167-617: The GIGN ( French : Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale pronunciation ; transl. "National Gendarmerie Intervention Group" ) is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie . Among its missions are counterterrorism , hostage rescue , surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such as French embassies in war-torn countries), and targeting organized crime . Established in 1973 and becoming operational in 1974,
334-744: 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
501-431: 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,
668-555: 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
835-422: A formal one, upon which was laid all responsibility, and a secret one ("heavies"), which made the real decisions, and at which Andreyev had never been in charge. The Russian government downplayed the numbers, repeatedly stating there were only 354 hostages; this reportedly angered the hostage-takers, who further mistreated their captives. Several officials also said there appeared to be only 15 to 20 militants in
1002-623: A local two-story building, which was destroyed by tanks and flamethrowers around 21:00, according to the Ossetian committee's findings (Kesayev Report). Another group of militants appeared to head back over the railway, chased by helicopters into the town. Firefighters, who were called by Andreyev two hours after the fire had started, were not prepared to battle the blaze that raged in the gymnasium. One fire truck crew arrived after two hours on their own initiative, but with only 200 liters (53 U.S. gal) of water, and were unable to connect to
1169-533: A major reorganization took place. GSIGN was disbanded and replaced by a new unit also named GIGN. The former GSIGN components (the original GIGN, EPIGN, GSPR and GISA) became "forces" of the new GIGN which now reached a total complement of 380 operators. The change from GSIGN to the new GIGN, an organization reporting directly to the Director-general of the Gendarmerie, was not a simple name swap. It
1336-510: A negotiator. Later, he also called on western governments to initiate peace talks between Russia and Chechnya and added to "categorically refute all accusations by the Russian government that President Maskhadov had any involvement in the Beslan event." Putin responded that he would not negotiate with "child-killers", comparing the calls for negotiations with the appeasement of Hitler , and put
1503-587: A one-week pre-selection screening followed by, for those accepted, a fourteen-month training program. Mental ability and self-control are important, in addition to physical strength. Similar to most special forces, the training is stressful with a high rate of failure, especially in the initial phase; only 7–8% of the volunteers complete the training process. AGIGN candidates undertake a one-week pre-selection screening followed by an eight-week training program. GIGN training consists of: The GIGN trains alongside other counterterrorist units from NATO countries, including
1670-511: A part of a larger organisation called GSIGN ( Groupement de sécurité et d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale ), together with EPIGN ( Escadron parachutiste d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale ), GSPR ( Groupe de sécurité de la présidence de la République ), the Presidential Security group and GISA ( Groupe d'instruction et de sécurité des activités ), a specialized training center. On 1 September 2007,
1837-539: A peaceful resolution while the secret ("heavy") headquarters set up by the FSB was preparing the assault. Savelyev wrote that, in many ways, the "heavies" restricted the actions of the "civilians", in particular in their attempts to negotiate with the militants. At Russia's request, a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council was convened on the evening of 1 September 2004, at which
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#17327720431862004-705: 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
2171-494: 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
2338-587: A second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as 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
2505-526: 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 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
2672-941: 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 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
2839-520: A series of terrorist bombings in Russia in the weeks before the Beslan crisis. He said that he had originally planned to seize at least one school in either Moscow or Saint Petersburg, but lack of funds forced him to pick North Ossetia , "the Russian garrison in the North Caucasus." Basayev blamed the Russian authorities for "a terrible tragedy" in Beslan. Basayev claimed that he had miscalculated
3006-562: A shield, it worn on the left sleeve by every GIGN gendarme. A circular badge is worn on the right sleeve: the traditional round GIGN patch for Satory-based operators and a different patch for members of the AGIGNs. The AGIGN patch replaces the parachute with a thunderbolt, as AGIGNs are not parachute units. Since its creation, the group has taken part in over 1,800 operations, rescued over 600 hostages and arrested over 1500 suspects, losing four members killed in action and ten in training. Three of
3173-616: A suspected terrorist. A security cordon was soon established around the school, consisting of the Russian police ( militsiya ), Internal Troops , Russian Army forces, Spetsnaz (including the elite Alpha and Vympel units of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB)), and the OMON special units of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD). A line of three apartment buildings facing
3340-426: A toll upon the young children, many of whom were forced to stand for long periods in the hot, tightly packed gym. Many children disrobed because of the sweltering heat in the gymnasium, which led to false rumors of sexual impropriety. Many children fainted, and parents feared that these children would die. Some hostages drank their own urine. Occasionally, the militants (many of whom took off their masks) took out some of
3507-547: 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
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#17327720431863674-437: 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
