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133-623: The Government of France ( French : Gouvernement français , pronounced [ɡuvɛʁnəmɑ̃ fʁɑ̃sɛ] ), officially the Government of the French Republic ( Gouvernement de la République française , [ɡuvɛʁnəmɑ̃ də la ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ), exercises executive power in France . It is composed of the prime minister , who is the head of government , as well as both senior and junior ministers . The Council of Ministers,

266-541: A collegium dedicated to managing the streets, and had a centuriate assembly dedicated to them. The carnifex punished slaves and foreigners, unlike lictores who punished Romans. They were the tax collectors. The name coactor is derived from its latin meaning: "to compel, to force". SImilary to accensi, lictores were public officers tasked to assist magistrates since the times of the Roman kingdom (753 BC – 509 BC) or even earlier Etruscan times. The number of lictores

399-907: A competitive examination for the Central Superior Services of Pakistan and other civil-service posts; Pakistan inherited this system from the British Raj -era Indian Civil Service . Pakistan has federal civil servants serving in federal government offices, with staff selected through the Federal Public Service Commission. Similarly, Pakistani provinces select their own public servants through provincial Public Service Commissions. The federal services have some quota against provincial posts, while provincial services have some quota in federal services. The ROC constitution specifies that public servant cannot be employed without examination. The employment

532-409: A "ministerial cabinet" ( French : Cabinet ministériel ). Each ministerial cabinet consists of around ten to twenty members, who are political appointees. Cabinet members assist the minister in running a ministry. Members of ministerial cabinets are powerful figures within the government and work in both the political and administrative spheres. The hierarchy in each ministerial cabinet is determined by

665-744: 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

798-461: A clear division between staff responsible for routine ("mechanical") work, and those engaged in policy formulation and implementation in an "administrative" class. The report was well-timed, because bureaucratic chaos during the Crimean War was causing a clamour for the change. The report's conclusions were immediately implemented, and a permanent, unified and politically neutral civil service

931-431: 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,

1064-555: 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

1197-468: A greater chance to pass the exams and obtain an official degree. This included the employment of a bureau of copyists who would rewrite all of the candidates' exams in order to mask their handwriting and thus prevent favoritism by graders of the exams who might otherwise recognize a candidate's handwriting. The advent of widespread printing in the Song period allowed many more examination candidates access to

1330-401: A magistrate had was proportional to status. Lictores were in charge of punishing Roman citizens. They were generally employed to make announcements in public and crowds. The scriba were civil servants working as public notaries as well as general bureaucracy. Greek cities had a similar figure, however the job was done by slaves. In the 18th century, in response to economic changes and

1463-588: A member of the National Assembly or the Senate who is appointed to the government must resign his or her seat in order to serve as a minister or as the prime minister. Despite these restrictions, members of the government are allowed to keep local elected positions , such as those of city mayor or regional councilor. While the Constitution of the French Republic does not prohibit ministers from being

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1596-415: A merchant. This was because the mercantile class was traditionally regarded with some disdain by the scholar-official class. This class of state bureaucrats in the Song period were far less aristocratic than their Tang predecessors. The examinations were carefully structured in order to ensure that people of lesser means than what was available to candidates born into wealthy, landowning families were given

1729-471: A much smaller scale in comparison to the stronger, centralized bureaucracy of the Song dynasty (960–1279). In response to the regional military rule of jiedushi and the loss of civil authority during the late Tang period and Five Dynasties (907–960), the Song emperors were eager to implement a system where civil officials would owe their social prestige to the central court and gain their salaries strictly from

1862-477: A new category of recommended candidates for the mandarinate in AD 605. The following Tang dynasty (618–907) adopted the same measures for drafting officials, and decreasingly relied on aristocratic recommendations and more and more on promotion based on the results of written examinations. The structure of the examination system was extensively expanded during the reign of Wu Zetian . The system reached its apogee during

