180-487: The franc ( / f r æ ŋ k / ; French : franc français , [fʁɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ] ; sign : F or Fr ), also commonly distinguished as the French franc ( FF ), was a currency of France . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It was reintroduced (in decimal form ) in 1795. After two centuries of inflation, it
360-609: A dynastic conflict , the war inspired French and English nationalism. The broader introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, and artillery became important. The war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the Western Roman Empire and helped change their role in warfare . Civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, and bandit free-companies of mercenaries reduced
540-607: A vassal of the King of France . As a result, the crown of England was held by a succession of nobles who already owned lands in France, which put them among the most influential subjects of the French king, as they could now draw upon the economic power of England to enforce their interests in the mainland. To the kings of France, this threatened their royal authority, and so they would constantly try to undermine English rule in France, while
720-510: A 1-centime copper coin with a 1795 design. 2, 5 and 10-centime coins were issued from 1853. The quarter franc was discontinued, with silver 20-centime coins issued between 1849 and 1868 as the smallest silver coin produced in France. The gold coinage also changed. 40-franc coins were last struck in 1839 (with just 23 coins minted). Several new denomination were introduced as gold coinage: 5 gold francs (1856), 10 gold francs (1850), 50 gold francs (1855), and 100 gold francs (1855). A second design for
900-532: A French Mark of fine gold (hence, 3.885 g in a franc). Gold as circulating currency would henceforth continue in the form of Écu d'ors of varying gold content. The gold franc worth one livre tournois was introduced in 1360 to pay the ransom of King John II of France . This coin secured the king's freedom and showed him on a richly decorated horse earning it the name franc à cheval (meaning "free on horse" in French). The obverse legend, like other French coins, gives
1080-429: A French Mark of silver of fineness 23 ⁄ 24 (hence 4.044 g fine silver in a gros), and valued at 1 sol (12 deniers) in France's Touraine region though valued less than 1 sol Parisis. The new coin's reputation and handling convenience versus those of debased deniers assured the adoption of the gros tournois to the rest of Western Europe. Towards the reign of King Philip IV le Bel came pressures to further debase
1260-744: 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
1440-619: A Mark of silver, 11/12 fine (hence 27.03 g fine silver), and valued at 6 livres. A new gold Louis d'Or was also issued at 30 to a Mark of gold, 11/12 fine (hence 7.4785 g fine gold), and valued at 24 livres. The rise in the value of gold at the onset of the Industrial Revolution in Great Britain and elsewhere as well as King Louis XVI 's reign led to the rise in the Gold-Silver Ratio to 15.5, resulting in
1620-431: 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,
1800-481: A decimal unit (1 franc = 10 décimes = 100 centimes) of 4.5 g of fine silver . This was slightly less than the livre of 4.505 g, but the franc was set in 1796 at 1.0125 livres (1 livre, 3 deniers ), reflecting in part the past minting of sub-standard coins. Silver coins now had their denomination clearly marked as "5 FRANCS" and it was made obligatory to quote prices in francs. This ended the ancien régime's practice of striking coins with no stated denomination, such as
1980-510: A flanking movement with his horsemen, cutting off the French retreat and successfully capturing King John and many of his nobles. With John held hostage, his son the Dauphin (later to become Charles V ) assumed the powers of the king as regent . After the Battle of Poitiers, many French nobles and mercenaries rampaged, and chaos ruled. A contemporary report recounted: ... all went ill with
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#17327726728732160-555: 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
2340-718: A large naval fleet off Marseilles as part of an ambitious plan for a crusade to the Holy Land . However, the plan was abandoned and the fleet, including elements of the Scottish navy, moved to the English Channel off Normandy in 1336, threatening England. To deal with this crisis, Edward proposed that the English raise two armies, one to deal with the Scots "at a suitable time" and the other to proceed at once to Gascony. At
2520-599: 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
2700-516: A private board of executives, was created and commissioned to produce the national currency. In 1803, the Franc germinal (named after the month Germinal in the revolutionary calendar ) was established, creating a gold franc containing 290.034 mg of fine gold. From this point, gold and silver-based units circulated interchangeably on the basis of a 1:15.5 ratio between the values of the two metals ( bimetallism ) until 1864, when all silver coins except
2880-494: 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
3060-587: 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
3240-526: 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
3420-941: 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
3600-604: A standing figure of the king on its obverse, pictured under a canopy. Its value in money of account was one livre tournois, just like the franc à cheval , and this coin is universally known as a franc à pied . In accordance with the theories of the mathematician, economist and royal advisor Nicole Oresme , Charles struck fewer coins of better quality gold than his ancestors. In the accompanying deflation, both prices and wages fell, but wages fell faster and debtors had to settle up in better money than they had borrowed. The Mayor of Paris, Étienne Marcel , exploited their discontent to lead
3780-572: A treaty was signed between France and Scotland during the reign of Philip the Fair , known as the Auld Alliance. Charles IV formally renewed the treaty in 1326, promising Scotland that France would support the Scots if England invaded their country. Similarly, France would have Scotland's support if its own kingdom were attacked. Edward could not succeed in his plans for Scotland if the Scots could count on French support. Philip VI had assembled
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#17327726728733960-547: 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
4140-437: 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
4320-472: 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
4500-489: 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
4680-430: 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
4860-462: 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