3841-779: 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 , 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
4008-472: 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
4175-489: 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
4342-430: Is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As 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
4509-462: 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 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
4676-652: 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
4843-503: 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
5010-404: 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
5177-469: 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
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5344-828: 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
5511-576: 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 ,
5678-553: 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
5845-483: 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
6012-492: 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
6179-424: 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
6346-615: Is traditionally issued a six-shot revolver as a reminder of these values. On 9 December 2011, French Defense Minister Gérard Longuet , awarded the Cross for Military Valour to GIGN for its participation in operation Harmattan in Libya. On 31 July 2013, GIGN was awarded a second Cross for Military Valour for its participation in the War in Afghanistan . On 15 June 2015, the unit received
6513-764: 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
6680-462: 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 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
6847-539: 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
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7014-677: The Departmental Gendarmerie . GIGN is also a member of the European ATLAS Network , an informal association consisting of the special police units of the 27 states of the European Union . Known GIGN operations include: GIGN was selected by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to organise hostage-rescue exercises aboard planes for the special forces of the other member states. Candidates undertake
7181-485: 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
7348-482: The FC Alania team cameraman, survived the explosion as well as the shooting; when discovered to be still alive, he was allowed to return to the sports hall, where he lost consciousness. The militants then forced other hostages to throw the bodies out of the building and to wash the blood off the floor. One of these hostages, Aslan Kudzayev, escaped by jumping out of the window; the authorities briefly detained him as
7515-559: 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,
7682-700: The French overseas territories . The unit shares jurisdiction of French sovereign territory with the special response units of the National Police , and its training centre is located in Beynes . Although most of its operations take place in France, the GIGN (as a component of the French Armed Forces ) can operate anywhere in the world. Many of its missions are secret, and GIGN operators are not allowed to be publicly photographed. Since its formation,
7849-877: 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
8016-667: The Medal for internal security . As GIGN was awarded the Cross for Military Valour twice, members of the group are officially allowed to wear the fourragère . GIGN has been featured in dozens of media works, including films, television shows, novels, video games, and strip cartoons, typically working alongside other international counterterrorist units. They have also been the focus of several works, including: French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] )
8183-466: The Moscow hostage crisis chemical agent . In the afternoon, the gunmen allowed former president of Ingushetia Ruslan Aushev to enter the school building and agreed to personally release to him 11 nursing women and all 15 babies. The women's older children were left behind and one mother refused to leave, so Aushev carried out her youngest child instead. The terrorists gave Aushev a videotape made in
8350-514: The National Police . The respective areas of responsibility of each force did not change however, as the Police already had primary responsibility for major cities and large urban areas, while the Gendarmerie was in charge of smaller towns and rural areas (in addition to its specific military missions). Under the new command structure, GIGN gendarmes can still be engaged in operations outside of France due to their military status. In January 2015, GIGN
8517-626: 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
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#17327720431868684-1012: The United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization , 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
8851-455: 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;
9018-413: The 2002 Moscow siege, but had also given advice to the Russian security services as they prepared to storm the theatre, for which he received the Hero of Russia award; however, a witness statement indicated that the Russian negotiators confused Roshal with Vladimir Rushailo , a Russian security official. According to State Duma member Yuri Savelyev's report, the official ("civilian") headquarters sought
9185-474: 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
9352-483: The American FBI HRT , British SAS , Australian SPS , German GSG 9 , and Irish Garda ERU . GIGN uses a wide range of firearms and equipment, including: Although GIGN, as part of the French military, has been deployed to external combat zones, it is primarily centered in France, engaging in peacetime operations as a special police force. Respect for human life, combined with fire discipline , has always been taught to group members since its inception. Each new member
9519-432: The Beslan school siege, boasting that the siege only costed 8,000 euros . The event was strikingly similar to the Chechen raid on Budyonnovsk in 1995 and the Moscow theatre hostage crisis of 2002, incidents in which hundreds of Russian civilians were held hostage by Chechen terrorists led by Basayev. Basayev said that his Riyad-us Saliheen "brigade of martyrs" had carried out the attack and also claimed responsibility for
