Tag: french

Despite the continued dominance of English as a working language, demand for French classes in Brussels has increased, notably among EU staff and accredited diplomats and journalists, says Thierry Lagnau, director of the 'Alliance Française Bruxelles-Europe'.

Officials at the International Francophony Organisation (OIF) have warned of "catastrophic" use of French in EU institutions, as the language's position in Brussels becomes ever more fragile, a conference heard last week (31 March).

French is still a "universal language"and the number of French-speakers worldwide is growing, Abdou Diouf, secretary-general of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, told EurActiv in an interview on the occasion of the body’s thirteenth international summit. 

With the Lisbon Treaty in place and recruitment ready to start for the European diplomatic service, France is on a mission to strengthen its "francophone exigency," said former Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, special envoy on francophony to President Nicolas Sarkozy.

French-speaking countries gathered over the weekend for a major summit in Canada "unanimously" backed French President Nicolas Sarkozy's demand for multinational talks to revamp the global financial system.

Demand is growing among Europeans for a "pragmatic" EU which focuses on "concrete" issues, Dominique Reynié, a professor at Paris's prestigious Sciences-Po university, told EurActiv France.

French Secretary of State for EU Affairs Jean-Pierre Jouyet has played down expectations regarding the goals of its upcoming EU presidency amid rising tensions with partners over President Nicolas Sarkozy's European policy. EurActiv France reports.

As reported by EurActiv.fr, Commissioner Leonard Orban visited France recently to lay the groundwork for establishing co-operation on multilingualism ahead of the country's stint at the EU's helm in 2008. 

The Commission has approved the state financing of a French language international television news network that hopes to challenge the likes of US-based CNN and Arabian Al-Jazeera. 

In an interview with EurActiv, socialist MEP Pervenche Berès argues a French 'non' vote on the EU Constitution would not undermine the years of hard work spent reaching a consensus.