129-463: The Bettel II government (also known as Bettel–Lenert-Bausch Government ) was the government of Luxembourg from 2018 to 2023. It was led by Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and co- Deputy Prime Ministers Paulette Lenert and François Bausch . It was formed on 5 December 2018, after the 2018 election which saw all 60 seats in the Chamber of Deputies renewed. The government was a continuation of
258-572: A de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and
387-475: A knowledge economy , with the founding of the University of Luxembourg and a national space program . Luxembourg is described as a " full democracy ", with a parliamentary democracy headed by a constitutional monarch . Executive power is exercised by the grand duke and the cabinet, which consists of several members with the titles of minister, minister delegate or secretary of state, who are headed by
516-626: A soviet worker's republic similar to the ones emerging in Germany , but these attempts lasted only 2 days. In November 1918, a motion in the Chamber of Deputies demanding the abolition of the monarchy was defeated narrowly by 21 votes to 19 (with three abstentions). France questioned the Luxembourgish government's, and especially Marie-Adélaïde's, neutrality during the war, and calls for an annexation of Luxembourg to either France or Belgium grew louder in both countries. In January 1919,
645-744: A French official to teachers in the department of Finistère , in western Brittany, included the following: "And remember, Gents: you were given your position in order to kill the Breton language". The prefect of Basses-Pyrénées in the French Basque Country wrote in 1846: "Our schools in the Basque Country are particularly meant to replace the Basque language with French..." Students were taught that their ancestral languages were inferior and they should be ashamed of them; this process
774-734: A Habsburg possession, the Duchy of Luxembourg became, like many countries in Europe at the time, heavily involved in the many conflicts for dominance of Europe between the Habsburg-held countries and the Kingdom of France . In 1542, the King of France , François I , invaded Luxembourg twice, but the Habsburgs under Charles V managed to reconquer the Duchy each time. Luxembourg became part of
903-414: A Prime Minister. The current Constitution of Luxembourg , the supreme law of Luxembourg, was originally adopted on 17 October 1868. The Constitution was last updated on 1 July 2023. The grand duke has the power to dissolve the legislature , in which case new elections must be held within three months. But since 1919, sovereignty has resided with the nation, exercised by the grand duke in accordance with
1032-521: A company of the Luxembourgish Army rebelled, declaring itself to be the army of the new republic, but French troops intervened and put an end to the rebellion. Nonetheless, the disloyalty shown by her own armed forces was too much for Marie-Adélaïde, who abdicated in favor of her sister Charlotte 5 days later. The same year, in a popular referendum , 77.8% of the Luxembourgish population declared in favor of maintaining monarchy and rejected
1161-431: A comprehensive academic study entitled "The World's 10 most influential languages". In the article, Weber ranked French as, after English, the second-most influential language of the world, ahead of Spanish. His criteria were the numbers of native speakers, the number of secondary speakers (especially high for French among fellow world languages), the number of countries using the language and their respective populations,
1290-415: A consciousness of independence and a national awakening took place in the 19th century. The people of Luxembourg began referring to themselves as Luxembourgers , rather than being part of one of the larger surrounding nations. This consciousness of Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sinn (" We want to remain what we are ") culminated in 1890, when the last step towards full independence was finally taken: due to
1419-555: A foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050. French is the fastest growing language on the continent (in terms of either official or foreign languages). French is increasingly being spoken as a native language in Francophone Africa, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
SECTION 10
#17327945702141548-731: A founding member of the United Nations in 1945. Luxembourg's neutral status under the constitution formally ended in 1948, and in April 1949 it also became a founding member of NATO . During the Cold War , Luxembourg continued its involvements on the side of the Western Bloc . In the early fifties a small contingent of troops fought in the Korean War . Luxembourg troops have also deployed to Afghanistan, to support ISAF . In
1677-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on
1806-1086: A pro- NATO , pro-US foreign policy. Luxembourg is considered a European capital, and is the site of the Court of Justice of the European Union , the European Court of Auditors , the European Investment Bank , the Statistical Office of the European Union ( Eurostat ) and other vital EU organs. The Secretariat of the European Parliament is located in Luxembourg, but the Parliament usually meets in Brussels and sometimes in Strasbourg . Luxembourg
1935-477: A profound effect on the historical memory of the country and its citizens. However, many republican ideas of this era continue to have a lasting effect on Luxembourg; one of the many examples features the implementation of the Napoleonic Code Civil which was introduced in 1804 and is still valid today. After the defeat of Napoleon in 1815, the Duchy of Luxembourg was restored. However, as
2064-494: A relic of the old nominal case system of Latin longer than most other Romance languages (with the notable exception of Romanian which still currently maintains a case distinction), differentiating between an oblique case and a nominative case. The phonology was characterized by heavy syllabic stress, which led to the emergence of various complicated diphthongs such as -eau which would later be leveled to monophthongs. The earliest evidence of what became Old French can be seen in