9686-510: 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
9853-614: 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,
10020-422: The Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev , who demanded Russia withdraw from and recognize the independence of Chechnya . On the third day of the standoff, Russian security forces stormed the building. The event had security and political repercussions in Russia, leading to a series of federal government reforms consolidating power in the Kremlin and strengthening the powers of the President of Russia . Criticisms of
10187-434: The Children's Republican Clinical Hospital in the North Ossetian capital of Vladikavkaz, and 30 were in cardiopulmonary resuscitation units in critical condition . Another 150 people were transferred to the Vladikavkaz Emergency Hospital. Sixty-two people, including 12 children, were treated in two local hospitals in Beslan, while six children with severe injuries were flown to Moscow for specialist treatment. The majority of
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#173277204318610354-408: 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
10521-448: The French nuclear power plants, are not a part of GIGN, but operate under its operational control. Coordination between GIGN and RAID , the National Police's tactical unit, is handled by a joint organization called Ucofi ( Unité de coordination des forces d’intervention or Intervention Forces Coordination Unit). A "leader/follower" protocol has been established for use when both units need to be engaged jointly, leadership belonging to
10688-427: The GIGN has been involved in over 1,800 missions and has also rescued more than 600 hostages, making it one of the most experienced counter-terrorism units in the world. In December 1994, the GIGN rose to worldwide prominence after its operatives successfully stormed Air France Flight 8969 , which had been hijacked by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria at Marseille Provence Airport ; all four hijackers were killed in
10855-469: The GIGN was initially created as a relatively small tactical unit specialized in sensitive hostage situations, but has since grown into a larger force with expanded responsibilities and capabilities. It is now composed of nearly 1,000 operators: around 400 operators based in Satory , near Versailles in the Paris area and approximately 600 operators in fourteen regional GIGN branches called AGIGNs ( Antennes du GIGN ), located in metropolitan France or in
11022-416: 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
11189-476: The Ingush involved than with the Chechens, but it was highly symbolic for both regions. The Ossetes and Ingush have a conflict over ownership of the Prigorodny District that was inflamed by the 1944 Stalinist purges and the 1992–1993 ethnic cleansing of Ingush by Ossetes, with assistance from the Russian military. At the time of the raid, more than 40,000 Ingush refugees lived in tent camps in Ingushetia and Chechnya. The Beslan school itself had been used against
11356-526: The Ingush: in 1992, the gym was used as a pen to round up Ingush during the ethnic cleansing by the Ossetes. For the Chechens, the motive was revenge for the destruction of their homes and families; Beslan was one of the sites from which federal air raids were launched into Chechnya. Upon learning that many children were killed by a terrorist group that included Chechens, many Chechens felt shame. A spokesman for Chechen independence cause stated: "A bigger blow could not have been dealt on us ... People around
11523-534: The Intervention Force. There are several tactical specialties in the group, including: long-range sniping, breaching, observation and reconnaissance , executive protection, freefall parachuting with HALO/HAHO jumps, diving, etc. Helicopter support is provided by Gendarmerie helicopters and, for tactical deployment of large groups, by GIH ( French : Groupe interarmées d'hélicoptères ), a joint Army/Air Force special operations flight equipped with SA330 PUMA helicopters, based in nearby Villacoublay Air Base . GIH
11690-524: The Knowledge Day festivities, the number of people in the schools was considerably higher than normal. Early in the morning, a group of several dozen heavily armed Islamic nationalist guerrillas left a forest encampment located in the vicinity of the village of Psedakh in the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetia , east of North Ossetia and west of war-torn Chechnya. The terrorists wore green military camouflage and black balaclava masks, and in some cases were also wearing explosive belts and explosive underwear. On
11857-674: The Kremlin's determination to end the crisis by all means possible. He said he was "cruelly mistaken" and that he was "not delighted by what happened there", but also added to be "planning more Beslan-type operations in the future because we are forced to do so." However, it was the last major act of terrorism in Russia until 2009, as Basayev was soon persuaded to give up indiscriminate attacks by new Chechen leader Abdul-Halim Sadulayev , who made Basayev his second-in-command but banned hostage-taking, kidnapping for ransom and operations specifically targeting civilians. Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov denied that his forces were involved in
12024-544: The North Ossetian FSB, Valery Andreyev. However, statements by both Andreyev and Dzasokhov indicated that it was FSB deputy directors Vladimir Pronichev and Vladimir Anisimov who were actually in charge of the Beslan operation. General Andreyev also told North Ossetia's Supreme Court that the decision to use heavy weapons during the assault was made by the head of the FSB's Special Operations Center, Colonel General Aleksandr Tikhonov. A chaotic battle broke out as
12191-494: The OMON troops while trying to hide under a truck (he was later identified as Nur-Pashi Kulayev). Some of the dead insurgents appeared to have been mutilated by the commandos. Sporadic explosions and gunfire continued during the night despite reports that all resistance by militants had been suppressed, until some 12 hours after the first explosions. Early the next day, Putin ordered the borders of North Ossetia closed while some of