5040-652: 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
5220-503: 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
5400-404: 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
5580-469: 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
French franc - Misplaced Pages Continue
5760-828: 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
5940-576: 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 ,
6120-525: Is the colloquial term for this coin until the present. During the Belle Époque , the 100-franc gold coin was called a "monaco", referring to the flourishing casino business in Monte Carlo . Nickel 25-centime coins were introduced in 1903. French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of
6300-553: 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
6480-483: 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
6660-492: 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
6840-424: 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
7020-764: 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
7200-462: 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
7380-539: 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
French franc - Misplaced Pages Continue
7560-457: The Duchy of Aquitaine and was triggered by a claim to the French throne made by Edward III of England . The war grew into a broader military, economic, and political struggle involving factions from across Western Europe , fuelled by emerging nationalism on both sides. The periodisation of the war typically charts it as taking place over 116 years. However, it was an intermittent conflict which
7740-628: The Duchy of Brittany set off the War of the Breton Succession , in which Edward backed John of Montfort and Philip backed Charles of Blois. Action for the next few years focused on a back-and-forth struggle in Brittany. The city of Vannes in Brittany changed hands several times, while further campaigns in Gascony met with mixed success for both sides. The English-backed Montfort finally took
7920-792: The Edwardian War (1337–1360), the Caroline War (1369–1389), and the Lancastrian War (1415–1453). Each side drew many allies into the conflict, with English forces initially prevailing; however, the French forces under the House of Valois ultimately retained control over the Kingdom of France. The French and English monarchies thereafter remained separate, despite the monarchs of England (later Britain ) styling themselves as sovereigns of France until 1802 . The root causes of
8100-528: The English monarchs would struggle to protect and expand their lands. This clash of interests was the root cause of much of the conflict between the French and English monarchies throughout the medieval era. The Anglo-Norman dynasty that had ruled England since the Norman conquest of 1066 was brought to an end when Henry , the son of Geoffrey of Anjou and Empress Matilda , and great-grandson of William
8280-515: The Euro replaced the franc on 1 January 1999, the franc was worth less than an eighth of its original 1960 purchasing power. After revaluation and the introduction of the new franc, many French people continued to use the term "old francs" ( anciens francs ) for large sums, for example for the prices of houses, apartments, and cars. This was common until the introduction of the euro and even later. Many people, old and young – even those who had never used
8460-485: 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
8640-559: 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,
8820-572: The Habsburg Netherlands . The loose enforcement of monetary standards in the Dutch provinces resulted in a significant 1 ⁄ 3 rd reduction in the value of the French livre by 1549, with debasements continuing into the 17th century. The French ounce (30.594 g) of fine silver was raised in value from 1 to 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 Livre Parisis (or from 25 to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 sols Tournois). The écu au soleil of 3.2754 g fine gold
9000-480: The Hundred Years' War against England in 1337 would increase the pressure to further debase the French livre. An attempt in 1343 to reverse earlier depreciations of circulating deniers and reinstate the old 1317-era gros tournois (forte monnaie, or strong money) caused financial havoc especially with borrowers who received depreciated coins and who then had to repay debts in forte monnaie. Lower valuations for
9180-752: 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
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#17327726728739360-877: 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
9540-417: The Jacquerie revolt which forced Charles V out of the city. The franc fared better. It became associated with money stable at one livre tournois. A certain degree of peace achieved at the start of the 15th century helped settle the value of French currency. After 1422 the gros of 1 sol Parisis was minted at 96 to a French Mark, 3 ⁄ 4 fine (hence 1.912 g per gros), while the Écu of 20 sols Parisis
9720-419: The Livre Parisis , other regions almost always got by with currencies of lower standard. One such currency, the Livre Tournois , would eventually become the preferred accounting system under a more centralized French kingdom. The emergence of the Livre Tournois as France's preferred accounting system occurred during the reign of King Louis IX with the issuance of the silver Gros tournois with 58 issued to
9900-437: The Louis d'or , and periodically issuing royal edicts to manipulate their value in terms of money of account, i.e. the Livre tournois . The franc became the official currency of France in 1799. Coinage with explicit denominations in decimal fractions of the franc also began in 1795. Decimalization of the franc was mandated by an act of 7 April 1795, which also dealt with the decimalization of weights and measures . France led
10080-416: The Low Countries . His supporters could claim that they were loyal to the "true" King of France and did not rebel against Philip. In February 1340, Edward returned to England to try to raise more funds and also deal with political difficulties. Relations with Flanders were also tied to the English wool trade since Flanders' principal cities relied heavily on textile production, and England supplied much of
10260-420: 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
10440-411: The Republican U.S. federal government and World War Foreign Debts Commission that France's war debts be repaid within 25 years at a minimal 4.25 percent interest per year. The currency devaluation contributed to French demands for high reparations payments from Germany . After a brief return to the gold standard between 1928 and 1936, the currency was allowed to resume its slide, until in 1959 it
10620-520: 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
