| Native Name: | Organisation internationale de la Francophonie |
| Linking Name: | La Francophonie |
| Text Symbol Type: | Motto |
| Text Symbol: | "Égalité, Complémentarité, Solidarité" ("Equality, Complementarity, Solidarity"),[1] alluding to France's motto |
| Membership: | 56 member states 3 associate members 14 observers |
| Admin Center Type: | Headquarters |
| Admin Center: | Paris, France |
| Languages Type: | Official languages |
| Languages: | French |
| Leader Title1: | Executive Secretary |
| Leader Name1: | Abdou Diouf |
| Established: | 1970 |
La Francophonie, or the Francophonie, is an international organization of polities and governments with French as the mother or customary language, wherein a significant proportion of people are Francophones (French-speaking) or where there is a notable affiliation with the French language or culture.
Formally known as the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) or the International Organization of the Francophonie,[2] the organization comprises 56 member states and governments, 3 associate members, and 14 observers. Francophonie may also refer, particularly in French, to the global community of French-speaking peoples,[3] comprising a network of private and public organizations promoting special ties among all Francophones.[4] The prerequisite for admission to the Francophonie is not the degree of French usage in the member countries, but a prevalent presence of French culture and language in the member country's identity, usually stemming from France's colonial ambitions with other nations in its history. Few of the member states are majority French-speaking, aside from France and its overseas possessions.
French geographer Onésime Reclus, brother of Élisée Reclus, coined the word Francophonie in 1880 to refer to the community of people and countries using the French language. Francophonie was then coined a second time by Léopold Sédar Senghor, founder of the Négritude movement, in the review Esprit in 1962, who assimilated it into Humanism.[5][6]
The modern organization was created in 1970. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"),[7] alluding to France's motto. Started as a small club of northern French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace.
The Francophonie could be compared to a French version of the Commonwealth of Nations.
For the official structure, see the flow chart given on the OIF website: http://www.francophonie.org/doc/txt-reference/organigramme_2007.pdf
The Francophonie has an observer status at the UN General Assembly. It has been renamed a few times since its founding:
Summits of the Francophonie (often referred by the English media as the "Francophone Summit")[8] are held every two years, at which time the leaders of the member states have an opportunity to meet and develop strategies and goals for the organization.
Past Summits:
The Permanent Council of the Francophonie consists of Ambassadors of the member countries, and, like the ministers' conferences, its main task is to plan future summits and also to supervise the implementation of summit decisions on a day-to-day basis.
The Intergovernmental Agency of the Francophonie is the main operator of the cultural, scientific, technical, economic and legal cooperation programs decided at the Summits. The Agency's headquarters are in Paris and it has three regional branches in Libreville, Gabon; Lomé, Togo; and Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Charte de la Francophonie defines the role and missions of the organization. The current charter was adopted in Antananarivo, on November 23, 2005. The summit held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on 26-27 November 2004 saw the adoption of a strategic framework for the period 2004-2014.
The primary mission of the organization is the promotion of the French language as an international language and the promotion of worldwide cultural and linguistic diversity in the era of economic globalisation. In this regard, countries that are members of the Francophonie have contributed largely to the adoption by the UNESCO of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (October 20, 2005).
Similar to organization such as the Commonwealth of Nations, the Francophonie has as its stated aims the promotion of democracy and human rights. Following the November 3rd 2000 Déclaration de Bamako [9], the Francophonie has given itself the financial means to attain a number of set objectives in that regard.
In recent years, some participating governments, notably the governments of Quebec and Canada, pushed for the adoption of a Charter in order for the organization to sanction member States that are known to have poor records when it comes to the protection of human rights and the practice of democracy. Such a measure was debated at least twice but was never approved.
The official list of members is available at the Francophonie website.