12358-515: The Overseas Gendarmerie Command ( French : Commandement de la Gendarmerie outre-mer ) for the remaining seven but they were independent units that only came under GIGN operational control when a crisis occurred. Sometimes referred to as "GIGN 3.0", the new organization also emphasizes the group's role in training and in operational support. A new common insignia was adopted as a result of the 2021 reorganization. Shaped as
12525-542: The Russian government's management of the crisis have persisted, including allegations of disinformation and censorship in news media as well as questions about journalistic freedom, negotiations with the terrorists, allocation of responsibility for the eventual outcome and the use of excessive force. School No. 1 was one of seven schools in Beslan, a town of about 35,000 people in the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania in Russia's Caucasus . The school, located next to
12692-438: The Russian positions in the apartment buildings. According to a military prosecutor, a BTR armoured vehicle drove close to the school and opened fire from its 14.5×114mm KPV heavy machine gun at the windows on the second floor. Eyewitnesses (among them Totoonti and Kesayev ) and journalists saw two T-72 tanks advance on the school that afternoon, at least one of which fired its 125 mm main gun several times. Later during
12859-431: The air and forcing everyone from the school grounds into the building. During the initial chaos, up to 50 people managed to flee and alert authorities about the situation. A number of people also managed to hide in the boiler room. After an exchange of gunfire against the police and an armed local civilian, in which reportedly one attacker was killed and two were wounded, the militants seized the school building. Reports of
13026-567: The assault. GIGN was formed in Maisons-Alfort , near Paris, in 1973, shortly after the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics and other less-known incidents in France resulted in a need for dedicated counterterrorist units in Europe. Initially named ECRI ( Équipe commando régionale d’intervention or Regional Commando Intervention Team), it became operational in March 1974, under
13193-561: The attack with the Second Chechen War . Instead, he blamed the crisis on the "direct intervention of international terrorism", ignoring the nationalist roots of the crisis. Russian government sources initially claimed that nine of the militants in Beslan were Arabs and one was a black African (called "a negro " by Andreyev), though only two Arabs were later identified. Independent analysts such as Moscow political commentator Andrei Piontkovsky said that Putin tried to minimise
13360-575: The attackers was unclear. It was widely assumed from Day Two that they were separatists from nearby Chechnya, though Putin's Chechen aide Aslambek Aslakhanov denied it, saying "they were not Chechens. When I started talking with them in Chechen , they had answered: 'We do not understand; speak Russian. ' " Freed hostages said that the hostage-takers spoke Russian with accents typical of Caucasians . Though Putin had rarely hesitated to blame Chechen separatists for past acts of terrorism, he avoided linking
13527-458: The battle, having brought their own weapons, and at least one of the armed volunteers is known to have been killed. Alleged crime figure Aslan Gagiyev claimed to be among them. At the same time, regular conscripted soldiers reportedly fled the scene as the fighting began. Civilian witnesses claimed that the local police also panicked, sometimes firing in the wrong direction. At least three, but as many as nine, powerful Shmel rockets were fired at
13694-425: The cafeteria. By 15:00, two hours after the assault began, Russian troops claimed control of most of the school. However, fighting was still continuing on the grounds as evening fell, including resistance from a group of militants holding out in the school's basement. During the battle, a group of some 13 militants broke through the military cordon and took refuge nearby. Several of them were believed to have entered
13861-508: The children were treated for burns, gunshot injuries , shrapnel wounds and mutilation caused by explosions. Some had limbs amputated and eyes removed, and many children were permanently disabled. One month after the attack, 240 people (160 of them children) were still being treated in hospitals in Vladikavkaz and Beslan. Surviving children and parents have received psychological treatment at Vladikavkaz Rehabilitation Centre. One of
14028-639: The command of then-lieutenant Christian Prouteau , and executed its first mission ten days later. Another unit, named GIGN, was created simultaneously within the Mobile Gendarmerie parachute squadron in Mont-de-Marsan in southwest France, but the two units were merged under Prouteau 's command in 1976, and adopted the GIGN designation. GIGNs initial complement was 15, later increased to 32 in 1976, 78 by 1986, and 120 by 2005. GIGN moved to Versailles-Satory in 1982. In 1984, it became
14195-418: The council members demanded "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack." U.S. president George W. Bush made a statement offering "support in any form" to Russia. On 2 September 2004, negotiations between Roshal and the militants proved unsuccessful, and they refused to allow food, water or medicine to be taken in for the hostages or for the dead bodies to be removed from
14362-580: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Beslan school siege The Beslan school siege , also referred to as the Beslan school hostage crisis or the Beslan massacre , was an Islamic terrorist attack that started on 1 September 2004. It lasted three days, and involved the imprisonment of more than 1,100 people as hostages, including 777 children, ending with
14529-557: The crisis. More than 10,000 people without proper documents were detained by Moscow police in a "terrorist hunt". Colonel Magomed Tolboyev , a cosmonaut and Hero of the Russian Federation , was attacked and brutally beaten by a Moscow police patrol because of his Chechen-sounding name. The Russian public appeared to generally support increased security measures; a 16 September 2004 Levada-Center opinion poll found 58% of Russians supporting stricter counterterrorism laws and