10800-577: The University of Paris assemblies decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded from consideration. Therefore, excluding Edward, the nearest heir through the male line was Charles IV's first cousin, Philip, Count of Valois , and it was decided that he should take the throne. He was crowned Philip VI in 1328. In 1340, the Avignon papacy confirmed that, under Salic law , males would not be able to inherit through their mothers. Eventually, Edward III reluctantly recognized Philip VI and paid him homage for
10980-406: The Vichy regime added. After the Liberation , the US attempted to impose the use of the US occupation franc , which was averted by General De Gaulle . After World War II, France devalued its currency within the Bretton Woods system on several occasions. Beginning in 1945 at a rate of 480 francs to the British Pound (119.1 to the U.S. dollar ), by 1949 the rate was 980 to the Pound (350 to
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#173277267287311160-423: The War of Saint-Sardos (1324), the English king's holdings on the continent, as Duke of Aquitaine , were limited roughly to provinces in Gascony. The dispute over Guyenne is even more important than the dynastic question in explaining the outbreak of the war. Guyenne posed a significant problem to the kings of France and England: Edward III was a vassal of Philip VI of France because of his French possessions and
11340-401: The 1-ounce silver coins coming out of Spain, the Netherlands and Germany, leading to the 1641 currency reform under King Louis XIII . Henry III exploited the association of the franc as sound money worth one livre tournois when he sought to stabilize French currency in 1577. By this time, inflows of gold and silver from Spanish America had caused inflation throughout the world economy and
11520-402: The 100 gold franc coin was released in 1878 depicting standing genius writing the constitution. The pictured example (1889) was issued as a proof and only 100 coins were struck. The last gold 5-franc pieces were minted in 1869, and silver 5-franc coins were last minted in 1878. After 1815, the 20-franc gold coin was called a " napoléon " (royalists still called this coin a " louis "), and so that
11700-420: The 13th century. Here is a table of changes to the value of the Livre Parisis and the Livre Tournois in terms of silver or gold until the French Franc was introduced in 1795. Emperor Charlemagne's monetary system was introduced in 781 AD to the Frankish Carolingian Empire and spread over the centuries to much of Western Europe , with a Livre (pound) of silver divided into 20 Sols or Sous (shillings) and
11880-489: The 1420s also resulted in the 1434 realignment of the Flemish monetary system with the French livre. The new Flemish Guilder (Pound) of 20 Stuiver (shilling) contained 32.6 g fine silver and was approximately par with the Livre Parisis of 20 sols (38.24 g). Such parities between the French livres to the Flemish and English currencies would persist up to the 1560s and would facilitate the issue of identical coin denominations across these countries. The Great Bullion Famine of
12060-455: 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;
12240-474: 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
12420-432: The 5-franc piece were debased from 90% to 83.5% silver without the weights changing. This coinage included the first modern gold coins with denominations in francs. It abandoned the revolutionary symbols of the coinage 1795, now showing Napoleon in the manner of Roman emperors , first described as "Bonaparte Premier Consul" and with the country named as "République Française". After his coronation in 1804 coins changed
12600-494: The Burgundians and her subsequent execution (1431), a series of crushing French victories concluded the siege, favoring the Valois dynasty. Notably, Patay (1429), Formigny (1450), and Castillon (1453) proved decisive in ending the war. England permanently lost most of its continental possessions, with only the Pale of Calais remaining under its control on the continent until the Siege of Calais (1558). Local conflicts in neighbouring areas, which were contemporarily related to
12780-502: The Burgundians raised the prospects of an ultimate English triumph and persuaded the English to continue the war over many decades. A variety of factors prevented this, however. Notable influences include the deaths of both Henry and Charles in 1422, the emergence of Joan of Arc (which boosted French morale), and the loss of Burgundy as an ally (concluding the French civil war). The Siege of Orléans (1429) made English aspirations for conquest all but infeasible. Despite Joan's capture by
12960-766: 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
13140-917: 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,
13320-635: The Conqueror , became the first of the Angevin kings of England in 1154 as Henry II. The Angevin kings ruled over what was later known as the Angevin Empire , which included more French territory than that under the kings of France . The Angevins still owed homage to the French king for these territories. From the 11th century, the Angevins had autonomy within their French domains, neutralizing
13500-585: The Dollar). This was reduced further in 1957 and 1958, reaching 1382.3 to the Pound (493.7 to the Dollar, equivalent to 1 franc = 1.8 mg pure gold). In January 1960 the French franc was revalued, with 100 existing francs making one nouveau franc . The abbreviation "NF" was used on the 1958 design banknotes until 1963. Old one- and two-franc coins continued to circulate as new centimes (no new centimes were minted for
13680-538: 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
13860-587: The French delayed the return of the lands, which helped Philip VI. On 6 June 1329, Edward III finally paid homage to the King of France. However, at the ceremony, Philip VI had it recorded that the homage was not due to the fiefs detached from the duchy of Guyenne by Charles IV (especially Agen). For Edward, the homage did not imply the renunciation of his claim to the extorted lands. In the 11th century, Gascony in southwest France had been incorporated into Aquitaine (also known as Guyenne or Guienne ) and formed with it
14040-490: The French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis left behind a young daughter, Joan II of Navarre , and a son, John I of France , although he only lived for five days. However, Joan's paternity was in question, as her mother, Margaret of Burgundy , was accused of being an adulterer in the Tour de Nesle affair . Given the situation, Philip, Count of Poitiers and brother of Louis X, positioned himself to take
