For the first time in 33 years, yesterday and today, France is hosting the Francophonie Summit, bringing together more than 50 heads of state and around 100 delegations. The summit is organised by the Organisation Internationale de Francophonie, which brings together 88 member states, including Malta as an observer state since 2018.
We are honoured to learn that Malta’s Education Minister Clifton Grima is attending the summit.
French may have lost its place as the language of international diplomacy but the language of Molière is no less dynamic and has a long future ahead of it. It is the fifth most-widely spoken language in the world after English, Chinese, Hindi and Spanish.
It currently has 326 million speakers and might have 500 million by 2050 and 720 million by 2070. Today, 60 per cent of French speakers are found on the African continent.
A new museum dedicated to the French language
This summit is special in that the inaugural session was held in the new museum of the history and diversity of the French language at Villers-Cotterêts, in northern France. The Cité internationale de la langue française is located in a royal Renaissance château, restored in 2023 on the initiative of the President of the French Republic.
This place is steeped in history: it was here that King François I signed an ordinance in 1539 establishing French as the language of government. Paris, of course, will also be hosting the summit. The Grand Palais, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and recently renovated, is hosting the plenary sessions of the heads of state. National pavilions, French gastronomy, debates and artistic performances will take centre stage in a number of Parisian cultural venues.
Finally, Station F, a start-up campus in the heart of Paris, will host an innovation fair, showcasing French-speaking companies in the fields of artificial intelligence, sustainable development and fintech.
Malta and France have much to do to defend multilingualism and linguistic diversity in international forums- Sandrine Lelong-Motta
The Francophonie agenda has identified four key priorities: continuing to support and train French teachers around the world; making La Francophonie a forum for diplomatic convergence; ensuring that French is not ostracised by the algorithms of the digital world; and promoting French as a language of commerce and law, particularly to help developing countries unify their domestic markets and integrate into globalisation.
Malta and French
As Malta’s new ambassador, I was delighted to discover that the Maltese language has a French vocabulary and, according to a Eurobarometer published in 2024, 13 per cent of Maltese are French-speaking. Some TV packages in Malta offer channels in French, including TV5 Monde, but also the French public service channels France 2 and France 3 and France 24, which are an opportunity to hear some French at the end of the day.
I am very happy to have started to meet the French teachers from secondary schools, Junior College and the University of Malta – a member of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie – who all play an essential role in promoting our language and literature.
The Alliance Française Malte-Méditerranée is also an open place for lifelong learning of French and recognition of its level through international certification. Obviously, the embassy’s cultural service is available to support Maltese students who would like to study in France.
Finally, I am certain that Malta and France have much to do to defend multilingualism and linguistic diversity in international forums. As we celebrate 60 years of bilateral relations and share a common European and Mediterranean destiny, I am delighted to serve here, in your beautiful archipelago, and to strengthen our ties of friendship.
Sandrine Lelong-Motta is the Ambassador of France.