14696-446: The crowds who had gathered at the scene, altogether totaling perhaps as many as 5,000. The attackers mined the gym and the rest of the building with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and surrounded it with tripwires . In a further bid to deter rescue attempts, they threatened to kill 50 hostages for every one of their own members killed by the police, and to kill 20 hostages for every gunman injured. They also threatened to blow up
14863-488: The crying did not cease. Russian authorities claimed that the terrorists had listened to German heavy metal group Rammstein on personal stereos during the siege to keep themselves "edgy and fired up". Rammstein had previously come under fire following the 1999 Columbine High School massacre , and again in 2007 after the Jokela High School shooting . Overnight, a police officer was injured by shots fired from
15030-401: The death penalty for terrorism, while 33% would support banning all Chechens from entering Russian cities. In the wake of Beslan, the government proceeded to toughen laws on terrorism and expand the powers of law-enforcement agencies. In addition, Putin signed a law that replaced the direct election of the heads of the federal subjects of Russia with a system in which they are proposed by
15197-405: The death toll from this shootout ranged from two to eight people, while more than a dozen people were injured. The attackers took approximately 1,100 hostages. The number of hostages was initially downplayed by the government to the 200–400 range, and then for an unknown reason announced to be exactly 354. In 2005, the government's total was put at 1,128. The militants herded their captives into
15364-559: The deaths of 334 people, 186 of them children, as well as 31 of the attackers. It is considered the deadliest school shooting in history. The crisis began when a group of armed terrorists occupied School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan , North Ossetia (an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of Russia ), on 1 September 2004. The hostage-takers were members of the Riyad-us Saliheen , sent by
15531-519: 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
15698-508: The district police station, housed approximately 60 teachers and more than 800 students. Its gymnasium, where most of the hostages were held for 52 hours, was a recent addition, measuring 10 metres (33 ft) wide and 25 metres (82 ft) long. There were reports that men disguised as repairmen had smuggled weapons and explosives into the school during July 2004, a fact that the authorities later denied; however, several witnesses have since testified they were forced to help their captors remove
15865-792: The early hours of 4 September to see several of the wounded victims. He was later criticised for not meeting the families of victims. After returning to Moscow, he ordered a two-day period of national mourning on 6 and 7 September. In his televised speech, Putin said: "We showed ourselves to be weak. And the weak get beaten." On the second day of mourning, an estimated 135,000 people joined a government-organised rally against terrorism in Red Square in Moscow. In Saint Petersburg an estimated 40,000 people gathered in Palace Square . Increased security measures were introduced to Russian cities after
16032-448: 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
16199-594: 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
16366-458: The fighting began, oil-company president and negotiator Mikhail Gutseriyev , an ethnic Ingush, phoned the hostage-takers and heard "You tricked us!" in response. Five hours later, Gutseriyev and his interlocutor reportedly had their last conversation, during which the man said, "The blame is yours and the Kremlin's." According to Torshin, the order to start the operation was given by the head of
16533-516: 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
16700-915: 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 ,
16867-588: The four fatalities in action were sustained when dealing with armed deranged persons. The fourth one occurred during an operation against illegal gold-mining in French Guiana in March 2023. GIGN is currently organized in four " forces ", a "détachement", an Engineering and Support division, a National Training Center for Specialized Intervention and a Human Resources bureau, under two headquarters (administrative and operational): Female gendarmes are admitted in all forces , but none have so far succed in joining
17034-590: The framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States . He also said that although the Chechen separatists "had played no part" in the Russian apartment bombings of 1999 , they would now publicly take responsibility for them if needed. Some Russian officials and state-controlled media later criticised Aushev for entering the school, accusing him of colluding with the terrorists. The lack of food and water took
17201-590: The front of the school. At noon, FSB First Deputy Director Colonel General Vladimir Pronichev showed Dzasokhov a decree signed by prime minister Mikhail Fradkov appointing the North Ossetian FSB chief, Major General Valery Andreyev, as head of the operational headquarters. However, in April 2005 a Moscow News journalist received photocopies of the interview protocols of Dzasokhov and Andreyev by investigators, revealing that two headquarters had been formed in Beslan:
17368-829: 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
17535-416: The hostages will be dedicated exclusively to this task." It was the only public statement by Putin about the crisis until one day after it ended. In protest, several people at the scene raised signs reading: "Putin! Release our children! Meet their demands!" and "Putin! There are at least 800 hostages!" The locals also said that they would not allow any storming or "poisoning of their children", an allusion to
17702-468: The hostages, a physical education teacher called Yanis Kanidis (a Caucasus Greek , originally from Georgia ) who was killed in the siege, saved the lives of many children. One of the new schools built in Beslan was subsequently named in his honour. The operation also became the bloodiest in the history of the Russian anti-terrorist special forces. Ten members of the special forces died (7 Vympel and 3 Alpha members). A commando called Vyacheslav Bocharov