14220-907: The French. A conference was held at Brétigny that resulted in the Treaty of Brétigny (8 May 1360). The treaty was ratified at Calais in October. In return for increased lands in Aquitaine, Edward renounced Normandy, Touraine, Anjou and Maine and consented to reduce King John's ransom by a million crowns. Edward also abandoned his claim to the crown of France. The French king, John II , was held captive in England for four years. The Treaty of Brétigny set his ransom at 3 million crowns and allowed for hostages to be held in lieu of John. The hostages included two of his sons, several princes and nobles, four inhabitants of Paris, and two citizens from each of
14400-484: 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
14580-627: The Good), who had outflanked him near Poitiers but refused to surrender himself as the price of their acceptance. This led to the Battle of Poitiers (19 September 1356) where the Black Prince's army routed the French. During the battle, the Gascon noble Jean de Grailly , captal de Buch led a mounted unit that was concealed in a forest. The French advance was contained, at which point de Grailly led
14760-419: The King's hands because Edward III was in breach of his obligations as a vassal and had sheltered the King's "mortal enemy" Robert d'Artois . Edward responded to the confiscation of Aquitaine by challenging Philip's right to the French throne. When Charles IV died, Edward claimed the succession of the French throne through the right of his mother, Isabella (Charles IV's sister), daughter of Philip IV. His claim
14940-489: The Mark, 23 + 1 ⁄ 8 karats fine (3.2754 g fine gold), and was valued at 25 Sols Parisis. The close of the 15th century saw the beginnings of a more centralized French currency system and the discontinuation of competing currency systems within France. The Livre Parisis of 1 French ounce approximately matched the silver content of 1 ⁄ 6 th pound sterling (1 troy ounce of sterling silver). It would also become
15120-622: The Republic: the old gold and silver coins were taken out of circulation and exchanged for printed assignats , initially issued as bonds backed by the value of the confiscated goods of churches, but later declared as legal tender currency . The withdrawn gold and silver coins were used to finance the French Revolutionary Wars and to import food, which was in short supply. As during the " Mississippi Bubble " in 1715–1720, too many assignats were put in circulation, exceeding
15300-544: The Sol divided into 12 Deniers (penny). Only the denier existed as a coin for the next 500 years, with the sou and livre functioning as accounting multiples of the denier. The first livre and denier weighed 407.92 g and 1.7 g, respectively, of the finest silver available. Livres and deniers issued c. 1000 under the Capetian dynasty contained 305.94 g and 1.27475 g fine silver, respectively. The French Mark of 8 ounces
15480-515: The War of Saint-Sardos, Charles of Valois , father of Philip VI, invaded Aquitaine on behalf of Charles IV and conquered the duchy after a local insurrection, which the French believed had been incited by Edward II of England . Charles IV grudgingly agreed to return this territory in 1325. Edward II had to compromise to recover his duchy: he sent his son, the future Edward III , to pay homage. The King of France agreed to restore Guyenne, minus Agen , but
15660-535: The Wise and the leadership of Bertrand du Guesclin , the French had reconquered most of the lands ceded to King Edward in the Treaty of Brétigny (signed in 1360), leaving the English with only a few cities on the continent. In the following decades, the weakening of royal authority, combined with the devastation caused by the Black Death of 1347–1351 (which killed nearly half of France and 20–33% of England ) and
15840-409: The city for five weeks, but the defences held and there was no coronation. Edward moved on to Paris, but retreated after a few skirmishes in the suburbs. Next was the town of Chartres . Disaster struck in a freak hailstorm on the encamped army, causing over 1,000 English deaths – the so-called Black Monday at Easter 1360. This devastated Edward's army and forced him to negotiate when approached by
16020-401: The conflict can be traced to the crisis of 14th-century Europe . The outbreak of war was motivated by a gradual rise in tension between the kings of France and England over territory; the official pretext was the interruption of the direct male line of the Capetian dynasty . Tensions between the French and English crowns had gone back centuries to the origins of the English royal family, which
16200-508: The conflict, subsequently declined. Stronger national identities took root in both kingdoms, which became more centralized and gradually emerged as global powers . The term "Hundred Years' War" was adopted by later historians as a historiographical periodisation to encompass dynastically related conflicts, constructing the longest military conflict in European history . The war is commonly divided into three phases separated by truces:
16380-569: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Hundred Years%27 War Kingdom of England The Hundred Years' War ( French : Guerre de Cent Ans ; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of England and France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages . It emerged from feudal disputes over
16560-581: The crossings destroyed. He moved further south, worryingly close to Paris until he found the crossing at Poissy. This had only been partially destroyed, so the carpenters within his army were able to fix it. He then continued to Flanders until he reached the river Somme. The army crossed at a tidal ford at Blanchetaque, stranding Philip's army. Edward, assisted by this head start, continued on his way to Flanders once more until, finding himself unable to outmaneuver Philip, Edward positioned his forces for battle, and Philip's army attacked. The Battle of Crécy of 1346
16740-452: The crown, advancing the stance that women should be ineligible to succeed to the French throne. He won over his adversaries through his political sagacity and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V . When he died in 1322, leaving only daughters behind, the crown passed to his younger brother, Charles IV . Charles IV died in 1328, leaving behind his young daughter and pregnant wife, Joan of Évreux . He decreed that he would become king if
16920-519: 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
17100-541: The denier, which occurred in 1317 when the Gros Tournois was raised to 15 deniers Tournois or 12 deniers (1 sol) Parisis , thus commencing the fixed parity of 4 deniers Parisis to 5 deniers Tournois . While French kings would continue to prescribe coin values in multiples of 4 and 12 deniers Parisis until the end of the 15th century, the rest of France would gradually choose to recognize their increased values in multiples of 5 and 15 deniers Tournois. The start of
17280-530: The duchy but not until 1364. In July 1346, Edward mounted a major invasion across the channel, landing on Normandy's Cotentin Peninsula at St Vaast . The English army captured the city of Caen in just one day, surprising the French. Philip mustered a large army to oppose Edward, who chose to march northward toward the Low Countries, pillaging as he went. He reached the river Seine to find most of
