It is in the sumptuous setting of the castle of François Ier in Villers-Cotterêts, which has become the International City of the French Language, which takes place on 19e Francophonie Summit. Eighty-eight heads of state, government and delegations, including Quebec and Canada, will discuss the place of the French language in the digital world, a subject on which Quebec is at the forefront since it is even preparing to adopt a law on the subject.
France has not hosted a summit of heads of state since that of Paris 33 years ago. The first, which took place in Versailles in 1986, brought together only 41 participants. The International Organization of the Francophonie (OIF) intends to place its deliberations under the sign of youth since during the debate on entrepreneurship and young people, the heads of delegations will be divided into eight round tables in which 16 young Francophones selected from the component based on proposals from member countries. This summit should also welcome two new countries, Angola and Chile, as well as two new non-sovereign states, Saarland and Nova Scotia.
A sign of the times, this summit is coupled with a technological innovation fair called FrancoTech which is held at Station F, a 34,000 square meter site located in the Freyssinet hall, in Bercy, which houses dozens of young companies French. Because the economy seems set to take more and more place in the Francophonie, believes the Secretary General of the Summit, François Vandeville.
“A political mistake”
This does not prevent the Francophonie from being at a crossroads, however, believe many observers. Despite its sumptuous decor and the multiple cultural and economic activities that it includes, there is no shortage of speakers to wonder if all this agitation does not hide a sustained disinterest of France and its government with regard to the language French and the Francophonie. Few subjects in fact generate as much consensus among specialists and those responsible for the Francophonie
Former senior civil servant Roger Pilhion, who had a vast career in cooperation and the Francophonie, even believes that this is a “political mistake”. In 2018, he signed the book with French teaching specialist Marie-Laure Poletti. …And the world will speak French. “The French elites are disinterested in the Francophonie and the Quai d’Orsay is unfortunately no exception,” he said. The French-speaking affairs department is quite marginalized within the ministry and the means for bilateral linguistic cooperation within the Directorate General of Globalization have been considerably reduced. It is clear that the Francophonie unfortunately does not constitute a real priority for France. This is evident within the OIF. We consider this to be regrettable and even a political mistake. »
Everyone remembers Emmanuel Macron’s famous declaration made in Lyon in 2017: “There is no French culture. There is a culture in France. It is diverse.” Words stuck in the throats of many artisans of the Francophonie. The organizers of the summit did not see fit to invite the numerous French associations defending the French language to the summit. It is to compensate for this absence that, on October 5 in Paris, the High International Council of the French Language and Francophonie, which brings together 198 personalities and 38 associations, will hold a press conference in Paris to denounce the absence in France of a real state policy for the defense of the French language.
An opaque future
President of the Avenir de la langue française association, an organization which speaks out against rampant anglicization, Albert Salon believes that “the future is opaque if the Macronian political elite, indifferent when it is not frankly hostile to our fundamentals, has not changed.” The former ambassador does not hide his hope that “after Macron, a new head of state will emerge who would have France and the French at heart”.
As strange as it may seem, “France is the weak link in the Francophonie,” confirms Ilyes Zouari who chairs the Center for Study and Reflection on the Francophone World (CERMF). “Emmanuel Macron never misses an opportunity to speak English. He is a doctrinaire Europeanist. Last year during the concert-event “for the planet” at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, everything was in English. Even Brazilian President Lula’s speech was only translated into English. » The latest example: the “Africa Day” which was held on October 3 at Science Po.
Zouari deplores in particular the weakness of the action of the OIF in the defense of French in Africa. “The OIF is not trying to mobilize. Even if it has few means, it could at least have a symbolic action. For example, it does nothing to ensure that French has a place within the Organization of African Unity. [l’ancêtre de l’Union africaine] nor against the anglicization which is spreading. The OIF trains many civil servants in the French language, particularly in the European Union. But what’s the point if they then work in English? »
Same story for Roger Pilhion. “In the area of promoting French, the OIF has long seemed singularly absent to us; However, it was the first of his stated objectives. No major program in favor of the teaching of (or in) French and the training of French teachers apart from support provided to the International Federation of French Teachers and the management of a few French-speaking regional centers and modest reading and cultural activities centers. »
The OIF also does little to enforce respect for French within member countries, say Pilhion and Zouari. Only five “linguistic pacts” supposed to help the progression of French in these countries have been signed with Lebanon, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Armenia and Burundi. Zouari denounces in particular the blackout of the information which fell last year on the Francophonie games held in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country which is practically at war with Rwanda, of which, the current secretary general of the OIF, Louise Mushikiwabo, is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs.
An interest in French
However, the president of CERMF does not despair and notes the growing interest in French around the world. “Nigeria has made the teaching of French compulsory in its schools. However, he is not in the Francophonie. Same interest in French in Peru and Costa Rica. » But above all, he is banking on the economic health of French-speaking Africa whose growth, he says, exceeds that of English-speaking Africa. The GDP of a country like Algeria, which has five times fewer inhabitants, is in the process of overtaking that of Nigeria.
However, Roger Pilhion recognizes that “the mandate of President Macron, so far, will have been marked by a very clear decline in French influence on this continent. It is particularly sensitive in the Sahel, but also in the Maghreb. » A decline which leaves space for Russia and China, already very present in the region.
What to expect from this summit? “The maximum enhancement of the values of civilization that the Francophonie is the only major group to carry in the world, despite the ridiculous weakness of its budget,” says Albert Salon. For Roger Pilhion, the Francophonie “must be a forum in the service of humanist values, democracy and human rights which are unfortunately less and less universal; serving the defense of cultural diversity and multilingualism; in the service of education, relying on major international donors, without obviously forgetting the French language. »
More pragmatic, Ilyes Zouari wants France to “stop sending billions to the European Union to reprioritize Africa in its development aid […]. It is also urgent, despite the presence of TV5, to ensure a much stronger media presence in French-speaking Africa, the news of which is largely ignored in French-speaking countries. »