1995-705: 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

2128-528: A presentation about some reform or project that they are directing, or the president will ask for advice on some subject from the ministers. In addition, the minister of foreign affairs provides the Council with weekly updates on important international issues. Most government work, however, is done elsewhere. Much of it is done by each individual ministry, under the direction of the minister responsible for that ministry. Ministers each have their own staff, called

2261-408: A profound literati and dramatist that it would not be far-fetched to regard him as China's answer to William Shakespeare. In the late 19th century, however, the system increasingly engendered internal dissatisfaction, and was criticized as not reflecting candidates' ability to govern well, and for giving undue weight to style over content and originality of thought. Indeed, long before its abandonment,

2394-494: 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

2527-587: 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

2660-526: 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

2793-941: 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

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2926-744: A state's civil servants form its civil service or public service. The concept arose in China and modern civil service developed in Britain in the 18th century. An international civil servant or international staff member is a civilian employee who is employed by an intergovernmental organization . These international civil servants do not resort under any national legislation (from which they have immunity of jurisdiction ) but are governed by internal staff regulations. All disputes related to international civil service are brought before special tribunals created by these international organizations such as, for instance,

3059-547: 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

3192-437: 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

3325-804: Is a list of current ministries: French language French ( français [fʁɑ̃sɛ] or langue française [lɑ̃ɡ fʁɑ̃sɛːz] ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family . Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire . French evolved from Gallo-Romance , the Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are

3458-472: 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

3591-489: 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

3724-430: 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

3857-462: 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

3990-490: Is chaired by the president, unlike the government, but is still led by the prime minister, who was officially titled as the president of the Council of Ministers ( French : président du Conseil des ministres ) during the Third and Fourth Republics . All bills and some decrees must be approved by the Council of Ministers. Furthermore, it is the Council of Ministers that defines the collective political and policy direction of

4123-652: 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

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4256-457: Is granted either to the president of the Senate or the prime minister, compromising separation of powers . If the government decides to launch an armed operation with a duration of longer than four months, it must first consult parliament and request an authorization. The prime minister may convene parliament for extraordinary sessions, or add additional sitting days to the legislative calendar. The names of ministries change often in France. This

4389-503: 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

4522-404: 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

4655-656: Is obligated to act according to the law and is guided by public policy pronouncements. The Common Statute of Civil Servants is the primary legislative framework for the Civil Service in Cambodia. One of the oldest examples of a civil service based on meritocracy is the Imperial bureaucracy of China, which can be traced as far back as the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). However, the civil service examinations were practiced on

4788-469: 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

4921-828: 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

5054-583: Is responsible for the economic and financial policy of the French Republic, must authorize all expenditures made by each ministry, and also manage all revenue. Expenditures are made through what is called a "finance law" ( French : Loi des Finances ), which is equivalent to an appropriation bill . Each minister must prepare a list of requests for funds annually, and submit it to the Budget Ministry. This ministry decides whether to grant or deny requests for funding by ministers. The ministry also calculates

5187-576: 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 ,

5320-553: 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

5453-483: 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

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5586-492: 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

5719-424: 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

5852-862: Is usually lifelong (that is, until age about retirement). The civil service in France ( fonction publique ) is often incorrectly considered to include all government employees including employees of public corporations, such as SNCF . Public sector employment is classified into three services; State service, Local service and Hospital service. According to government statistics there were 5.5 million public sector employees in 2011. The Public Service in Germany ( Öffentlicher Dienst ) employed 4.6 million persons as of 2011 . Public servants are organized into hired salaried employees ( Arbeitnehmer ), appointed civil servants ( Beamte ), judges, and soldiers. They are employed by public bodies ( Körperschaften des öffentlichen Rechts ), such as counties ( Kreise ) , states ,

5985-764: 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

6118-462: 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

6251-802: The Civil Services Examination (CSE) or the Engineering Services Examination (ESE) among others, conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Additionally, there are also State Services . The state civil servants are selected through an examination conducted by state public service commissions. State civil servants serve at the pleasure of the Governor. In Pakistan the FPSC (Federal Public Service Commission) conducts