17460-404: The duchy free of French suzerainty . The French rejected this argument, so in 1329, the 17-year-old Edward III paid homage to Philip VI. Tradition demanded that vassals approach their liege unarmed, with heads bare. Edward protested by attending the ceremony wearing his crown and sword. Even after this pledge of homage, the French continued to pressure the English administration. Gascony was not
17640-517: The duchy of Aquitaine and Gascony in 1329. He made concessions in Guyenne but reserved the right to reclaim territories arbitrarily confiscated. After that, he expected to be left undisturbed while he made war on Scotland . Tensions between the French and English monarchies can be traced back to the 1066 Norman Conquest of England, in which the English throne was seized by the Duke of Normandy ,
17820-448: 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
18000-594: 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
18180-516: 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
18360-524: The first two years). The one-centime coin never circulated widely. Inflation continued to erode the franc's value: between 1950 and 1960, price levels increased 72 per cent (5.7% per year on average); between 1960 and 1970, it increased 51 per cent (4.2%). Only one further major devaluation occurred (11% in August 1969) before the Bretton Woods system was replaced by free-floating exchange rates. When
18540-915: 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 ,
18720-536: The franc entirely between 1 January and 1 March 2002. In August 1795, the Monetary Law replaced the livre ("pound") with the franc , which was divided into 10 décimes ("tenths") and 100 centimes ("hundredths"). Copper coins were issued in the denominations of 1 centime, 5 centimes, 1 décime, and 2 décimes, designed by Augustin Dupré . After 1801, French copper coins became rare. The 5-centime copper coin
18900-462: The franc's strength: war expenditure, inflation and postwar reconstruction, financed partly by printing ever more money, reduced the franc's purchasing power by 70% between 1915 and 1920. After a brief appreciation of the franc during the Depression of 1920–1921 , it depreciated a further 43% between 1922 and a balancing of the budget in 1926. This devaluation was aggravated by the insistence of
19080-829: 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
19260-477: The growth of English power, stripping away lands as the opportunity arose, mainly whenever England was at war with Scotland , an ally of France . English holdings in France had varied in size, at some points dwarfing even the French royal domain ; by 1337, however, only Guyenne and Gascony were English. In 1328, Charles IV of France died without any sons or brothers, and a new principle, Salic law , disallowed female succession. Charles's closest male relative
19440-516: The issue. King John of England inherited the Angevin domains from his brother Richard I . However, Philip II of France acted decisively to exploit the weaknesses of John, both legally and militarily, and by 1204 had succeeded in taking control of much of the Angevin continental possessions . Following John's reign, the Battle of Bouvines (1214), the Saintonge War (1242), and finally
19620-520: The king's title as Francorum Rex (" King of the Franks " in Latin) and provides another reason to call the coin a franc. John's son, Charles V , continued this type. It was copied exactly at Brabant and Cambrai and, with the arms on the horse cloth changed, at Flanders. Conquests led by Joan of Arc allowed Charles VII to return to sound coinage and he revived the franc à cheval . John II , however,
19800-492: The kingdom and the State was undone. Thieves and robbers rose up everywhere in the land. The Nobles despised and hated all others and took no thought for usefulness and profit of lord and men. They subjected and despoiled the peasants and the men of the villages. In no wise did they defend their country from its enemies; rather did they trample it underfoot, robbing and pillaging the peasants' goods ... Edward invaded France, for
19980-444: The kings of France, who weren't getting much of this wealth, only made things worse by manipulating the values assigned to their coins. The States General which met at Blois in 1577 added to the public pressure to stop currency manipulation. Henry III agreed to do this and he revived the franc, now as a silver coin valued at one livre tournois. This coin and its fractions circulated until 1641 when Louis XIII of France replaced it with
20160-454: 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
20340-479: 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
20520-612: 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 ,
20700-479: 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
20880-471: The livre had to be accepted subsequently as the war raged on. In 1361 the gros tournois of 15 deniers Tournois (1 sol Parisis) was minted at 84 to a French Mark of silver, 23/24 fine (hence, 2.79 g fine silver in a gros). At the same time gold flowing from Southern Europe started to become an important medium of exchange in the North, so gold francs worth 1 livre Tournois (16 sols Parisis) were minted at 63 to
21060-593: The loss of their continental landholdings, as well as the general shock at losing a war in which investment had been so significant, helped lead to the Wars of the Roses (1455–1487). The economic consequences of the Hundred Years' War not only produced a decline in trade but also led to a high collection of taxes from both countries, which played a significant role in civil disorder. The question of female succession to
21240-603: The mid-15th century resulted in yet another debasement during the reign of King Louis XI , with the Livre Parisis reduced to 1 French ounce (30.594 g) fine silver or 2.620 g fine gold. The silver gros was minted at 69 to the French Mark, 23 ⁄ 24 fine (3.4 g fine silver) and was valued at 1 ⁄ 9 th the Livre Parisis (or 2 + 2 ⁄ 9 sols). The gold écu au soleil was minted at 72 to
21420-532: The model for Germany when it started issuing the 1-ounce silver Guldengroschen divided into 21 Groschen (gros, shillings) or 252 Pfennige (pence). A considerable acceleration in the debasement of the French, English and Dutch currencies occurred during the reign of the Valois-Angoulême kings in the 16th century amidst the huge influx of precious metals from the American continent arriving through
21600-524: The name franc already being used in Switzerland and Belgium , whilst other countries minted local denominations, redeemable across the bloc with 1-to-1 parity, though with local names: e.g., the peseta . In 1873, the LMU went over to a purely gold standard of 1 franc = 0.290322581 grams of gold. The outbreak of World War I caused France to leave the gold standard of the LMU. The war severely undermined
