French – 2nd lingua franca of the world

French was the language of diplomacy in Europe from the 17th century, and as a result is still a working language of international institutions and is seen on documents ranging from passports to airmail letters. For many years, until the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined in 1973, French and German were the only official working languages of the European Economic Community. French was also the lingua franca of European literature in the 18th century.

French was also the language used among the educated in many cosmopolitan cities across the Middle East and North Africa.

This is still true in the former French colonies of the Maghreb, where French is particularly important in the economic capitals like Algiers, Casablanca and Tunis. Until the outbreak of the civil war in Lebanon, French was the language that the Christian members of the upper class of Lebanese society used. Moreover, French is still a lingua franca in most Western and Central African countries (where it often enjoys official status), a remnant of the colonial rule of France and Belgium. These African countries, together with several other countries throughout the world, are members of the Francophonie. French is the sole official language of the Universal Postal Union, and English was only added as a working language in 1994. Also, French is the main language of Quebec, an official language of Canada, and the second language of Luxembourg, and Belgium, and is spoken by approximately 29% of the population of the Netherlands, 20% of Italy, 23% of United Kingdom, 24% of Portugal, and 24% of Romania.

Source: Wikipedia

———————–

Bastille Day

The French national holiday celebrates the beginning of the French Revolution – France’s “Independence Day”.

Bastille Day, the French national holiday, commemorates the storming of the Bastille, which took place on 14 July 1789, and marked the beginning of the French Revolution. The Bastille was a prison and a symbol of the absolute and arbitrary power of Louis the 16th’s Ancient Regime. By capturing this symbol, the people signaled that the king’s power was no longer absolute: power should be based on the Nation, and be limited by a separation of powers.

Although the Bastille only held seven prisoners at the time of its capture, the storming of the prison was a symbol of liberty and the fight against oppression for all French citizens; like the Tricolore flag, it symbolized the Republic’s three ideals: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity for all French citizens. It marked the end of absolute monarchy, the birth of the sovereign Nation, and, eventually, the creation of the (First) Republic, in 1792.

Bastille Day was declared the French national holiday on 6 July 1880, on Benjamin Raspail’s recommendation, when the new Republic was firmly entrenched. Bastille Day has such a strong signification for the French because the holiday symbolizes the birth of the Republic. As in the US, where the signing of the Declaration of Independence signaled the start of the American Revolution, in France the storming of the Bastille began the Great Revolution. In both countries, the national holiday thus symbolizes the beginning of a new form of government.

On the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Bastille, delegates from every region of France proclaimed their allegiance to a single national community during the Fête de la Fédération in Paris – the first time in history that a people had claimed their right to self-determination.

Source: http://french.about.com/library/weekly/aa071400.htm?nl=1