moved back to Terminal 1. Low-cost carrier easyJet has shown interest in being the sole carrier at 2B. To facilitate connections, a new boarding area between 2A and 2C was opened in March 2012. It allows for all security and passport control to be handled in a single area, allows for many new shopping opportunities as well as new airline lounges, and eases transfer restrictions between 2A and 2C. Terminal 2D
13188-476: The airport and implemented on signs throughout the building in 1975. Initially called Roissy , it was renamed after its designer Adrian Frutiger . Until 2005, every PA announcement made at Terminal 1 was preceded by a distinctive chime, nicknamed "Indicatif Roissy" and composed by Bernard Parmegiani in 1971. The chime can be heard in the Roman Polanski film Frantic . The chime was officially replaced by
13345-489: The airport grounds: During most times, there are two types of services that operate on the RER B between Charles de Gaulle airport and Paris: The RER B has historically suffered from slowness and overcrowding, so French authorities are building CDG Express , a train service that will operate non-stop from Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris Gare de l'Est railway station (next to Gare du Nord) starting in 2027. It will share some of
13502-440: The amphitheatre and baths at Cimiez , above Nice, and the amphitheatre, Roman walls and other remains at Fréjus . Roman Provence reached the height of its power and prosperity during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. In the mid-3rd century, Germanic peoples began to invade the region, and Roman power weakened. In the same period, Christianity started to become a powerful force in the region. The first cathedrals were built in
13659-551: The attention of the British aristocracy with Travels through France and Italy , written in 1765. At about the same time, a Scottish doctor, John Brown , became famous for prescribing what he called climato-therapy, a change in climate, to cure a variety of diseases including tuberculosis , known then as consumption. The French historian Paul Gonnet wrote that, as a result, Nice was filled with "a colony of pale and listless English women and listless sons of nobility near death". In 1834,
13816-408: The brand Paris Aéroport . In 2023, the airport handled 67,421,316 passengers and 448,305 aircraft movements, thus making it the world's ninth busiest airport and Europe's third busiest airport (after Istanbul and Heathrow ) in terms of passenger numbers. Charles de Gaulle is also the busiest airport within the European Union . In terms of cargo traffic, the airport is the eleventh busiest in
13973-503: The capacity restrictions at Terminal 2A. Terminal 3 reopened on 3 May 2022 for the use of all charter and low cost airlines. Terminal 1 remained closed for renovation at that time. It reopened on 1 December 2022 to reduce traffic at Terminal 2. Plans for a new terminal, Terminal 4, were first announced in 2014. With an estimated cost of €9bn, the new terminal was to be built around 2025, when Charles de Gaulle Airport's maximum capacity of 80 million would have been reached. When constructed,
14130-456: The central building by underground walkways. The central building, with a large skylight in its centre, dedicates each floor to a single function. The first floor is reserved for technical operations and not accessible to the public. The second floor contains shops and restaurants, the CDGVAL inter-terminal shuttle train platforms (for Terminal 2 and trains to central Paris) and check-in counters from
14287-634: The climate was similar to that of the north of Italy, even in winter, with "a sky as blue as its sea". When the Mistral (Northwest) and the Tramontane (North) winds are blowing in the Languedoc and Provence areas, the temperature of the Mediterranean can be very cool in summer. This phenomenon is observed very little or not at all on the coast between the French Riviera and the Italian Riviera . This coastline
14444-582: The climate, the bright colors and clear light. Among them were Auguste Renoir , who settled in Cagnes-sur-Mer and in Mougins , Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso . The First World War brought down many of the royal houses of Europe and altered the nature and the calendar of the French Riviera. Following the war, greater numbers of Americans began arriving, with business moguls and celebrities eventually outnumbering aristocrats. The 'High Society' scene moved from
14601-442: The concrete vaulted roof was not resilient enough and had been pierced by metallic pillars and some openings weakened the structure. Sources close to the inquiry also disclosed that the whole building chain had worked as close to the limits as possible, so as to reduce costs. Paul Andreu denounced the building companies for having not correctly prepared the reinforced concrete . On 17 March 2005, ADP decided to tear down and rebuild
14758-549: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport ( IATA : CDG , ICAO : LFPG ), also known as Roissy Airport , is the main international airport serving Paris , the capital of France. Opened in 1974, it is in Roissy-en-France , 23 km (14 mi) northeast of Paris and
14915-562: The current Prince of Monaco , is a descendant of the Grimaldis. In 1388, the city of Nice and its surrounding territory, from the mouth of the Var to the Italian border, were separated from Provence and came under the protection of the House of Savoy . The territory was called the Comté de Nice after 1526, and thereafter its language, history and culture were separate from those of Provence until 1860, when it
15072-508: 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