21780-420: 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
21960-444: The obverse legend to "Napoleon Empereur", dropping his family name in the manner of regnal names . In 1807, the reverse legend changed to name France as " Empire Français ". In analogy with the old Louis d'or these coins were called Gold Napoleons . Economically, this sound money was a great success and Napoleon's fall did not change that. Succeeding governments maintained Napoleon's weight standard, with changes in design which traced
22140-589: 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;
22320-415: The old franc – still quoted prices in old francs, confusing tourists and people abroad. For example, lottery prizes were most often advertised in amounts of centimes, equivalent to the old franc, to inflate the perceived value of the prizes at stake. Multiples of 10NF were occasionally referred to as "mille francs" (thousand francs) or "mille balles" ("balle" being a slang word for franc) in contexts where it
22500-520: The only part of Aquitaine that remained in his hands was the Duchy of Gascony. The term Gascony came to be used for the territory held by the Angevin ( Plantagenet ) kings of England in southwest France, although they still used the title Duke of Aquitaine. For the first 10 years of Edward III's reign, Gascony had been a significant friction point. The English argued that, as Charles IV had not acted properly towards his tenant, Edward should be able to hold
22680-433: The only sore point. One of Edward's influential advisers was Robert III of Artois . Robert was an exile from the French court, having fallen out with Philip VI over an inheritance claim. He urged Edward to start a war to reclaim France, and was able to provide extensive intelligence on the French court. France was an ally of the Kingdom of Scotland as English kings had tried to subjugate the country for some time. In 1295,
22860-534: 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
23040-588: The plague had passed and England was able to recover financially, King Edward's son and namesake, the Prince of Wales , later known as the Black Prince , led a Chevauchée from Gascony into France, during which he pillaged Avignonet , Castelnaudary , Carcassonne , and Narbonne . The next year during another Chevauchée he ravaged Auvergne , Limousin , and Berry but failed to take Bourges . He offered terms of peace to King John II of France (known as John
23220-700: The political fall of the French Convention . Then followed the economic failure of the Directoire : coins were still very rare. After a coup d'état that led to the Consulate , the First Consul progressively acquired sole legislative power at the expense of the other unstable and discredited consultative and legislative institutions. In 1800 the Banque de France , a federal establishment with
23400-662: The political history of France. In particular, this currency system was retained during the Bourbon Restoration and perpetuated until 1914. France was a founding member of the Latin Monetary Union (LMU), a single currency employed primarily by the Romance -speaking and other Mediterranean states between 1865 and the First World War. The common currency was based on the franc germinal, with
23580-424: The population drastically in France. But at the end of the war, the French had the upper hand due to their better supply, such as small hand-held cannons, weapons, etc. In England, political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. After the war, England was left insolvent, leaving the conquering French in complete control of all of France except Calais. The dissatisfaction of English nobles , resulting from
23760-401: 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
23940-440: The province of Guyenne and Gascony (French: Guyenne-et-Gascogne ). The Angevin kings of England became dukes of Aquitaine after Henry II married the former Queen of France, Eleanor of Aquitaine , in 1152, from which point the lands were held in vassalage to the French crown. By the 13th century the terms Aquitaine , Guyenne and Gascony were virtually synonymous. At the beginning of Edward III's reign on 1 February 1327,
24120-467: The raw material they needed. Edward III had commanded that his chancellor sit on the woolsack in council as a symbol of the pre-eminence of the wool trade. At the time there were about 110,000 sheep in Sussex alone. The great medieval English monasteries produced large wool surpluses sold to mainland Europe. Successive governments were able to make large amounts of money by taxing it. France's sea power led to economic disruptions for England, shrinking
24300-415: The reduced 24-livre Louis contained 6.88 g fine gold. The livre tournois was swapped in 1795 for the French Franc (or franc germinal), worth 4.5 g silver or 9 ⁄ 31 g = 0.29032 g gold (ratio 15.5), at a rate of 1 franc = 1 + 1 ⁄ 80 livres or 1 livre, 3 deniers. The decimal "franc" was established as the national currency by the National Convention of Revolutionary France in 1795 as
24480-405: The reduction in the gold content of the 24-livre Louis d'Or from 1/30th to 1/32nd of a Mark, 11/12 fine. While the silver standard remained unchanged, assays of the period indicate that coins contained approximately 1.5% less bullion than officially specified. The 1795 swapping of livres to francs at the rate of 1.0125 livres = 1 franc suggest that the 6-livre ecu contained 26.67 g fine silver while
24660-407: 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
24840-453: The same time, ambassadors were to be sent to France with a proposed treaty for the French king. At the end of April 1337, Philip of France was invited to meet the delegation from England but refused. The arrière-ban , a call to arms, was proclaimed throughout France starting on 30 April 1337. Then, in May 1337, Philip met with his Great Council in Paris. It was agreed that the Duchy of Aquitaine, effectively Gascony, should be taken back into
25020-462: The significant economic crisis that followed, led to a period of civil unrest in both countries. These crises were resolved in England earlier than in France. The newly crowned Henry V of England seized the opportunity presented by the mental illness of Charles VI of France and the French civil war between Armagnacs and Burgundians to revive the conflict. Overwhelming victories at Agincourt (1415) and Verneuil (1424), as well as an alliance with
25200-562: The silver écu . Nevertheless, the name "franc" continued in accounting as a synonym for the livre tournois . In the 17th century King Louis XIII abolished its unpopular coinage of francs and ecus in favour of Spanish-modelled coins. It also abolished the Livre Parisis system in favour of exclusive use of the Livre Tournois. The Spanish dollar was the model for the Louis d'Argent – 9 to a French Mark (244.752 g) of silver, 11 ⁄ 12 fine (hence 24.93 g fine silver), and valued at 3 livres tournois. The Spanish doubloon or two-escudo coin
