French language

French language is a Romance one, firstly spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Nowadays about 300 million people speak French around the world as either a native or a second language, with considerable populations in 54 countries.

French descends from the Latin of the Roman Empire, as are languages such as Italian Spanish, , Romanian, Catalan and Portuguese. The native Celtic languages of Roman Gaul and the Germanic language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders also influence its development.

41 countries has French as one of the official languages. Most of this countries form what is known in French La Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is one of the official or administrative languages of the African Union, the European Broadcasting Union, ESA, the European Union, the Council of Europe, FIA, International Organization for Standardization, FIFA, NAFTA, FINA, IHO, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the International Court of Justice, the International Olympic Committee, the International Political Science Association, the International Secretariat for Water, Interpol, NATO, the UCI, Organization of American States, the United Nations and all its agencies (including the Universal Postal Union), the World Anti-Doping Agency, and the World Trade Organization. French and English are the most used language in the European Commission.

-Translation French-