105-498: The Maréchaussée ( French for 'Marshalcy') were corps of soldiers in the armies of France initially put in charge of military policing and justice during the Middle Ages , and later extended to civilian responsibilities. They gradually coalesced into a police force with jurisdiction over the whole population on almost the entire territory of France. They retained powers of extraordinary justice (known as prévôtale ) until
210-513: A 1699 ordinance, for principal towns to oligarchies or feudal lords who sought the titles from vanity or an interest in the job. The Maréchaussée suffered from numerous problems—an uneven presence, lack of oversight, low number of personnel—aggravated by corruption of the officers and poor salaries. When Louis XIV died in 1714, it was estimated they had only 1,000 men to police all of rural France with companies of Maréchaussée based in larger towns with at times overlapping jurisdictions under
315-720: 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
420-564: A Provost at the head of each one, residing in the chief town of the province, who could be placed at the disposal of the Intendant . The provostships ( prévôtés ) were divided into lieutenancies, with a lieutenant in each city heading up a presidial court , which in turn were subdivided into squads ( brigade ) of four to five men distributed along the main roads. Each squad had to watch over about ten kilometers of road on either side of its headquarters. The "arrondissement" or "district" of
525-431: 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,
630-543: 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
735-454: A more fine-grained and logical coverage of the territory. Nevertheless, in 1779 the Maréchaussée had no more than 3,300 men divided into 34 companies, one for each region (including Corsica), plus one for Paris and the Île-de-France , and another to ensure the king's security when he traveled, and 800 squads for the entire Kingdom . After the reform of 1778, all thirty-three companies formed
840-688: 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
945-426: A provost ( prévôt ) who headed a small contingent of sergents (referred to as " archers " after 1501) to police the soldiers under the marshal's command and administer justice. The provosts would quickly take the name "provost of the marshals" to distinguish them from the royal provosts. Rulings were dispensed in separate courts. Judgements on the acts of soldiers such as desertion, treason and disputes with
1050-494: 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
1155-676: A renewal of the Hundred Years' War. The scheme envisaged the murder of Louis and the sub-division of France between Saint-Pol, the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, Bourbon and Nemours, the Count of Maine and King Edward. Saint-Pol then proceeded to draw other magnates into the conspiracy. The whole thing started to unravel after Louis and Edward concluded the Treaty of Picquigny in August 1475. Angered by this, Saint-Pol
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#17328515651711260-650: 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 the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
1365-582: A result, the Maréchaussée Royale was not disbanded but simply renamed as the gendarmerie nationale . Its personnel remained unchanged, and the functions of the force remained much as before. However, from this point, the gendarmerie, unlike the Maréchaussée , became a fully militarized force. During the revolutionary period, the main force responsible for policing was the National Guard . Although
1470-546: A single corps of six divisions with a total of 4,114 men on the eve of the Revolution, thus forming the first national police force in France. During the revolutionary period , the Maréchaussée commanders generally placed themselves under the local constitutional authorities. Despite their connection with the king, they were therefore perceived as a force favoring the reforms of the French National Assembly . As
1575-427: A squad also included several dozen rural parishes in the area. In 1730, there were 30 companies in as many departments, with 3,288 men in 567 squads. The annual budget was 1,846,300 livres tournois . From 1760, the archers —junior officers under the provosts—became known as " cavaliers ". The Royal Order of 25 February 1768 created 200 additional squads and reorganized their location, in order to achieve
1680-536: 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
1785-453: 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 is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
1890-437: 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
1995-467: 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
2100-484: 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
2205-628: 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
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#17328515651712310-549: 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
2415-404: 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
2520-462: 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
2625-775: 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
2730-618: 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 ,
2835-538: 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
2940-479: 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
3045-492: 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
3150-424: 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