25380-401: The sister of the dead Charles IV, but the question arose whether she could transmit a right to inherit that she did not possess. Moreover, the French nobility balked at the prospect of being ruled by an Englishman, especially one whose mother, Isabella, and her lover, Roger Mortimer , were widely suspected of having murdered the previous English king, Edward II . The French barons, prelates, and
25560-434: The third and last time, hoping to capitalise on the discontent and seize the throne. The Dauphin's strategy was that of non-engagement with the English army in the field. However, Edward wanted the crown and chose the cathedral city of Reims for his coronation (Reims was the traditional coronation city). However, the citizens of Reims built and reinforced the city's defences before Edward and his army arrived. Edward besieged
25740-499: The threat from Scotland. In France, Edward proceeded north unopposed and besieged the city of Calais on the English Channel, capturing it in 1347. This became an important strategic asset for the English, allowing them to keep troops safely in northern France. Calais would remain under English control, even after the end of the Hundred Years' War, until the successful French siege in 1558 . The Black Death , which had just arrived in Paris in 1348, ravaged Europe. In 1355, after
25920-414: 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
26100-619: 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
26280-418: The unborn child were male. If not, Charles left the choice of his successor to the nobles. Joan gave birth to a girl, Blanche of France (later Duchess of Orleans). With Charles IV's death and Blanche's birth, the main male line of the House of Capet was rendered extinct. By proximity of blood , the nearest male relative of Charles IV was his nephew, Edward III of England . Edward was the son of Isabella ,
26460-508: 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
26640-425: 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
26820-406: The value of the "national properties", and the coins, due also to military requisitioning and hoarding, rarefied to pay foreign suppliers. With national government debt remaining unpaid, and a shortage of silver and brass to mint coins, confidence in the new currency declined, leading to hyperinflation , more food riots , severe political instability and termination of the First French Republic and
27000-452: The war, including the War of the Breton Succession (1341–1364), the Castilian Civil War (1366–1369), the War of the Two Peters (1356–1369) in Aragon , and the 1383–1385 crisis in Portugal , were used by the parties to advance their agendas. By the war's end, feudal armies had mainly been replaced by professional troops, and aristocratic dominance had yielded to a democratization of the manpower and weapons of armies. Although primarily
27180-436: The wool trade to Flanders and the wine trade from Gascony. On 22 June 1340, Edward and his fleet sailed from England and arrived off the Zwin estuary the next day. The French fleet assumed a defensive formation off the port of Sluis . The English fleet deceived the French into believing they were withdrawing. When the wind turned in the late afternoon, the English attacked with the wind and sun behind them. The French fleet
27360-481: 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
27540-481: The world in adopting the metric system and it was the second country to convert from a non-decimal to a decimal currency, following Russia 's conversion in 1704, and the third country to adopt a decimal coinage, also following the United States in 1787. France's first decimal coinage used allegorical figures symbolizing revolutionary principles, like the coinage designs the United States had adopted in 1793. The circulation of this metallic currency declined during
27720-402: 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
27900-449: Was redenominated in 1960, with each new franc ( NF ) being worth 100 old francs. The NF designation was continued for a few years before the currency returned to being simply the franc. Many French residents, though, continued to quote prices of especially expensive items in terms of the old franc (equivalent to the new centime ), up to and even after the introduction of the euro (for coins and banknotes) in 2002. The French franc
28080-460: Was French ( Norman , and later, Angevin ) in origin through William the Conqueror , the Norman duke who became King of England in 1066. English monarchs had, therefore, historically held titles and lands within France , which made them vassals to the kings of France. The status of the English king's French fiefs was a significant source of conflict between the two monarchies throughout the Middle Ages. French monarchs systematically sought to check
28260-402: Was a commonly held international reserve currency of reference in the 19th and 20th centuries. Between 1998 and 2002, the conversion of francs to euros was carried out at a rate of 6.55957 francs to 1 euro. The French Franc traces its origins to the Carolingian monetary system of the 8th century AD, and more specifically to the Livre Tournois , an offshoot of the same system which emerged in
28440-435: Was a complete disaster for the French, largely credited to the English longbowmen and the French king, who allowed his army to attack before it was ready. Philip appealed to his Scottish allies to help with a diversionary attack on England. King David II of Scotland responded by invading northern England, but his army was defeated, and he was captured at the Battle of Neville's Cross on 17 October 1346. This greatly reduced
28620-492: Was a unit of weight equal to 244.752 grams, and equal in weight to 192 deniers or 16 sols of this period. In subsequent centuries the French kings would struggle to implement fixed standards for the livre over a decentralized realm of Frankish feudal rulers, many of whom claimed the right to issue currency within their own domains, and often resorting to currency debasements in moments of stringency. While monetary values as proclaimed by French kings would eventually be identified as
28800-424: Was agreed that Gascony should be taken back into Philip's hands, which prompted Edward to renew his claim for the French throne, this time by force of arms. In the early years of the war, the English, led by their king and his son Edward, the Black Prince , saw resounding successes, notably at Crécy (1346) and at Poitiers (1356), where King John II of France was taken prisoner. By 1378, under King Charles V
