French (français, ) is a
Romance language originally spoken in
France,
Belgium,
Luxembourg, and
Switzerland, and today by about 300 million people around the world as either a
native or a
second language, with significant populations in 54 countries.French is a descendant of the
Latin of the
Roman Empire, as are languages such as
Spanish,
Italian,
Catalan,
Romanian, and
Portuguese. Its development was also influenced by the native
Celtic languages of Roman
Gaul and by the
Germanic language of the post-Roman
Frankish invaders.It is an
official language in
29 countries, most of which form what is called in French La
Francophonie, the community of French-speaking nations. It is an official language of all
United Nations agencies and a
large number of international organisations.
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