2193-556: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
2322-583: A succession crisis the Dutch monarchy ceased to hold the title Grand-Duke of Luxembourg. Beginning with Adolph of Nassau-Weilburg , the Grand-Duchy would have their own monarchy , thus reaffirming its full independence. In August 1914, during World War I , Imperial Germany violated Luxembourg's neutrality by invading it in order to defeat France. Nevertheless, despite the German occupation , Luxembourg
2451-636: A succession crisis, precipitated by the lack of a male heir to assume the throne. Since Sigismund and Elizabeth of Görlitz were both heirless, all possessions of the Luxembourg Dynasty were redistributed among the European aristocracy. The Duchy of Luxembourg become a possession of Philip the Good , Duke of Burgundy . As the House of Luxembourg had become extinct and Luxembourg now became part of
2580-547: A variant of Canadian French , is spoken in parts of New England . Missouri French was historically spoken in Missouri and Illinois (formerly known as Upper Louisiana ), but is nearly extinct today. French also survived in isolated pockets along the Gulf Coast of what was previously French Lower Louisiana , such as Mon Louis Island , Alabama and DeLisle, Mississippi (the latter only being discovered by linguists in
2709-406: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
SECTION 20
#17327945702142838-437: Is 95%, and in the French collectivity of Wallis and Futuna , it is 84%. In French Polynesia and to a lesser extent Wallis and Futuna, where oral and written knowledge of the French language has become almost universal (95% and 84% respectively), French increasingly tends to displace the native Polynesian languages as the language most spoken at home. In French Polynesia, the percentage of the population who reported that French
2967-472: Is a widespread second language among the Lebanese people , and is taught in many schools along with Arabic and English. French is used on Lebanese pound banknotes, on road signs, on Lebanese license plates , and on official buildings (alongside Arabic). Today, French and English are secondary languages of Lebanon , with about 40% of the population being Francophone and 40% Anglophone. The use of English
3096-489: Is also a working language in nonprofit organisations such as the Red Cross (alongside English, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic and Russian), Amnesty International (alongside 32 other languages of which English is the most used, followed by Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Italian), Médecins sans Frontières (used alongside English, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic), and Médecins du Monde (used alongside English). Given
3225-618: Is also known for having founded the Schueberfouer in 1340 and for his heroic death at the Battle of Crécy in 1346. John the Blind is considered a national hero in Luxembourg. In the 14th and early 15th centuries, three more members of the House of Luxembourg reigned as Holy Roman Emperors and Bohemian Kings: John's descendants Charles IV , Sigismund (who also was King of Hungary and Croatia ), and Wenceslaus IV . Charles IV created
3354-890: Is also site of the EFTA Court , which is responsible for the three EFTA members who are part of the European Single Market through the EEA Agreement . The Luxembourgish army is mostly based in its casern, the Centre militaire Caserne Grand-Duc Jean on the Härebierg in Diekirch. The general staff is based in the capital, the État-Major . The army is under civilian control , with the grand duke as Commander-in-Chief . The Minister for Defense , Yuriko Backes , oversees army operations. The professional head of
3483-652: Is enacted only in New Brunswick, where about one third of the population is Francophone. French is also an official language of all of the territories ( Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon ). Out of the three, Yukon has the most French speakers, making up just under 4% of the population. Furthermore, while French is not an official language in Ontario , the French Language Services Act ensures that provincial services are available in
3612-546: Is generally known as the Second Partition of Luxembourg . To compensate the Duchy for this loss, it was decided to elevate the Duchy to a Grand-Duchy , thus giving the Dutch monarchs the additional title of Grand-Duke of Luxembourg . After Belgium became an independent country following the victorious Belgian Revolution of 1830–1831 , it claimed the entire Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg as being part of Belgium, however,
3741-563: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
3870-404: Is known as Old French. The period of Old French spanned between the 8th and 14th centuries. Old French shared many characteristics with Latin. For example, Old French made use of different possible word orders just as Latin did because it had a case system that retained the difference between nominative subjects and oblique non-subjects . The period is marked by a heavy superstrate influence from
3999-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
Bettel II Government - Misplaced Pages Continue
4128-828: Is one of the official languages of such major international and regional courts, tribunals, and dispute-settlement bodies as the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights , the Caribbean Court of Justice , the Court of Justice for the Economic Community of West African States , the Inter-American Court of Human Rights , the International Court of Justice , the International Criminal Tribunal for
4257-639: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
4386-553: Is the language of business and communication, with French being an element of social distinction, chosen for its emotional value. French is an official language of the Pacific Island nation of Vanuatu , where 31% of the population was estimated to speak it in 2023. In the French special collectivity of New Caledonia , 97% of the population can speak, read and write French while in French Polynesia this figure