17869-463: The incident, as did a hostage in August 2006. A 33-year-old librarian, Yelena Avdonina, succumbed to a hematoma on 8 December 2006. At that time The Washington Post stated that the death toll was 334, excluding terrorists. The city of Beslan states a death toll of 335 on its website. The death toll includes 186 children. Russia's Minister of Health and Social Reform Mikhail Zurabov said that
18036-454: 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
18203-479: 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
18370-612: 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 ,
18537-479: 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
18704-508: The militants against security forces outside the school approximately ten minutes apart, setting a police car on fire and injuring one officer, but Russian forces did not return fire. As the day and night wore on, the combination of stress and sleep deprivation—and possibly drug withdrawal —made the hostage-takers increasingly hysterical and unpredictable. The crying of the children irritated them, and on several occasions crying children and their mothers were threatened that they would be shot if
18871-539: The militants, which was later confirmed by Zakayev. Totoonti said that Maskhadov's sole demand was his unhindered passage to the school; however, the assault began one hour after the agreement for his arrival was made. He also mentioned that, for three days, journalists from Al Jazeera television offered to participate in the negotiations and enter the school, even as hostages, but were told "their services were not needed by anyone." Russian presidential advisor, former police general and ethnic Chechen Aslambek Aslakhanov
19038-429: The military fired back. The government asserted that once the shooting started, troops had no choice but to storm the building. However, some accounts by the town's residents have contradicted this official version of events. Police lieutenant colonel Elbrus Nogayev, whose wife and daughter died in the school, said, "I heard a command saying, 'Stop shooting! Stop shooting!' while other troops' radios said, 'Attack!'" As
19205-420: The nearby hydrants. The first water truck came at 15:28, nearly two and a half hours after the start of the fire; the second fire engine arrived at 15:43. Few ambulances were available to transport the hundreds of injured victims, who were mostly driven to the hospital in private cars. One suspected militant was reportedly lynched on the scene by a mob of civilians. An unarmed militant was captured alive by
19372-420: 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
19539-552: The number and scale of Chechen terrorist attacks rather than exaggerate them as he had done in the past. Putin appeared to connect the events to the U.S.-led War on Terror , but at the same time accused the West of indulging terrorists. On 17 September 2004, Chechen terrorist leader Shamil Basayev , operating autonomously from the rest of the North Caucasian terrorist movement, issued a statement claiming responsibility for
19706-652: 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 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;
19873-534: 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
20040-473: The paramedics, killing two. The other two took cover behind their vehicle. The second explosion, described as "strange-sounding", was heard 22 seconds later. At 13:05, a fire started on the roof of the gymnasium, and soon the burning rafters and parts of the roof fell onto the hostages below, many of whom were injured but still alive. Eventually, the entire roof collapsed, filling the room with fire. The flames reportedly killed some 160 people, more than half of
20207-471: 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
20374-459: The president of Russia and approved or disapproved by the elected legislative bodies of the federal subjects. The election system for the Russian parliament was also repeatedly amended, eliminating the election of State Duma members by single-mandate districts. The Kremlin consolidated its control over the Russian media and increasingly attacked non-governmental organisations (especially those foreign-founded). The raid on Beslan had more to do with
20541-471: 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
20708-406: The school and a note with demands from their purported leader, Shamil Basayev, who was not present in Beslan. The existence of the note was kept secret by Russian authorities, while the tape was declared as being empty (which was later proved incorrect). It was falsely announced that the militants had made no demands. In the note, Basayev demanded recognition of a "formal independence for Chechnya" in
20875-635: The school from the special forces' positions (three or nine empty disposable tubes were later found on the rooftops of nearby apartment blocks). The use of the Shmel rockets, classified in Russia as flamethrowers and in the West as thermobaric weapons , was initially denied, but later admitted by the government. A report by an aide to the military prosecutor of the North Ossetian garrison stated that RPG-26 rocket-propelled grenades were used as well. The terrorists also used grenade launchers, firing at
21042-474: The school gym was evacuated and taken over by the special forces. The perimeter that they made was within 225 metres (738 ft) of the school, inside the range of the militants' grenade launchers. No firefighting equipment was in position and, despite the previous experiences of the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis , there were few ambulances ready. The chaos was worsened by the presence of Ossetian volunteer militiamen ( opolchentsy ) and armed civilians among
21209-447: The school if government forces attacked. To avoid being overwhelmed by a gas attack as were their comrades in the 2002 Moscow hostage crisis, insurgents quickly smashed the school's windows. The captors prevented hostages from eating and drinking (calling this a " hunger strike ") until North Ossetia's president Alexander Dzasokhov would arrive to negotiate with them. However, the FSB set up its own crisis headquarters from which Dzasokhov
21376-422: The school's gym and confiscated all of their mobile phones under threat of death. They ordered the hostages to speak in Russian and only when first spoken to. When a father named Ruslan Betrozov stood to calm people and repeated the rules in the local language of Ossetic , a gunman approached him, asked Betrozov if he was done, and then shot him in the head. Another father named Vadim Bolloyev, who refused to kneel,