28980-473: Was almost destroyed in what became known as the Battle of Sluys . England dominated the English Channel for the rest of the war, preventing French invasions . At this point, Edward's funds ran out and the war probably would have ended were it not for the death of the Duke of Brittany in 1341 precipitating a succession dispute between the duke's half-brother John of Montfort and Charles of Blois , nephew of Philip VI. In 1341, this inheritance dispute over
29160-417: 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
29340-482: Was called a sou , referring to "sole" (fr. Latin: solidus ), until the 1920s. An Imperial 10-décime coin was produced in billon from 1807 to 1810. During the Consulship period (1799–1804) silver francs were struck in decimal coinage. A five-franc coin was first introduced in 1801–02 ( L'AN 10), half-franc, one-franc, and gold 40-franc coins were introduced in 1802–03 (L'AN 11), and quarter-franc and two-franc coins in 1803–04 (L'AN 12). The 5-franc silver coin
29520-422: Was called an écu , after the six-livre silver coin of the ancien regime , until the 1880s. Copper coins were rarely issued between 1801 and 1848, so the quarter franc was the lowest current denomination in circulation. But during this period, copper coins from earlier periods circulated. A Napoleon 5-centime coin (in bell metal ) and Napoleon and Restoration 1-décime coins were minted. Most pre-decimal silver
29700-442: Was clear that the speaker did not mean 1,000 new francs. The expression "heavy franc" ( franc lourd ) was also commonly used to designate the new franc. All franc coins and banknotes ceased to be legal tender in January 2002, upon the official adoption of the Euro . From 1 January 1999, the value exchange rate of the French franc against the Euro was set at a fixed parity of €1 = 6.55957 F. Euro coins and notes replaced
29880-421: Was considered invalidated by Edward's homage to Philip VI in 1329. Edward revived his claim and in 1340 formally assumed the title "King of France and the French Royal Arms". On 26 January 1340, Edward III formally received homage from Guy, half-brother of the Count of Flanders . The civic authorities of Ghent , Ypres , and Bruges proclaimed Edward King of France. Edward aimed to strengthen his alliances with
30060-531: 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
30240-596: Was frequently interrupted by external factors, such as the Black Death , and several years of truces . The Hundred Years' War was a significant conflict in the Middle Ages . During the war, five generations of kings from two rival dynasties fought for the throne of France, which was then the dominant kingdom in Western Europe. The war had a lasting effect on European history: both sides produced innovations in military technology and tactics, including professional standing armies and artillery, that permanently changed European warfare. Chivalry , which reached its height during
30420-400: 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
30600-683: Was his nephew Edward III of England , whose mother, Isabella , was Charles's sister. Isabella claimed the throne of France for her son by the rule of proximity of blood , but the French nobility rejected this, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right she did not possess . An assembly of French barons decided that a native Frenchman should receive the crown, rather than Edward. The throne passed to Charles's patrilineal cousin instead, Philip , Count of Valois . Edward protested but ultimately submitted and did homage for Gascony. Further French disagreements with Edward induced Philip, during May 1337, to meet with his Great Council in Paris. It
30780-469: 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
30960-413: Was minted at 64 to a French Mark, 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 karats or 15 ⁄ 16 fine (hence 3.585 g per écu). The gros and the écu compared favourably with England's 2-pence coin of 1.8 g silver and 40-pence ( 1 ⁄ 6 th of a pound) half-noble coin of 3.48 g gold, resulting in an approximate exchange rate of 1 pound sterling to six Livres Parisis. Peace in the Burgundian Netherlands after
31140-413: Was not able to strike enough francs to pay his ransom and he voluntarily returned to English captivity. John II died as a prisoner in England and his son Charles V was left to pick up the pieces. Charles V pursued a policy of reform, including stable coinage. An edict dated 20 April 1365 established the centrepiece of this policy, a gold coin officially called the denier d'or aux fleurs de lis which had
31320-648: Was raised in value from 25 to 37 + 1 ⁄ 2 sols Parisis (or 31 + 1 ⁄ 4 to approximately 47 sols Tournois). This 50% advance was also seen in England in 1551 when it raised its troy ounce of sterling silver from 40 to 60 pence, and in the 17th century when Germany raised its one-ounce silver Thaler from 1 to 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 silver gulden. The 16th century saw the issuance of larger silver coins, first in testoons (9 g fine silver, valued at 11 sols Tournois in 1549), and later on in silver francs (12.3 g fine silver, valued at 1 Livre Tournois in 1577). These French coins, however, were much less popular than
31500-424: Was removed from circulation by 1834. Until they were also demonetized in 1845, 15- and 30-sou coins from 1791-1793 continued to circulate with a value of 0.75 and 1.50 francs, and 18th-century billon coins that had come to be known as “pièces de 6 liards” (originally issued with various values) were valued at 7.5 centimes. A new bronze coinage was introduced from 1848. The Second Republic Monetary Authority minted
31680-437: Was required to recognize the suzerainty of the King of France over them. In practical terms, a judgment in Guyenne might be subject to an appeal to the French royal court. The King of France had the power to revoke all legal decisions made by the King of England in Aquitaine, which was unacceptable to the English. Therefore, sovereignty over Guyenne was a latent conflict between the two monarchies for several generations. During
31860-411: 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
32040-437: 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 ,
32220-405: Was the model for the Louis d'Or – 36 + 1 ⁄ 4 to a French Mark of gold, 11 ⁄ 12 fine (hence 6.189 g fine gold), and valued at 10 livres. France entered another turbulent period during the War of the Spanish Succession from 1701 to 1714, resulting in another debasement of the livre tournois. Under King Louis XV 's reign in 1726 the silver Écu d'Argent was issued at 8.3 to
32400-411: Was worth less than 2.5% of its 1934 value. During the Nazi occupation of France (1940–44), the franc was a satellite currency of the German Reichsmark . The exchange rate was 20 francs for 1 RM. The coins were changed, with the words Travail, famille, patrie (Work, Family, Fatherland) replacing the Republican triad Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity), with the emblem of
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