Facts on La Francophonie

The French Language in Québec: 400 Years of History and Life
Part Four I - French: A Language Asserting Itself
Chapter 11 – A Language Taking its Rightful Place
Inset 69
Facts on La Francophonie
The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie after the Hanoi Summit (1997) 11
•
Firstly, there was the Summit, that is to say, the Conference of Heads of State and
Government of Countries Using French as a Common Language. The preparation and
follow-up of the summits was carried out by administrative authorities.
•
The Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie is chiefly responsible for
programmes established by the Summit.
•
The Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie brings together French-speaking
deputies and members of Parliament and is the Consultative Assembly of La
Francophonie.
•
Finally, the direct and recognized actors of the Summit are the Agence universitaire de la
Francophonie, the international Francophone television TV5, the Université Senghor in
Alexandria and the Association internationale des maires et responsables des capitales et
des métropoles partiellement ou entièrement francophones (AIMF).
The annual budget for La Francophonie, including the CONFEMEN (Conférence des ministres
de l’éducation des pays ayant le français en partage) and the Jeux de la Francophonie, is
approximately 236 million Canadian dollars.
The Francophone Summits and the Number of French Speakers 12
1986: Paris
1993: Mauritius
1987: Québec City
1995: Cotonou
1989: Dakar
1997: Hanoi
1991: Paris
1999: Moncton
(Next summit: Beirut in 2001)
The French Language in Québec: 400 Years of History and Life
Part Four I - French: A Language Asserting Itself
Chapter 11 – A Language Taking its Rightful Place
Inset 69
La Francophonie brought together 47 countries in Mauritius and 52 in Hanoi. It is estimated that
there are over 112 million “real Francophones” (first language, second language or language of
adoption) in the world and over 60 million “occasional Francophones.”
Québec Provides La Francophonie with Two Secretary Generals
In 1970, the journalist and editorialist Jean-Marc Léger, who was Secretary General and founding
member of the AUPELF (today the Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, based in Montréal),
became the Secretary General, in Paris, of the first permanent organization of La Francophonie,
known at the time as the Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT), which, thanks to
him, became successful. In 1989, Jean-Louis Roy, Québec Delegate General in Paris, was in turn
nominated Secretary-General of the Agence. He served two terms: the ACCT then became the
Agence intergouvernementale de la Francophonie and his authority extended to all the
intergovernmental institutions and La Francophonie organizations.
The Année francophone internationale
Each year, in Québec City, the Année francophone internationale, edited by Michel Tétu, is
published and presents the main events in La Francophonie, as well as giving interesting insight
into the political, economic and cultural reality of Francophone countries and regions in the
world.