21543-420: The school. The crisis was met with a near-total silence from President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the rest of Russia's political leaders. Only on the second day did Putin make his first public comment on the siege during a meeting in Moscow with King Abdullah II of Jordan : "Our main task, of course, is to save the lives and health of those who became hostages. All actions by our forces involved in rescuing
21710-531: The school. Talks were broken off, resuming the next day. Early on the third day, Ruslan Aushev, Alexander Dzasokhov, Taymuraz Mamsurov (North Ossetia's parliament chairman) and First Deputy Chairman Izrail Totoonti together made contact with the president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria , Aslan Maskhadov . Totoonti said that both Maskhadov and his Western-based emissary Akhmed Zakayev declared that they were ready to fly to Beslan to negotiate with
21877-448: The second floor, where an explosive belt on one of the female bombers detonated, killing another female bomber (it was also claimed the second woman died from a bullet wound ) and several of the selected hostages, as well as mortally injuring one male terrorist. The surviving hostages from this group were then ordered to lie down and were shot with an automatic rifle by another gunman; all but one of them were killed. Karen Mdinaradze,
22044-534: The seven metropolitan GIGN branches are located in Caen , Dijon , Nantes , Orange , Reims , Toulouse and Tours , while the seven overseas branches are based in Guadeloupe , Martinique , French Guiana , Réunion , Mayotte , French Polynesia and New Caledonia . The twenty nuclear protection units, called PSPGs ( French : Pelotons spécialisés de protection de la Gendarmerie ), located on site at each one of
22211-477: The siege, calling it "a blasphemy" for which "there is no justification". Maskhadov described the perpetrators of Beslan as "Madmen" driven out of their senses by Russian acts of brutality. He condemned the action and all attacks against civilians via a statement issued by his envoy Akhmed Zakayev in London, blaming it on what he called a radical local group, and he agreed to the North Ossetian proposition to act as
22378-594: The special forces fought to enter the school. The forces included the assault groups of the FSB and the associated troops of the Russian Army and the Russian Interior Ministry, supported by a number of T-72 tanks from Russia's 58th Army (commandeered by Tikhonov from the military on 2 September), BTR-80 wheeled armoured personnel carriers and armed helicopters, including at least one Mi-24 attack helicopter. Many local civilians also joined
22545-414: The storming had begun two hours before. Around 13:00 on 3 September, the militants allowed four Ministry of Emergency Situations medical workers in two ambulances to remove 20 bodies from the school grounds, and to bring the corpse of the killed terrorist to the school. However, at 13:03, when the paramedics approached the school, an explosion in the gymnasium was heard. The terrorists then opened fire on
22712-421: The terrorists arrived at Beslan in a GAZelle police van and a GAZ-66 military truck. Many witnesses and independent experts claim that there were two groups of attackers, and that the first group was already at the school when the second group arrived by truck. At first, some at the school mistook the militants for Russian special forces practicing a security drill. However, the attackers soon began shooting in
22879-465: The terrorists were apparently still being pursued. After the conclusion of the crisis, many of the injured died before patients were sent to better-equipped facilities in Vladikavkaz , as the only hospital in Beslan was unprepared to deal with the casualties. There was an inadequate supply of hospital beds, medication and neurosurgery equipment. Relatives were not allowed to visit hospitals where
23046-403: The total hostage fatalities. There are several conflicting opinions regarding the source and nature of the explosions: Part of the sports hall wall was demolished by the explosions, allowing some hostages to escape. The militants opened fire, and the military returned fire. A number of people were killed in the crossfire. Russian officials say that militants shot hostages as they ran and that
23213-454: The total number injured in the crisis exceeded 1,200. The exact number of people who received ambulatory assistance immediately after the crisis is not known, but is estimated to be around 700 (753 according to the U.N. ). Moscow-based military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer concluded on 7 September 2004 that 90% of the surviving hostages had sustained injuries. At least 437 people, including 221 children, were hospitalised; 197 children were taken to
23380-414: 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
23547-477: The trial, tank commander Viktor Kindeyev testified he provided tank to officer of FSB and around 21:00 tank fired "one blank shot and six antipersonnel-high explosive shells" on orders from the FSB. The use of tanks and armoured personnel carriers was eventually admitted to by Lieutenant General Viktor Sobolev , commander of the 58th Army. Another witness cited in the Kesayev report claims that he had jumped onto
23714-474: The turret of a tank in an attempt to prevent it from firing on the school. Scores of hostages were moved by the militants from the burning sports hall into other parts of the school, in particular the cafeteria, where they were forced to stand at windows as human shields . Many of them were shot by troops outside, according to the survivors (including Kudzeyeva, Kusrayeva and Naldikoyeva ). Savelyev estimated that 106 to 110 hostages died after having been moved to
23881-679: 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
24048-421: The unconscious children and poured water on their heads before returning them to the sports hall. Later in the day, some adults also started to faint from fatigue and thirst. Because of the conditions in the gym, when the explosion and gun battle began on the third day, many of the surviving children were so fatigued that they were barely able to flee from the carnage. Around 15:30, two grenades were detonated by