15229-422: The director of the airport since 12 February 2018. Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport covers 32.38 square kilometres (12.50 sq mi) of land. The airport area, including terminals and runways, spans over three départements and six communes : The choice of constructing an international aviation hub outside of central Paris was made due to a limited prospect of potential relocations or expropriations and
15386-478: The drop in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. ADP used this time for a €250 million refurbishment. Completed in 2023, the refurbishment included the creation of a new junction building linking satellites 1, 2 and 3, and modernisation of the central body of the terminal. Various design details in the refurbished terminal pay homage to the circular shape of the original Andreu design. The upgraded Terminal 2 also features
15543-448: 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
15700-585: 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
15857-509: The entire west wing of the Excelsior Hôtel Régina, which had been designed with her needs specifically in mind (part of which later became the home and studio of the renowned artist Henri Matisse ). She travelled with an entourage of between sixty and a hundred, including chef, ladies in waiting, dentist, Indian servants, her own bed and her own food. The Prince of Wales was a regular visitor to Cannes, starting in 1872. He frequented
16014-483: The extensions during the following decades. Terminal 2 opened in 1981 with the official inauguration in presence of the then President, Francois Mitterrand, in March 1982. Unlike Terminal 1, Terminal 2 was designed with a traditional linear layout, but has evolved over time into a series of distinct terminals, designated as 2A through to 2G. Following the introduction of the brand Paris Aéroport to all its Parisian airports, Groupe ADP also announced major changes for
16171-506: 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
16328-858: 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 ,
16485-818: 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
16642-489: The inauguration of terminal 2E, a portion of it collapsed near Gate E50, killing four people. Two of the dead were reported to be Chinese citizens, one Czech and the other Lebanese. Three other people were injured in the collapse. Terminal 2E had been inaugurated in 2003 after some delays in construction and was designed by Paul Andreu . Administrative and judicial enquiries were started. Before this accident, ADP had been planning for an initial public offering in 2005 with
16799-610: The inhabitants of the interior, became rivals of the Etruscans and Phoenicians , who also visited the Côte d'Azur. In 8 BC, the Emperor Augustus built an imposing trophy monument at La Turbie (the Trophy of the Alps or Trophy of Augustus) to mark the pacification of the region. Roman towns, monuments and amphitheatres were built along the Côte d'Azur and many still survive, such as
16956-450: 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
17113-474: 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
17270-602: 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 ,
17427-475: 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
17584-525: The mid-19th century, British and French entrepreneurs began to see the potential of promoting tourism along the Côte d'Azur. At the time, gambling was illegal in France and Italy. In 1856, the Prince of Monaco , Charles III , began constructing a casino in Monaco, which was called a health spa to avoid criticism by the church. The casino was a failure, but in 1863 the Prince signed an agreement with François Blanc ,
17741-420: 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
17898-456: The new class of wealthy international travellers called the jet set . The marriage of American film actress Grace Kelly to Prince Rainier of Monaco on 18 April 1956, attracted world attention once again. It was viewed on television by 30 million people. During the 1960s, the Mayor of Nice, Jacques Médecin , decided to reduce the dependence of the Riviera on ordinary tourism, and to make it
18055-442: The new terminal as a major attraction for investors. The partial collapse and indefinite closing of the terminal just before the beginning of summer seriously hurt the airport's business plan. In February 2005, the results from the administrative inquiry were published. The experts pointed out that there was no single fault, but rather a number of causes for the collapse, in a design that had little margin for safety. The inquiry found
18212-425: The new terminal would have been able to accommodate 30–40 million passengers per year and would have likely been built north of Terminal 2E. However, the Terminal 4 proposal was cancelled in 2021 due to reduced traffic resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and new environmental regulations making the project unfeasible. Environmentalist groups hailed the cancellation of the project as a "great victory." Roissypôle
18369-630: 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;
18526-528: 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
18683-442: The pandemic were sharply reduced. On 30 March 2020, the airport announced it would temporarily close Terminals 1 and 3, moving all remaining flights to Terminal 2. Terminal 2D was also closed during the pandemic and only Terminals 2A, 2C, 2E, 2F and 2G were opened. At the beginning of the pandemic, airlines were grouped by alliances: Star Alliance airlines operated at Terminal 2A, where Air Canada and Ethiopian Airlines operated prior to