4515-483: Is the native language of about 23% of the Swiss population, and is spoken by 50% of the population. Along with Luxembourgish and German, French is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg , where it is generally the preferred language of business as well as of the different public administrations. It is also the official language of Monaco . At a regional level, French is acknowledged as an official language in
4644-492: Is the second-most spoken language (after English) in the states of Maine and New Hampshire . In Louisiana , it is tied with Spanish for second-most spoken if Louisiana French and all creoles such as Haitian are included. French is the third most spoken language (after English and Spanish) in the states of Connecticut , Rhode Island , and New Hampshire . Louisiana is home to many distinct French dialects, collectively known as Louisiana French . New England French , essentially
4773-424: Is the sole official language in the province of Quebec , where some 80% of the population speak it as a native language and 95% are capable of conducting a conversation in it. Quebec is also home to the city of Montreal , which is the world's fourth-largest French-speaking city, by number of first language speakers. New Brunswick and Manitoba are the only officially bilingual provinces, though full bilingualism
4902-681: The Abbey of Echternach in AD 698, and is celebrated annually in the dancing procession of Echternach . For a few centuries the abbey would become one of northern Europe's most influential abbeys. The Codex Aureus of Echternach , an important surviving codex written entirely in gold ink, was produced here in the 11th century. The so-called Emperor's Bible and the Golden Gospels of Henry III were also produced in Echternach at this time. When
5031-764: The Aosta Valley region of Italy where it is the first language of approximately 50% of the population, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands . It is also spoken in Andorra and is the main language after Catalan in El Pas de la Casa . The language is taught as the primary second language in the German state of Saarland , with French being taught from pre-school and over 43% of citizens being able to speak French. The majority of
5160-563: The Bock rock by Siegfried, Count of the Ardennes , in 963 through an exchange act with St. Maximin's Abbey, Trier . Around this fort , a town gradually developed, which became the center of a state of great strategic value within the Duchy of Lorraine. Over the years, the fortress was extended by Siegfried's descendants and by 1083, one of them, Conrad I , was the first to call himself a " Count of Luxembourg ", and with it effectively creating
5289-609: The Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to
Bettel II Government - Misplaced Pages Continue
5418-699: The Burgundian Netherlands , this would mark the start of nearly 400 years of foreign rule over Luxembourg. In 1482, Philip the Handsome inherited all of what became then known as the Habsburg Netherlands , and with it the Duchy of Luxembourg. For nearly 320 years Luxembourg would remain a possession of the mighty House of Habsburg, at first under Austrian rule (1506–1556), then under Spanish rule (1556–1714) , before going back again to Austrian rule (1714–1794) . With having become
5547-709: The Carolingian Empire was divided many times starting with the Treaty of Verdun in 843, today's Luxembourgish territory became successively part of the Kingdom of Middle Francia (843–855), the Kingdom of Lotharingia (855–959) and finally of the Duchy of Lorraine (959–1059), which itself had become a state of the Holy Roman Empire . The recorded history of Luxembourg begins with the acquisition of Lucilinburhuc (today Luxembourg Castle ) situated on
5676-519: The Court of Justice of the European Union , the highest judicial authority. Luxembourg's culture , people, and languages are greatly influenced by its much larger neighbors France and Germany; for example, Luxembourgish , a Germanic language, is the only national language of the Luxembourgish people and of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, French is the only language for legislation, and all three – Luxembourgish, German and French – are used for administrative matters in
5805-448: The Dalheim Ricciacum and the Vichten mosaic , on display at the National Museum of History and Art in Luxembourg City. The territory was infiltrated by the Germanic Franks from the 4th century, and was abandoned by Rome in AD 406, after which it became part of the Kingdom of the Franks . The Salian Franks who settled in the area are often described as the ones having brought the Germanic language to present-day Luxembourg, since
5934-539: The Democratic Republic of Congo . There is not a single African French , but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages . Sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth. It is also where the language has evolved the most in recent years. Some vernacular forms of French in Africa can be difficult to understand for French speakers from other countries, but written forms of
6063-412: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
6192-485: The European Union , French was the dominant language within all institutions until the 1990s. After several enlargements of the EU (1995, 2004), French significantly lost ground in favour of English, which is more widely spoken and taught in most EU countries. French currently remains one of the three working languages, or "procedural languages", of the EU, along with English and German. It is the second-most widely used language within EU institutions after English, but remains
6321-441: The Francien dialect is one that not only continued but also thrived during the Middle French period (14th–17th centuries). Modern French grew out of this Francien dialect. Grammatically, during the period of Middle French, noun declensions were lost and there began to be standardized rules. Robert Estienne published the first Latin-French dictionary, which included information about phonetics, etymology, and grammar. Politically,
6450-399: The French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as