24215-660: The unit operating in its primary areas of responsibility. GIGN reports directly to the Director General of the Gendarmerie Nationale (DGGN), i.e., the chief of staff of the Gendarmerie, who in turn reports directly to the Ministry of the Interior . The DGGN or his Deputy for Operations can take charge in a major crisis; however, most of the day-to-day missions are conducted in support of local units of
24382-508: 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
24549-485: 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
24716-407: The way to Beslan, on a country road near the North Ossetian village of Khurikau, they captured an Ingush police officer, Major Sultan Gurazhev. Gurazhev was left in a vehicle after the terrorists had reached Beslan and then ran toward the schoolyard and went to the district police department to inform them of the situation, adding that his duty handgun and badge had been taken. At 09:11 local time,
24883-427: The weapons from caches hidden in the school. There were also claims that a "sniper's nest" on the sports-hall roof had been set up in advance. The attack on the school took place on 1 September, the traditional start of the Russian school year, referred to as "First Bell" or Knowledge Day . On this day, children, accompanied by their parents and other relatives, attend ceremonies hosted by their school. Because of
25050-536: 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
25217-550: The world will think that Chechens are beasts and monsters if they could attack children." By 7 September 2004, Russian officials stated that 334 people had died, including 156 children; at that point, 200 people remained missing or unidentified. The Torshin Report stated that ultimately no bodies remained unidentified. Locals stated that more than 200 of those killed were found with burns, and 100 or more of them were burned alive. In 2005, two hostages died from injuries sustained in
25384-402: 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
25551-424: The wounded were treated, and doctors were not allowed to use their mobile phones. The day after the storming, bulldozers gathered the debris of the building, including the body parts of the victims, and removed it to a garbage dump. The first of the many funerals was conducted on 4 September, the day after the final assault, with more following soon after, including a mass burial of 120 people. The local cemetery
25718-417: 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 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
25885-414: Was also said to be close to a breakthrough in the secret negotiations. By the time that he left Moscow on the second day, Aslakhanov had accumulated the names of more than 700 well-known Russian figures who were volunteering to enter the school as hostages in exchange for the release of the children. Aslakhanov said that the hostage-takers agreed to allow him to enter the school the next day at 15:00. However,
26052-402: Was also shot by a captor and then bled to death. Their bodies were dragged from the sports hall, leaving a trail of blood later visible in the video made by the terrorists. After gathering the hostages in the gym, the attackers singled out 15–20 adults who they thought were the strongest among the male teachers, school employees and fathers, and took them into a corridor next to the cafeteria on
26219-424: Was believed to have been killed, but proved to be seriously wounded in the face but alive when he regained consciousness and managed to write down his name. The fatalities included all three commanders of the assault groups: Colonel Oleg Ilyin and Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Razumovsky of Vympel, and Major Alexander Perov of Alpha. At least 30 commandos suffered serious wounds. Initially, the identity and origin of
26386-434: Was done in order to reinforce command and control functions; provide better integration through common selection, common training and stronger support; and improve the unit's capability to handle complex situations such as mass hostage-takings similar to the Beslan school siege . In 2009, the Gendarmerie, while remaining part of the French Armed Forces , was attached to the Ministry of the Interior , which already supervised
26553-819: 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
26720-587: Was engaged for the very first time simultaneously with RAID , the National Police tactical unit, during the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks . On 1 August 2021, the 14 regional GIGN branches were fully integrated in the group's organization as part of a new Force Antennes . Prior to this reorganization, these regional branches, established in 2004, had been administratively attached to the seven domestic "Zonal Gendarmerie Regions" for seven of them and to
26887-471: Was established in 2006, and has also been tasked to support the National Police's RAID unit since 2008. The fourteen regional GIGN branches, initially known as PI2Gs ( French : Pelotons d'intervention interrégionaux de la Gendarmerie ) for the domestic units and GPIs ( French : Groupes de pelotons d'intervention ) for the overseas units, were respectively redesignated as GIGN branches in April and July 2016 and fully integrated into GIGN in 2021. As of 2021,
27054-412: Was excluded, and threatened to arrest him if he tried to go to the school. The Russian government announced that it would not use force to rescue the hostages, and negotiations toward a peaceful resolution took place on the first and second days, at first led by Leonid Roshal , a pediatrician whom the hostage-takers had reportedly requested by name. Roshal had helped negotiate the release of children in
27221-400: 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
27388-596: 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
27555-594: 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
27722-570: 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 ,
27889-417: Was too small and had to be expanded to an adjacent plot of land to accommodate the dead. Three days after the siege, 180 people were still missing. Many survivors remained severely traumatised and at least one female former hostage committed suicide after returning home, shortly after identifying the body of her child. In his only visit to Beslan, Putin appeared during a hurried trip to the Beslan hospital in
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