18840-857: The pandemic, Oneworld airlines shifted their operations to Terminal 2C, and SkyTeam airlines operated at Terminals 2E and 2F. Between December 2020 and June 2021, only Terminals 2E and 2F were opened with non-Schengen flights operating at Terminal 2E and Schengen flights operated at Terminal 2F. 2B reopened on 2 June 2021 and some airlines were shifted to that concourse. Terminals 2A, 2C and 2D were then reopened for more space. Between June 2021 and December 2022, Star Alliance airlines operated at Terminals 2A (non-Schengen) and 2B (Schengen), Oneworld airlines operated at Terminals 2C (non-Schengen) and 2D (Schengen) and SkyTeam airlines operated at Terminals 2E (non-Schengen), 2F and 2G (both Schengen). However, Star Alliance airlines flights to Asia except Singapore Airlines, who operated at Terminal 2A were operating at Terminal 2E due to
18997-456: The possibility of further expanding the airport in the future. Management of the airport lies solely on the authority of Groupe ADP , which also manages Orly (south of Paris), Le Bourget (to the immediate southwest of Charles de Gaulle Airport, now used for general aviation and Paris Air Shows), several smaller airfields in the suburbs of Paris, and other airports directly or indirectly worldwide. The planning and construction phase of what
19154-462: 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
19311-524: The production of flowers for perfume (manufactured in Grasse ). A new phase began when the coast became a fashionable health resort for the British upper class in the late 18th century. The first British traveller to describe its benefits was the novelist Tobias Smollett , who visited Nice in 1763 when it was still an Italian city within the Kingdom of Sardinia. Smollett brought Nice and its warm winter climate to
19468-404: The railway reached Monte Carlo in 1870, many thousands of visitors began to arrive and the population of the principality of Monaco doubled. The French Riviera soon became a popular destination for European royalty. Just days after the railway reached Nice in 1864, Tsar Alexander II of Russia visited on a private train, followed soon afterwards by Napoleon III and then Leopold II , the King of
19625-418: The region's coast at least once in their lifetime. As a tourist centre, the French Riviera benefits from 310 to 330 days of sunshine per year, 115 kilometres (71 miles) of coastline and beaches, 18 golf courses, 14 ski resorts and 3,000 restaurants. The term French Riviera comes by analogy with the term Italian Riviera , which extends east of the French Riviera (from Ventimiglia to La Spezia ). As early as
19782-635: The region, as does the old main road generally known as the Route nationale 7 (officially now DN7 in Var and D6007 in Alpes-Maritimes ). High-speed trains serve the coastal region and inland to Grasse , with the TGV Sud-Est service reaching Nice-Ville station in five and a half hours from Paris. The French Riviera has a total population of more than two million. It is home to a high tech and science park (French: technopole ) at Sophia-Antipolis (north of Antibes ) and
19939-420: The region. Officially, the French Riviera is home to 163 nationalities with 83,962 foreign residents, although estimates of the number of non-French nationals living in the area are often much higher. Its largest city is Nice , which has a population of 340,017 as of 2017. The city is the centre of a métropole — Nice-Côte d'Azur —bringing together 49 communes and more than 540,000 inhabitants and 943,000 in
20096-457: The remaining British colony was evacuated to Gibraltar and eventually to Britain. American Jewish groups helped some of the Jewish artists living in the south of France, such as Marc Chagall , to escape to the United States. In August 1942, 600 Jews from Nice were rounded up by French police and sent to Drancy , and eventually to death camps . In all about 5,000 French Jews from Nice perished during
20253-464: 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
20410-552: The rock formation Massif de l'Esterel to Menton , at the France–Italy border , although some other sources place the western boundary further west around Saint-Tropez or even Toulon . The coast is entirely within the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of France. The Principality of Monaco is a semi-enclave within the region, surrounded on three sides by France and fronting the Mediterranean. The French Riviera contains
20567-469: The same tracks, and is expected to offer a 20-minute non-stop ride every half hour from 5am to midnight. The new line is expected to take airline customers off RER B, making room for local passengers, and divert to rail 15% of automobile trips to the airport. Terminal 2 includes a TGV station on the LGV Interconnexion Est line. TGV inOui , Ouigo and Thalys high-speed services operate from
20724-472: The seaside resorts of Cap-d'Ail , Beaulieu-sur-Mer , Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat , Villefranche-sur-Mer , Antibes , Juan-les-Pins , Cannes , and Theoule-sur-Mer . Riviera is an Italian word that originates from the ancient Ligurian territory of Italy, wedged between the Var and Magra rivers. Côte d'Azur is originally a nickname given by France to the County of Nice after its annexation in 1860, because
20881-424: The terminal 2G inside the security check area with terminals 2E and 2F. Passengers transferring to other terminals need to continue their trip with other bus shuttles within the security check area if they do not need to get their bags. The completion of 750 m (2,460 ft) long Satellite 3 (or S3) to the immediate east of Terminals 2E and 2F provides further jetways for large-capacity airliners, specifically
21038-490: The third, fourth and fifth floors are provided by a tangle of escalators arranged through the centre of the building. These escalators are suspended over the central court. Each escalator is covered with a transparent tube to shelter from all weather conditions. These escalators were often used in film shootings (e.g., The Last Gang of Ariel Zeitoun ). The Alan Parsons Project album I Robot features these escalators on its cover. Terminal 1 closed in March 2020 in response to
21195-414: 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