Mauritania's membership was suspended on August 26, 2008, pending democratic elections, after a military coup.[10]
| Country | Status | Year joined | Official language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| member | 1999 | Albanian | approximately 30% of young Albanians choose French as their first foreign language[11] | |
| member | 2004 | Catalan | President of France is co-Prince of Andorra | |
| member | 1970 | officially trilingual, French included | French is the native language of about 40% of the population. [12]. Belgium's French community is also a member separately. | |
| member | 1980 | French official language | a community of Belgium with its two components Wallonia (excepting the German speaking Community and Brussels-Capital Region [its French-Speaking majority]) | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1993 | Bulgarian | French is spoken by 9% as additional language | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French | former Belgian UN-protectorate | |
| member | 1993 | Khmer | former French colony | |
| member | 1991 | officially bilingual, French included | over 90% of country was a French colony | |
| member | 1970 | Officially bilingual, French included | the provinces of Quebec and New Brunswick are participating governments; much of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes formed part of former French Colonies (as part of New France and Acadia). As of 2004, a government representative from Ontario also attends as part of the Canadian delegation, although Ontario is not yet a participating government in its own right. | |
| participating government | 1977 | officially bilingual, French included | province of Canada; former French colony Acadia, New France. | |
| participating government | 1971 | French | province of Canada; former French colony Canada, New France. | |
| member | 1996 | Portuguese | Former Portuguese colony with many neighboring French-speaking countries. | |
| member | 1973 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | French | former Belgian colony | |
| member | 1981 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1977 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1979 | English | French and then British colony; Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population. | |
| member | 1983 | Arabic | traditional Francophone elite | |
| member | 1989 | officially bilingual, French included | Former Spanish colony surrounded by French-speaking countries; member of the CFA. | |
| member | 2001 | Macedonian | ||
| member | 1970 | French | ||
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 2004 | Greek | French is understood and spoken by 8% of the population | |
| member | 1981 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1979 | Portuguese | country surrounded by French-speaking countries. Former Portuguese colony | |
| member | 1970 | officially bilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1991 | Lao | former French colony | |
| member | 1973 | Arabic; French is an administrative language | Under a French mandate from 1920-1943, French language used in schools and universities, and is understood by the majority of the population. | |
| member | 1970 | Officially trilingual, French included | ||
| member | 1970-1977 1989 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1980 | Arabic | former French colony, French is an administrative language | |
| member | 1970 | English
| Dutch, French, and then British colony; French is widely used by the media. | |
| member | 1996 | Romanian | ||
| member | 1970 | French | former French protectorate | |
| member | 1981 | Arabic | former French protectorate
| |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1993 | Romanian | French is understood and spoken by 24% of the population http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf. Historic cultural ties with France, especially during the late 19th century and early 20th century. | |
| member | 1970 | officially trilingual, French included | former Belgian UN-protectorate | |
| member | 1981 | English | Former French and British colony. Antillean Creole, a French-based creole language, is spoken by 90% of the population. | |
| member | 1999 | Portuguese | Former Portuguese colony, neighboring French-speaking countries. | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1976 | officially trilingual, French included | former French colony (first empire), later British colony, French is commonly used | |
| member | 1996 | Officially quadrilingual, French included | French is the native language of about 20% of all Swiss. | |
| member | 1970 | French | former French colony | |
| member | 1970 | Arabic | former French colony; French is commonly used | |
| member | 1979 | officially trilingual | former French and British condominium | |
| member | 1970 | Vietnamese | former French colony | |
| associate member | 2004[13] | Armenian | Armenian culture is tied to France via the Franco-Armenian dynasty of the Kingdom of Cilicia during the Middle Ages and the large Armenian community in France. See also: Franco-Armenian relations | |
| associate member | 2006 | Greek,Turkish | French is understood and spoken by 12% of the population; Historical ties through the Lusignan rule of the Kingdom of Cyprus during the Middle Ages. | |
| associate member | 2006 | English | country surrounded by French-speaking countries |
| Country | Year joined | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | German | French is spoken by 10% as additional language. | |
| 2004 | Croatian | French is understood and spoken by 4% of the population, and the county was the Illyrian Provinces during Napoleonic rule from 1809 to 1813. | |
| 1999 | Czech | French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population. | |
| 2004 | Georgian | Like Armenia, Georgia had a connection with the French kingdoms in the Middle Ages. | |
| 2004 | Hungarian | French is understood and spoken by 2% of the population. | |
| 2008 | Latvian | ||
| 1999 | Lithuanian | French is understood and spoken by 1% of the population, and in World War I the Baltic States were occupied by a French military garrison to protect them from the newly-formed Soviet Union (1918). | |
| 2006 | Portuguese | former Portuguese colony. | |
| 1996 | Polish | Poland has historic ties to France; French is understood and spoken by 3% of the population, and many Polish emigrants settled in France in the 20th century. | |
| 2006 | Serbian | French is taught in one-third of schools. | |
| 2002 | Slovak | French is spoken by 2% as additional language | |
| 1999 | Slovenian | French is spoken by 4% as additional language. | |
| 2008 | Thai | ||
| 2006 | Ukrainian |
The U.S. state of Louisiana (the small French-speaking Cajun minority in Acadiana) is an observer member with some representation in the Francophonie; the state was formerly part of New France from 1680 to 1767 (the brief period of Spanish rule by New Spain, and again from 1800 to 1803 when the United States annexed Louisiana and the remainder known as the Louisiana Purchase.
Italy is not an observer[14] even though French is one of the two official languages in the Aosta Valley region.
Turkey has or had a large number French-speaking citizens, have a large presence of French Education in French and the Turkish language has many French words and a heavy French influence.
The current subdivisional members are Belgium, Canada, Switzerland and Luxembourg.