6384-527: The Commonwealth . The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act established a modern civil service in the United States, and by the turn of the 20th century almost all Western governments had implemented similar reforms... Brazil started to move away from a patronage based public service starting in the second half of the 19th century, but written tests and merit only became the norm towards the end of

6517-611: The Confucian classics . After the fall of the Han dynasty, the Chinese bureaucracy regressed into a semi-merit system known as the nine-rank system . This system was reversed during the short-lived Sui dynasty (581–618), which initiated a civil service bureaucracy recruited through written examinations and recommendation. The first civil service examination system was established by Emperor Wen of Sui . Emperor Yang of Sui established

6650-747: The Confucian texts whose mastery was required for passing the exams. Hong Kong and Macau have separate civil service systems: In India, civil servants are selected as per the Constitution of India . Civil servants serve at the pleasure of the President of India . The civil services of India can be classified into two types—the All India Services and the Central Civil Services (Group A and B). The recruits are university graduates selected through three phase exams such as

6783-539: 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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6916-485: 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

7049-559: 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,

7182-626: The Hatch Act of 1939 , civil servants are not allowed to engage in political activities while performing their duties. The U.S. civil service includes the competitive service and the excepted service . The majority of civil service appointments in the U.S. are made under the competitive service, but the Foreign Service , the FBI , and other National Security positions are made under the excepted service. (U.S. Code Title V) As of January 2007,

7315-486: The Indian Rebellion of 1857 which came close to toppling British rule in the country. The Northcote–Trevelyan model remained essentially stable for a hundred years. This was a tribute to its success in removing corruption, delivering public services (even under the stress of two world wars), and responding effectively to political change. It also had a great international influence and was adapted by members of

7448-439: The International Olympic Committee , the Council of Europe , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development , Organization of American States (alongside Spanish, Portuguese and English), the Eurovision Song Contest , one of eighteen official languages of the European Space Agency , World Trade Organization and the least used of the three official languages in the North American Free Trade Agreement countries. It

7581-444: The New Policies reform package. The Chinese system was often admired by European commentators from the 16th century onward. However, the Chinese imperial examination system was hardly universally admired by all Europeans who knew of it. In a debate in the unelected chamber of the UK parliament on March 13, 1854, John Browne 'pointed out [clearly with some disdain] that the only precedent for appointing civil servants by literary exams

7714-431: The Northcote–Trevelyan Report of 1854 made four principal recommendations: that recruitment should be on the basis of merit determined through competitive examination, that candidates should have a solid general education to enable inter-departmental transfers, that recruits should be graded into a hierarchy and that promotion should be through achievement, rather than "preferment, patronage or purchase". It also recommended

7847-420: 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

7980-520: 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

8113-535: The federal government , etc. In addition to employees directly employed by the state another 1.6 million persons are employed by state owned enterprises Beamte has been a title for government employees for several centuries in German states, but became a standardized group in 1794. Soldiers other than conscripted soldiers are not Beamte but have similar rights. Judges are not Beamte but have similar rights too. Public attorneys are all Beamte, whereas most (but not all) professors are Beamte. The group of Beamte have

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8246-422: The republic , and workers in government-owned corporations . Career civil servants (not temporary workers or politicians) are hired only externally on the basis of entrance examinations ( Portuguese : concurso público ). It usually consists of a written test; some posts may require physical tests (such as policemen), or oral tests (such as professors, judges, prosecutors and attorneys). The rank according to

8379-406: The 1930s, as a result from reforms introduced during Getúlio Vargas first term as the nation's President. Civil servants in Brazil ( Portuguese : servidores públicos ) are those working in the executive , legislative , and judicial branches of the Federal , state , Federal District or municipal governments, including congressmen , senators , mayors , ministers , the president of

8512-455: 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;

8645-474: 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

8778-450: The Administrative Tribunal of the ILO . Specific referral can be made to the International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) of the United Nations , an independent expert body established by the United Nations General Assembly . Its mandate is to regulate and coordinate the conditions of service of staff in the United Nations common system, while promoting and maintaining high standards in the international civil service. The origin of