6579-413: The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a small landlocked country in Western Europe . It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembourg City , is one of the four institutional seats of the European Union (together with Brussels , Frankfurt , and Strasbourg ) and the seat of several EU institutions, notably
SECTION 50
#17327945702146708-439: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It
6837-406: The King of the Netherlands , would become, in personal union , the head of state. To satisfy Prussia, it was decided that not only the Fortress of Luxembourg be manned by Prussian troops , but also that large parts of Luxembourgish territory (mainly the areas around Bitburg and St. Vith) become Prussian possessions. This marked the second time that the Duchy of Luxembourg was reduced in size, and
6966-449: The Nine Years' War in 1684, France invaded Luxembourg again , conquering and occupying the Duchy until 1697 when it was returned to the Spanish in order to garner support for the Bourbon cause during the prelude to the War of the Spanish Succession . When the war broke out in 1701 Luxembourg and the Spanish Netherlands were administered by the pro-French faction under the governor Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria and sided with
7095-420: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
7224-449: The Paleolithic Age , about 35,000 years ago. From the 2nd century BC, Celtic tribes settled in the region between the rivers Rhine and Meuse . Six centuries later the Romans named the Celtic tribes inhabiting these exact regions collectively as the Treveri . Many examples of archaeological evidence proving their existence in Luxembourg have been discovered, the most famous being the Oppidum of Titelberg . In around 58 to 51 BC,
7353-399: The Red Lands ' rich iron-ore grounds in the beginning of the 20th century drove Luxembourg's industrialization. After the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s, the country focused on establishing itself as a global financial center and developed into the banking hub it is reputed to be. Since the beginning of the 21st century, its governments have focused on developing the country into
7482-420: The Spanish Netherlands in 1556, and when France and Spain went to war in 1635 it resulted in the Treaty of the Pyrenees , in which the first partition of Luxembourg was decided. Under the Treaty, Spain ceded the Luxembourgish fortresses of Stenay , Thionville, and Montmédy , and the surrounding territory to France, effectively reducing the size of Luxembourg for the first time in centuries. In context of
7611-436: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
7740-441: The old Frankish language spoken by them is considered by linguists to be a direct forerunner of the Moselle Franconian dialect , which later evolved into, among others, the modern-day Luxembourgish language . The Christianization of Luxembourg is usually dated back to the end of the 7th century. The most famous figure in this context is Willibrord , a Northumbrian missionary saint, who together with other monks established
7869-481: The traffic light coalition (or so-called Gambia coalition, in reference to the colours of the Gambia 's flag) between the Democratic Party (DP), the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP) and The Greens from the First Bettel–Schneider Ministry , with minor changes. In the 2023 election , the government gained 29 seats, losing its majority due to the electoral defeat of The Greens. On 9 October 2023, Bettel tendered his resignation to Grand Duke Henri , who
SECTION 60
#17327945702147998-409: The 1950s, Luxembourg became one of the six founding countries of the European Communities , following the 1952 establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community , and subsequent 1958 creations of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community . In 1993, the former two of these were incorporated into the European Union . With Robert Schuman (one of the founding fathers of
8127-455: The 1990s) but these varieties are severely endangered or presumed extinct. French is one of two official languages in Haiti alongside Haitian Creole . It is the principal language of education, administration, business, and public signage and is spoken by all educated Haitians. It is also used for ceremonial events such as weddings, graduations, and church masses. The vast majority of the population speaks Haitian Creole as their first language;
8256-474: The 20th century, when it was replaced by English as the United States became the dominant global power following the Second World War . Stanley Meisler of the Los Angeles Times said that the fact that the Treaty of Versailles was written in English as well as French was the "first diplomatic blow" against the language. During the Grand Siècle (17th century), France, under the rule of powerful leaders such as Cardinal Richelieu and Louis XIV , enjoyed
8385-419: The Battle of Worringen helped the Counts of Luxembourg to achieve military glory, which they had previously lacked, as they had mostly enlarged their territory by means of inheritances, marriages and fiefdoms. The ascension of the Counts of Luxembourg culminated when Henry VII became King of the Romans , King of Italy and finally, in 1312, Holy Roman Emperor . With the ascension of Henry VII as Emperor,
8514-495: The Bourbons. The duchy was subsequently occupied by the pro-Austrian allied forces during the conflict and was awarded to Austria at its conclusion in 1714. As the Duchy of Luxembourg repeatedly passed back and forth from Spanish and Austrian to French rule, each of the conquering nations contributed to strengthening and expanding the Fortress that the Castle of Luxembourg had become over the years. One example of this includes French military engineer Marquis de Vauban who advanced
8643-510: The Canadian capital, is also effectively bilingual, as it has a large population of federal government workers, who are required to offer services in both French and English, and is just across the river from the Quebecois city of Gatineau . According to the United States Census Bureau (2011), French is the fourth most spoken language in the United States after English, Spanish, and Chinese, when all forms of French are considered together and all dialects of Chinese are similarly combined. French