3255-526: The Maréchaussée had been the main police force of the ancien regime , the gendarmerie was initially a full-time auxiliary to the National Guard militia. In 1791 the newly named gendarmerie nationale was grouped into 28 divisions, each commanded by a colonel responsible for three départements . In turn, two companies of gendarmes under the command of captains were based in each department. This territorial basis of organization continued throughout
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3360-738: 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
3465-783: The Dauphin Louis, the future King Louis XI of France and fought with him in Flanders and in Normandy . However, in 1465 Saint-Pol broke with his friend, now King, to join with the King's brother, Charles, Duke of Berry in the League of the Public Weal . At the battle of Montlhéry , he commanded the van of Charles the Bold 's army, yet later was made constable of France by Louis XI. The Treaty of Conflans ended
3570-600: 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
3675-509: 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 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
3780-530: 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
3885-547: 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,
3990-708: The French Revolution . Reforms carried out in the 18th century created the first national police force. In 1791, the force was renamed the Gendarmerie nationale ( National Gendarmerie ). It is now one of the two national police forces of France, along with the National Police . The term marshalcy is from the French maréchaussée , which is derived from Old French mareschaucie , meaning "the marshalcy." This derives from mairichauciée attested in 1287 meaning "royal household", and in 1465 as "the office of
4095-569: The Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). Claims that the origins go back to 1190 under Philip II in the creation of companies of " sergents d'armes " during the Crusades are tenuous at best. Its development began in earnest in the 16th century, reaching its final form under key ordinances in the 1700s. During the Middle Ages and to a lesser extent until the end of the ancien régime , the functions of
4200-820: 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
4305-609: 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
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4410-686: 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 was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by
4515-735: 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
4620-561: The marble table in the Palais de Justice in Paris during the late 14th century under Charles V in part through his June 1373 edict. After the betrayal of Constable Louis, Count of Saint-Pol in 1475, then-king Louis XI removed the oft-vacant post of Constable from the head of the constabulary and moved the resolution of points of honor to the Court of Marshals. Sometime thereafter, the courts merged under
4725-667: 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; 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
4830-529: The provost courts. The act broadened the jurisdiction of the Maréchaussée to include burglary and popular disorder and confirmed their power to arrest any offender. It also sought to combat abuse of their authority by putting enforcement under the supervision of local royal courts. The powers of the Maréchaussée evolved to include policing of cabarets and road and waterway transport. Louis XIV's administration profited from selling lieutenant-general posts to head up policing for Paris (created in 1667) and following
4935-427: 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 is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in
5040-402: The 15th century. Six provosts of marshals and up to 300 archers for the marshals and Constable would be recorded by the start of the reign of King Francis I in the early 16th century. A consequence of the Hundred Years' War was the formation of " free companies " ( Grandes compagnies ) from unemployed soldiers and mercenaries formerly hired by the king for the war which pillaged
5145-455: 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;
5250-472: The 19th and 20th centuries. After the defeat of Napoleon, Dutch king William I, renamed the Dutch branch of the gendarmerie to Marechaussee making the term continue in the Dutch armed forces. Notes Citations 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
5355-474: 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
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#17328515651715460-510: 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
5565-614: 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,
5670-408: 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
5775-416: 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
5880-410: 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 a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
5985-452: The Maréchaussée in February 1719 to buy back command positions that had been sold or inherited and abolished the old companies and titles in favor of a more structured and hierarchical system. The Maréchaussée was symbolically placed under the administrative authority of the marshals and the elite Gendarmerie de la Maison du Roi , a heavy cavalry corps integrated into the household of the king and later dissolved on 1 April 1788. However, it
6090-402: 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 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
