🇫🇷 French

The popularity of French has continued to grow as more and more people are attracted to the French way of life and culture. There are over 128 million people who speak French fluently daily, covering 33 countries from the continent of Africa to North America, from the South Pacific to the Caribbean. Along with English, it is the language of diplomacy and is one of the official working languages of some of the world’s political and economic organisations, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the United Nations (UN), the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), and the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Many of the great works of philosophy and literature were first written in French, and it is also regarded as the language of romance. It is so much better to be able to get the real sense of what a poet or author wanted to say by reading work in its original language. At times, important thoughts cannot always be translated correctly. Many tens of thousands of Britons have either permanently made their home in France or bought a second home there, whilst large numbers of British employees now work for French companies that have purchased British companies over the recent years or work for British companies that have bought French companies. Although Britain has long been regarded as the ‘linguistically poor man’, more British companies are now recognising the importance of having employees who are at least bilingual if they are to effectively compete in a global economic and social market.