8772-614: The Caribbean that are collectively referred to as the French West Indies , namely Guadeloupe , Saint Barthélemy , Saint Martin , and Martinique . French is the official language of both French Guiana on the South American continent, and of Saint Pierre and Miquelon , an archipelago off the coast of Newfoundland in North America. French was the official language of the colony of French Indochina , comprising modern-day Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia . It continues to be an administrative language in Laos and Cambodia, although its influence has waned in recent decades. In colonial Vietnam,
8901-475: The Constitution and the law. Legislative power is vested in the Chamber of Deputies , a unicameral legislature of sixty members, who are directly elected to five-year terms from four constituencies . A second body, the Council of State ( Conseil d'État ), composed of 21 ordinary citizens appointed by the grand duke, advises the Chamber of Deputies in the drafting of legislation. Luxembourg has three lower tribunals ( justices de paix ; in Esch-sur-Alzette ,
9030-421: The Dutch King who was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg, as well as Prussia, did not want to lose their grip on the mighty fortress of Luxembourg and did not agree with the Belgian claims. The dispute would be solved at the 1839 Treaty of London where the decision of the Third Partition of Luxembourg was taken. This time the territory was reduced by more than half, as the predominantly francophone western part of
9159-455: The EU), Pierre Werner (considered the father of the Euro ), Gaston Thorn , Jacques Santer and Jean-Claude Juncker (all former Presidents of the European Commission ), Luxembourgish politicians contributed substantially to the EU's formation and establishment. In 1999, Luxembourg joined the eurozone . Thereafter, the country was elected non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (2013–14). The steel industry exploiting
9288-538: The Empire, this local elite had been slowly abandoning Gaulish entirely, but the rural and lower class populations remained Gaulish speakers who could sometimes also speak Latin or Greek. The final language shift from Gaulish to Vulgar Latin among rural and lower class populations occurred later, when both they and the incoming Frankish ruler/military class adopted the Gallo-Roman Vulgar Latin speech of
9417-689: The First World War, under the German occupation of Luxembourg during World War II , the country was treated as German territory and informally annexed to the adjacent province of Nazi Germany , Gau Moselland . This time, Luxembourg did not remain neutral as Luxembourg's government in exile based in London supported the Allies , sending a small group of volunteers who participated in the Normandy invasion , and multiple resistance groups formed inside
9546-609: The French army. Their sacrifices have been commemorated at the Gëlle Fra . After the war, Grand-Duchess Marie-Adélaïde was seen by many people (including the French and Belgian governments) as having collaborated with the Germans and calls for her abdication and the establishment of a Republic became louder. After the retreat of the German army , communists in Luxembourg City and Esch-sur-Alzette tried to establish
9675-484: The Germanic Frankish language , which non-exhaustively included the use in upper-class speech and higher registers of V2 word order , a large percentage of the vocabulary (now at around 15% of modern French vocabulary ) including the impersonal singular pronoun on (a calque of Germanic man ), and the name of the language itself. Up until its later stages, Old French , alongside Old Occitan , maintained
9804-573: The Holy Roman Empire and elsewhere, Wenceslaus, annexed the County of Chiny in 1364, and with it, the territories of the new Duchy of Luxembourg reached its greatest extent. During these 130 years, the House of Luxembourg was contending with the House of Habsburg for supremacy within the Holy Roman Empire and Central Europe. It all came to end in 1443, when the House of Luxembourg suffered
9933-691: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
10062-606: The Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to
10191-451: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
10320-819: The Romans invaded the country when Julius Caesar conquered Gaul and part of Germania up to the Rhine border, thus the area of what is now Luxembourg became part of the Roman Empire for the next 450 years, living in relative peace under the Pax Romana . Similar to those in Gaul, the Celts of Luxembourg adopted Roman culture, language, morals and a way of life, effectively becoming what historians later described as Gallo-Roman civilization . Evidence from that period includes
10449-597: The army is the Chief of Defense , who answers to the minister and holds the rank of general. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance ,
10578-502: The city of Luxembourg , and Diekirch ), two district tribunals (Luxembourg and Diekirch), and a Superior Court of Justice (Luxembourg), which includes the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation. There is also an Administrative Tribunal and an Administrative Court, as well as a Constitutional Court, all of which are located in the capital. Luxembourg is divided into 12 cantons , which are further divided into 100 communes . Twelve of
10707-534: The city's nickname the Gibraltar of the North . Luxembourg was annexed by France, becoming the département des forêts (department of forests), and the incorporation of the former Duchy as a département into France was formalised at the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. From the start of the occupation the new French officials in Luxembourg, who spoke only French, implemented many republican reforms, among them