21352-673: 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
21509-469: The urban area. Nice is home to Nice Côte d'Azur Airport , France's third-busiest airport (after Charles de Gaulle Airport and Orly Airport ), which is on an area of partially reclaimed coastal land at the western end of the Promenade des Anglais . A second airport at Mandelieu was once the region's commercial airport, but is now mainly used by private and business aircraft. The A8 autoroute runs through
21666-508: 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
21823-479: 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
21980-591: The war. Following D-Day in Normandy, Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), the code name for the Allied invasion of Southern France, commenced on 15 August 1944, when American parachute troops landed near Fréjus, and a fleet landed 60,000 troops of the American Seventh Army and French First Army between Cavalaire and Agay , east of Saint-Raphaël . German resistance was not as fanatical as Hitler and
22137-579: The whole part of Terminal 2E (the "jetty") of which a section had collapsed, at a cost of approximately €100 million. The reconstruction replaced the innovative concrete tube style of the jetty with a more traditional steel and glass structure. During reconstruction, two temporary departure lounges were constructed in the vicinity of the terminal that replicated the capacity of 2E before the collapse. The terminal reopened completely on 30 March 2008. Terminal 2G, dedicated to regional Air France and HOP! flights and its affiliates, opened in 2008. This terminal
22294-531: 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
22451-402: The world and the busiest in Europe, handling 2,102,268 tonnes (2,069,066 long tons ; 2,317,354 short tons ) of cargo in 2019. It is also the airport that is served by the greatest number of airlines , with more than 105 airlines operating at the airport. As of 2017 , the airport offered direct flights to the most countries and hosts the most airlines in the world. Marc Houalla has been
22608-456: 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
22765-417: 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
22922-452: Was built in 1949 on the site of the old Cercle Nautique, where the Prince of Wales had met his mistresses in the late 19th century. The release of the French film Et Dieu… créa la femme ( And God Created Woman ) in November 1956 was a major event for the Riviera, making an international star of Brigitte Bardot , and making an international tourist destination of Saint-Tropez, particularly for
23079-499: Was closed during the pandemic and received the same upgrade including an additional floor. Terminal 2D reopened on 18 April 2023 and some airlines have moved operations to the terminal. Terminals 2A and 2C are closed for baggage renovation system for 18 months (with all airlines relocating to Terminal 1 or 2B). Terminal 3 is located 1 km (0.62 mi) away from Terminal 1. It consists of one single building for arrivals and departures. The walking distance between Terminals 1 and 3
23236-791: 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
23393-456: 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
23550-633: 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
23707-412: Was known then as Aéroport de Paris Nord (Paris North Airport) began in 1966. On 8 March 1974 the airport, renamed Charles de Gaulle Airport, opened. Terminal 1 was built in an avant-garde design of a ten-floors-high circular building surrounded by seven satellite buildings, each with six gates allowing sunlight to enter through apertures . The main architect was Paul Andreu , who was also in charge of
23864-436: Was one of the first modern resort areas. It began as a winter health resort for the British upper class at the end of the 18th century. With the arrival of the railway in the mid-19th century, it became the playground and vacation spot of British, Russian, and other aristocrats, such as Queen Victoria , Tsar Alexander II and King Edward VII , when he was Prince of Wales . In the summer, it also played home to many members of
24021-473: Was originally built exclusively for Air France ; since then it has been expanded significantly and now houses other airlines. Terminals 2A to 2F are interconnected by elevated walkways and situated next to each other. Terminal 2G is a satellite building connected by shuttle bus. Terminal 3 (formerly known as "Terminal 9") hosts charter and low-cost airlines. The CDGVAL light-rail shuttle connects Terminal 2 to Terminals 1 and 3 and their parking lots. Before
24178-472: Was re-attached to France under Napoleon III . Provence retained its formal independence until 1480, when the last Comte de Provence , René I of Naples , died and left the Comté to his nephew, Charles du Maine , who in turn left it to Louis XI of France . In 1486, Provence formally became part of France. Until the end of the 18th century, the area later known as the Côte d'Azur was a remote and impoverished region, known mostly for fishing, olive groves and
24335-411: 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
24492-633: Was strong, American writers and artists started arriving on the Côte d'Azur. Edith Wharton wrote The Age of Innocence (1920) at a villa near Hyères , winning the Pulitzer Prize for the novel (the first woman to do so). Dancer Isadora Duncan frequented Cannes and Nice, but died in 1927 when her scarf caught in a wheel of the Amilcar motor car in which she was a passenger and strangled her. The writer F. Scott Fitzgerald first visited with his wife Zelda in 1924, stopping at Hyères, Cannes and Monte Carlo – eventually staying at Saint-Raphaël , where he wrote much of The Great Gatsby and began Tender Is
24649-437: 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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