6195-444: The Western Roman Empire , officials in charge of police disappeared. With the rise of feudalism in France , policing powers formerly held by Roman officials were dispersed among a multitude of seigneurs . Lords of their fiefs , the seigneurs were all-powerful, including holding the power of justice over the peasants they controlled. The origins of the Maréchaussée are difficult to determine exactly, but occurred sometime during
6300-623: The bailiffs and seneschals. Whereas the maréchaussée had been historically mobile, the ongoing problems spurred Louis XII to create the first provincial constabularies on 20 January 1514, at the urging of the provinces. The temporary deputy positions changed to official titles, which depending on the size of the province they were attached to were called "Provosts General" and "Provincial Provosts" or " Prévôts Particuliers ." Their judicial powers remained limited to soldiery. His successor, Francis I , went further, establishing such constabularies throughout France. These special military forces roamed
6405-412: The charge of commanders holding a variety of venal titles. These and other problems led to a series of reforms (1720, 1731, 1768, 1769, 1778) beginning on 9 March 1720 propelled by the Secretary of State for War Claude Le Blanc to make it more effective, reinforce its military character, and improve coverage in the countryside. A decree issued the day after his first edict by the Regency that followed
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#17328515651716510-486: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Louis, Count of Saint-Pol#War against the King Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, of Brienne, de Ligny, and Conversano (1418 – 19 December 1475) belonged to the Ligny branch of the House of Luxemburg and was Constable of France . Saint-Pol was the eldest son of Peter of Luxembourg and Margaret de Baux . His name originates from
6615-417: The countryside for up to two days at a time, catching and sentencing evildoers from among the military, and later, among the civilian population as well. They also had the power to sentence perpetrators they had caught, with no possibility of appeal. The power of the provosts and their archers was limited to the military and the écorcheur bands, leaving out oppressive gangs of civilians who wandered
6720-517: The countryside. France was finally liberated of these companies when future Constable of France Bertrand du Guesclin led them into Spain in 1366. With continued war between France and her neighbors, organized gang violence involving disbanded soldiers ( écorcheurs ) lingered and grew into the 16th century. In 1445, Charles VII recruited suitable members of these groups to help form the first paid standing army in Europe (the compagnies d'ordonnance ) to prosecute war. However, after 1464 and into
6825-474: The death of Louis XIV further focused the Maréchaussée on the suppression of mendicity and vagabondage. Although the level of these problems had reduced at least in part due to the economic recovery after the end of the wars and the 1709-10 famine as well as existing Maréchaussée efforts, the Ordinance expressed concern about the great number remaining who "beg with insolence, more often through idleness than genuine necessity. Le Blanc appointed two paymasters in
6930-404: 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
7035-462: The early 1500s, the army as well as the marshals' provosts would be called on to also put down the remaining écorcheurs as the ordinary means of policing by bailiffs ( bailli ) and seneschals was ineffective. With a limited number of marshals' provosts, lieutenants had to be sent to temporarily represent the provost in the provinces to not only enforce military discipline but apprehend the itinerant looters and robbers and hand them over for judgement by
7140-448: 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
7245-489: 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
7350-409: The estates on John's death in 1441. As a result, Saint-Pol sought a rapprochement with the French king and duly had his inheritance restored to him. However, the county of Guise was claimed by Charles, Count of Maine . The affair was settled by an agreement that Saint-Pol's sister Isabelle would marry the Count of Maine and receive the disputed lands as her dowry . Saint-Pol became a close friend of
7455-540: The fact that he was a 7th generation descendant of Henry V, Count of Luxembourg , and thus belonged to the French branch of the House of Luxembourg . His older sister Jacqueline, better known as Jacquetta of Luxembourg , married John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford , and Louis was initially a supporter of the Lancastrian cause in the English Wars of the Roses . He was brought up by his uncle, John II of Luxembourg, Count of Ligny , who named Louis as heir to his estates. However, King Charles VII of France sequestrated
7560-506: 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
7665-858: 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 ,
7770-818: 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
7875-479: The general population were rendered along with punishments in the Court of the Marshals which existed by 1317. These special forces would eventually be known as the maréchaussée since they worked for the various army marshals. These courts were itinerant, as they followed the army, lacked territorial jurisdiction and were composed of the marshal's particular provost and sergents . A second court that existed by 1321
7980-508: 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
8085-474: 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
8190-602: 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 ,
8295-475: 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