10836-553: The communes have city status ; the city of Luxembourg is the largest. Luxembourg has long been a prominent supporter of European political and economic integration . In 1921, Luxembourg and Belgium formed the Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) to create a regime of inter-exchangeable currency and a common customs . Luxembourg is a member of the Benelux Economic Union and was one of
10965-455: The competing County of Vianden (and with it St Vith and Schleiden ) had either been incorporated directly or become vassal states to the County of Luxembourg. The only major setback during their rise in power came in 1288, when Henry VI and his three brothers died at the Battle of Worringen while trying unsuccessfully to add the Duchy of Limburg to their realm. But despite the defeat,
11094-488: The country (but also the then Luxembourgish-speaking part of Arelerland ) was transferred to the new state of Belgium, thereby giving Luxembourg its modern-day borders. The treaty of 1839 also established full independence of the remaining Germanic-speaking Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg. In 1842, Luxembourg joined the German Customs Union ( Zollverein ). This resulted in the opening of the German market,
11223-451: The country. With an area of 2,586 square kilometers (998 sq mi), Luxembourg is Europe's seventh-smallest country . In 2024, it had a population of 672,050, which makes it one of the least-populated countries in Europe , albeit with the highest population growth rate ; foreigners account for nearly half the population. Luxembourg is a representative democracy headed by a constitutional monarch , Grand Duke Henri , making it
11352-473: The defeat of Napoleon , it regained independence in 1867 after the Luxembourg Crisis . Luxembourg is a developed country with an advanced economy , and has one of the world's highest GDP (PPP) per capita as per IMF and World Bank estimates. The nation's levels of human development and LGBT equality are ranked among the highest in Europe. The historic city including its fortification
11481-519: The demographic prospects of the French-speaking nations of Africa, researcher Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote in 2014 that French "could be the language of the future". However, some African countries such as Algeria intermittently attempted to eradicate the use of French, and as of 2024 it was removed as an official language in Mali and Burkina Faso . Significant as a judicial language, French
11610-529: The development of Luxembourg's steel industry , and expansion of Luxembourg's railway network from 1855 to 1875. After the Luxembourg Crisis of 1866 nearly led to war between Prussia and France, as both were unwilling to see the other taking influence over Luxembourg and its mighty fortress, the Grand Duchy's independence and neutrality were reaffirmed by the Second Treaty of London and Prussia
11739-437: The dynasty of the House of Luxembourg not only began to rule the Holy Roman Empire , but rapidly began to exercise growing influence over other parts of Central Europe as well. Henry's son, John the Blind , in addition to being Count of Luxembourg, also became King of Bohemia . He remains a major figure in Luxembourgish history and folklore and is considered by many historians the epitome of chivalry in medieval times. He
11868-448: The economic power of the countries using the language, the number of major areas in which the language is used, and the linguistic prestige associated with the mastery of the language (Weber highlighted that French in particular enjoys considerable linguistic prestige). In a 2008 reassessment of his article, Weber concluded that his findings were still correct since "the situation among the top ten remains unchanged." Knowledge of French
11997-594: The elites primarily spoke French, while many servants who worked in French households spoke a French pidgin known as " Tây Bồi " (now extinct). After French rule ended, South Vietnam continued to use French in administration, education, and trade. However, since the Fall of Saigon and the opening of a unified Vietnam's economy, French has gradually been effectively displaced as the first foreign language of choice by English in Vietnam. Nevertheless, it continues to be taught as
12126-499: The establishment of a republic. During this time, Belgium pushed for an annexation of Luxembourg. However, all such claims were ultimately dismissed at the Paris Peace Conference , thus securing Luxembourg's independence. In 1940, after the outbreak of World War II , Luxembourg's neutrality was violated again when Nazi Germany 's Wehrmacht entered the country , "entirely without justification". In contrast to
12255-462: The first government authority to adopt Modern French as official was the Aosta Valley in 1536, while the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts (1539) named French the language of law in the Kingdom of France . During the 17th century, French replaced Latin as the most important language of diplomacy and international relations ( lingua franca ). It retained this role until approximately the middle of
12384-852: The former Yugoslavia , International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea the International Criminal Court and the World Trade Organization Appellate Body . It is the sole internal working language of the Court of Justice of the European Union , and makes with English the European Court of Human Rights 's two working languages. In 1997, George Weber published, in Language Today ,
12513-707: The fortifications around and on the heights of the city, fortification walls that are still visible today. During the War of the First Coalition , Revolutionary France invaded the Austrian Netherlands, and with it, Luxembourg. In the years 1793 and 1794 most of the Duchy was conquered relatively quickly and the French Revolutionary Army committed many atrocities and pillages against the Luxembourgish civilian population and abbeys,
12642-624: The founding members of the European Economic Community (now the European Union). It also participates in the Schengen Group (named after the Luxembourg village of Schengen where the agreements were signed). At the same time, the majority of Luxembourgers have consistently believed that European unity makes sense only in the context of a dynamic transatlantic relationship, and thus have traditionally pursued
12771-829: The gender of the corresponding word in Gaulish. The estimated number of French words that can be attributed to Gaulish is placed at 154 by the Petit Robert , which is often viewed as representing standardized French, while if non-standard dialects are included, the number increases to 240. Known Gaulish loans are skewed toward certain semantic fields, such as plant life ( chêne , bille , etc.), animals ( mouton , cheval , etc.), nature ( boue , etc.), domestic activities (ex. berceau ), farming and rural units of measure ( arpent , lieue , borne , boisseau ), weapons, and products traded regionally rather than further afield. This semantic distribution has been attributed to peasants being
12900-607: The independent County of Luxembourg (which was still a state within the Holy Roman Empire). By the middle of the 13th century, the counts of Luxembourg had managed to gain considerable wealth and power and had expanded their territory from the river Meuse to the Moselle . By the time of the reign of Henry V the Blonde , Bitburg , La Roche-en-Ardenne , Durbuy , Arlon , Thionville , Marville , Longwy , and in 1264
13029-454: The language are very closely related to those of the rest of the French-speaking world. French is the second most commonly spoken language in Canada and one of two federal official languages alongside English. As of the 2021 Canadian census , it was the native language of 7.7 million people (21% of the population) and the second language of 2.9 million (8% of the population). French
13158-479: The language, although it has now given way to Tamil and English. A former French mandate , Lebanon designates Arabic as the sole official language, while a special law regulates cases when French can be publicly used. Article 11 of Lebanon's Constitution states that "Arabic is the official national language. A law determines the cases in which the French language is to be used". The French language in Lebanon
13287-612: The language. The Act applies to areas of the province where there are significant Francophone communities, namely Eastern Ontario and Northern Ontario . Elsewhere, sizable French-speaking minorities are found in southern Manitoba, Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island and the Port au Port Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the unique Newfoundland French dialect was historically spoken. Smaller pockets of French speakers exist in all other provinces. The Ontarian city of Ottawa ,
13416-428: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
13545-409: The long-lasting Golden Bull of 1356 , a decree which fixed important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Empire. Luxembourg remained an independent fief (county) of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1354, Charles IV elevated it to the status of a duchy with his half-brother Wenceslaus I becoming the first Duke of Luxembourg . While his kin were occupied ruling and expanding their power within
13674-522: The most infamous being the massacres of Differdange and Dudelange , as well as the destruction of the abbeys of Clairefontaine , Echternach and Orval . However the Fortress of Luxembourg resisted for nearly 7 months before the Austrian forces holding it surrendered. Luxembourg's long defense led Lazare Carnot to call Luxembourg "the best fortress in the world, except Gibraltar", giving rise to
13803-420: The necessity and means to annihilate the patois and to universalize the use of the French language". When public education was made compulsory , only French was taught and the use of any other ( patois ) language was punished. The goals of the public school system were made especially clear to the French-speaking teachers sent to teach students in regions such as Occitania and Brittany . Instructions given by
13932-643: The occupied country. With 2.45% of its prewar population killed, and a third of all buildings in Luxembourg being destroyed or heavily damaged (mainly due to the Battle of the Bulge ), Luxembourg suffered the highest such loss in Western Europe, but its commitment to the Allied war effort was never questioned. Around 1,000–2,500 of Luxembourg's Jews were murdered in the Holocaust . The Grand Duchy became
14061-534: The other main foreign language in the Vietnamese educational system and is regarded as a cultural language. All three countries are full members of La Francophonie (OIF). French was the official language of French India , consisting of the geographically separate enclaves referred to as Puducherry . It continued to be an official language of the territory even after its cession to India in 1956 until 1965. A small number of older locals still retain knowledge of
14190-471: The preferred language of certain institutions or administrations such as the Court of Justice of the European Union , where it is the sole internal working language, or the Directorate-General for Agriculture . Since 2016, Brexit has rekindled discussions on whether or not French should again hold greater role within the institutions of the European Union. A leading world language , French
14319-535: The principle of laicism , which led to an outcry in strongly Catholic Luxembourg. Additionally French was implemented as the only official language and Luxembourgish people were barred access to all civil services. When the French Army introduced military duty for the local population, riots broke out which culminated in 1798 when Luxembourgish peasants started a rebellion. Even though the French managed to rapidly suppress this revolt called Klëppelkrich , it had
14448-471: The rest largely speak French as a first language. As a French Creole language , Haitian Creole draws the large majority of its vocabulary from French, with influences from West African languages, as well as several European languages. It is closely related to Louisiana Creole and the creole from the Lesser Antilles . French is the sole official language of all the overseas territories of France in