8400-446: The marshal". One account in the history of a small town in western France reports how the terminology was undergoing a change there at the beginning of the 17th century. At that time, one could refer indistinguishably either to the " archer of the provost" or " archer of the maréchaussée " for example, but by 1720 invariably the latter expression was used. With the Fall of
8505-559: The name of Constabulary and Marshalcy Tribunal , which name was retained even after the post of Constable was abolished in 1627. In this new court, the marshals rendered sentences alone. The provosts' ambit expanded to include policing vagabonds and rendering justice in the provinces. Their decisions could be appealed to the marshals and the Constable. In the 14th century, only one marshal and marshal's provost existed until around 1357, when war and unrest began to increase their numbers through
8610-420: 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
8715-528: 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
8820-476: The police and the justice system were closely intertwined. Kings, lords, and high dignitaries rendered justice. The Constable of France succeeded the Grand Seneschal in 1191 in the exercise of military powers and military justice on behalf of the king. The Constable gathered under him lieutenants bearing the title Marshal of France who led royal troops into battle and judged their actions. Each marshal had
8925-462: 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
9030-464: 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
9135-461: The roads or encamped in the land. Francis I addressed the problem in a royal decision on 25 January 1536 (Edict of Paris) that extended the judicial authority of the maréchaussée to policing the countryside and main roads of the kingdom, taking on all highway crime regardless of whether the perpetrators were French soldiers or foreigners, military or civilian, vagabonds or residents. The variety of crimes falling under their jurisdiction increased over
9240-529: The succeeding fifty years. The expanded commissions were temporary at first until the 3 October 1544 edict put them into permanent competition with the local courts of the bailiffs and seneschals. However, the maréchaussées' ambit remained limited to the country outside the cities. The transformation of the role of the marshals' provosts to a provincial authority necessitated the appointment of new officers ( prévôts des armées ) to take over their former role of traveling with troops to repress military offenses. After
9345-712: The suppression of the Constabulary in 1626 by Louis XIII , the Constabulary and Marshalcy Tribunal was placed under the command of the Marshal of France . According to the Criminal Ordinance of 1670 under Louis XIV , certain crimes identified as "royal cases" were investigated by the Maréchaussée but judged by a chamber of the Parliament dealing with criminal matters, while the others, identified as "provost cases" ( cas prévôtaux ), were judged in first and last instance by
9450-462: 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
9555-673: 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
9660-508: 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
9765-479: 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
9870-456: The war, while Saint-Pol received the hand of the King's sister-in-law, Maria of Savoy. After this, he was persistently disloyal to the King, conspiring with Charles, Count of Charolais, and with Edward IV of England (the husband of his niece, Elizabeth Woodville ). The final treason came in 1474 when Saint-Pol approached Charles the Bold , Duke of Burgundy , who had already entered into a compact with Edward IV of England to dismember France in
9975-531: 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
10080-402: 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
10185-497: 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 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
10290-740: 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
10395-400: 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
10500-590: Was imprudent enough to write to Edward, upbraiding him as a "cowardly, dishonoured and beggarly king". Edward promptly forwarded the letter to Louis, who now had all the proof he needed. A messenger was sent to the conspirator, in which he was informed that the King had 'need of a head such as his.' He was arrested in September 1475, and later imprisoned in the Bastille . Execution followed in December. Philippe de Commynes ,
10605-482: Was in practice answerable to Le Blanc's office. The edict of March 1720 profoundly reorganized the Maréchaussée and accentuated its territorial nature. It created a provost court and a company of marshalcy in each of the thirty-six governments or provinces ( généralités ). Maréchaussée companies were separate with one in Lorraine being independent until 1767 after the region's incorporation into France. Le Blanc placed
10710-481: Was in the personal jurisdiction of the Constable and oversaw cases involving a point of honor ( point d'honneur ) or quarrels between soldiers regarding reputation, personal cases of the king's sergents d'armes and the conduct and service of the provosts of the marshals and their archers . The jurisdictions of the Constable and the marshals were itemized in the Ordinance of 1356. The tribunals were seated at
10815-633: 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
10920-575: 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
11025-554: 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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