14577-781: The same day appointed CSV leader Luc Frieden to form a government , which took office on 17 November and in which Bettel became Deputy Prime Minister. This article about politics in Luxembourg is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Luxembourg – in Europe (green & dark gray) – in the European Union (green) Luxembourg ( / ˈ l ʌ k s əm b ɜːr ɡ / LUK -səm-burg ; Luxembourgish : Lëtzebuerg [ˈlətsəbuəɕ] ; German: Luxemburg [ˈlʊksm̩bʊʁk] ; French: Luxembourg [lyksɑ̃buʁ] ), officially
14706-667: The territory had been part of the Holy Roman Empire as well as the Habsburgian Netherlands in the past, both the Kingdom of Prussia and the United Kingdom of the Netherlands now claimed possession of the territory. At the Congress of Vienna the great powers decided that Luxembourg would become a member state of the newly formed German Confederation , but at the same time William I of the Netherlands ,
14835-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In
14964-679: The two official languages—along with Dutch —of the Brussels-Capital Region , where it is spoken by the majority of the population (approx. 80%), often as their primary language. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland, along with German, Italian, and Romansh , and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland, called Romandy , of which Geneva is the largest city. The language divisions in Switzerland do not coincide with political subdivisions, and some cantons have bilingual status: for example, cities such as Biel/Bienne and cantons such as Valais , Fribourg and Bern . French
15093-508: The urban intellectual elite. The Gaulish language likely survived into the sixth century in France despite considerable Romanization . Coexisting with Latin, Gaulish helped shape the Vulgar Latin dialects that developed into French contributing loanwords and calques (including oui , the word for "yes"), sound changes shaped by Gaulish influence, and influences in conjugation and word order. Recent computational studies suggest that early gender shifts may have been motivated by
15222-485: The use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. In Belgium, French is an official language at the federal level along with Dutch and German. At the regional level, French is the sole official language of Wallonia (excluding a part of the East Cantons , which are German-speaking ) and one of
15351-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of
15480-462: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as
15609-537: The world's only remaining sovereign grand duchy . The County of Luxembourg was established in the 11th century, as a state within the Holy Roman Empire . Its ascension culminated in its monarch, Henry VII , becoming the Holy Roman Emperor in the 14th century. Luxembourg came under Habsburg rule in the 15th century, and was annexed by France in the 18th century. Luxembourg was partitioned three times, reducing its size. Having been restored in 1815 after
15738-512: Was allowed to maintain much of its independence and political mechanisms. Unaware of the fact that Germany secretly planned to annex the Grand-Duchy in case of a German victory (the Septemberprogramm ), the Luxembourgish government continued to pursue a policy of strict neutrality. However, the Luxembourgish population did not believe Germany had good intentions, fearing that it would annex Luxembourg. Around 1,000 Luxembourgers served in
15867-561: Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 due to the exceptional preservation of its vast fortifications and historic quarters. Luxembourg is a founding member of the European Union , OECD , the United Nations , NATO , and the Benelux . It served on the United Nations Security Council for the first time in 2013 and 2014. The first traces of settlement in what is now Luxembourg are dated back to
15996-819: Was during the period of the Crusades in which French became so dominant in the Mediterranean Sea that became a lingua franca ("Frankish language"), and because of increased contact with the Arabs during the Crusades who referred to them as Franj , numerous Arabic loanwords entered French, such as amiral (admiral), alcool (alcohol), coton (cotton) and sirop (syrop), as well as scientific terms such as algébre (algebra), alchimie (alchemy) and zéro (zero). Within Old French many dialects emerged but
16125-495: Was finally willing to withdraw its troops from the Fortress of Luxembourg under the condition that the fortifications would be dismantled. That happened the same year. At the time of the Franco-Prussian war in 1870, Luxembourg's neutrality was respected, and neither France nor Germany invaded the country. As a result of the recurring disputes between the major European powers, the people of Luxembourg gradually developed
16254-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul
16383-469: Was known in the Occitan-speaking region as Vergonha . Spoken by 19.71% of the European Union's population, French is the third most widely spoken language in the EU, after English and German and the second-most-widely taught language after English. Under the Constitution of France , French has been the official language of the Republic since 1992, although the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts made it mandatory for legal documents in 1539. France mandates
16512-411: Was shaped by its coexistence for over half a millennium beside the native Celtic Gaulish language , which did not go extinct until the late sixth century, long after the fall of the Western Roman Empire . The population remained 90% indigenous in origin; the Romanizing class were the local native elite (not Roman settlers), whose children learned Latin in Roman schools. At the time of the collapse of
16641-437: Was the language they use the most at home rose from 67% at the 2007 census to 74% at the 2017 census. In Wallis and Futuna, the percentage of the population who reported that French was the language they use the most at home rose from 10% at the 2008 census to 13% at the 2018 census. According to a demographic projection led by the Université Laval and the Réseau Démographie de l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie ,
#213786