8911-510: 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

9044-614: 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,

9177-408: 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

9310-416: 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

9443-447: The Government and People of China , published in 1847, that "the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to the good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only", and that the British must reform their civil service by making the institution meritocratic. On the other hand, John Browne, in the 1854 debate mentioned above, 'argued that elegant writing had become an end in itself, and

9576-521: The Song dynasty. In theory, the Chinese civil service system provided one of the main avenues for social mobility in Chinese society, although in practice, due to the time-consuming nature of the study, the examination was generally only taken by sons of the landed gentry. The examination tested the candidate's memorization of the Nine Classics of Confucianism and his ability to compose poetry using fixed and traditional forms and calligraphy . It

9709-496: The UK, a civil servant is a public servant but a public servant is not necessarily a civil servant. The study of the civil service is a part of the field of public service (and in some countries there is no distinction between the two). Staff members in "non-departmental public bodies" (sometimes called " QUANGOs ") may also be classed as civil servants for the purpose of statistics and possibly for their terms and conditions. Collectively

9842-537: The bureaucracy were based on the patronage of aristocrats ; During the Han dynasty , Emperor Wu of Han established the xiaolian system of recommendation by superiors for appointments to office. In the areas of administration, especially the military, appointments were based solely on merit. This was an early form of the imperial examinations, transitioning from inheritance and patronage to merit, in which local officials would select candidates to take part in an examination of

9975-399: The central government. This ideal was not fully achieved since many scholar officials were affluent landowners and were engaged in many anonymous business affairs in an age of economic revolution in China . Nonetheless, gaining a degree through three levels of examination—prefectural exams, provincial exams, and the prestigious palace exams—was a far more desirable goal in society than becoming

10108-826: The company's territories in India. "The proposal for establishing this college came, significantly, from members of the East India Company's trading post in Canton, China." Examinations for the Indian "civil service"—a term coined by the Company—were introduced in 1829. British efforts at reform were influenced by the imperial examinations system and meritocratic system of China. Thomas Taylor Meadows, Britain's consul in Guangzhou , China argued in his Desultory Notes on

10241-667: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Civil service The extent of civil servants of a state as part of the "civil service" varies from country to country. In the United Kingdom (UK), for instance, only Crown (national government) employees are referred to as "civil servants" whereas employees of local authorities (counties, cities and similar administrations) are generally referred to as "local government civil service officers", who are considered public servants but not civil servants. Thus, in

10374-470: The courts, they escorted the magistrate and acted as heralds. They also helped in writing edicts and laws . It is also possible they were messengers and orderlies . The Accensi Velati were non military participants of military campaigns. They probably assisted clerks, accountants, supply officials, and aides. The y also assisted religious affairs especially the Feriae Latinae , formed

10507-519: 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

10640-448: 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

10773-677: The eighteenth century a number of Englishmen wrote in praise of the Chinese examination system, some of them going so far as to urge the adoption for England of something similar. The first concrete step in this direction was taken by the British East India Company in 1806." In that year, the Honourable East India Company established a college, the East India Company College , near London to train and examine administrators of

10906-594: 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

11039-661: The examination score is used for filling the vacancies. Entrance examinations are conducted by several institutions with a government mandate, such as CESPE (which belongs to the University of Brasília ) and the Cesgranrio Foundation (which is part of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro ). The labor laws and social insurance for civil servants are different from private workers; even between government branches (like different states or cities),

11172-475: The federal government workforce is employed in this region. As of 2014, there are currently 15 federal executive branch agencies and hundreds of subagencies. In the early 20th century, most cities in the US had a spoils system. Over the next few decades, the spoils system was replaced with a civil service system. U.S. state and local government entities often have competitive civil service systems that are modeled on

11305-524: The federal government, excluding the Postal Service, employed about 1.8 million civilian workers. The federal government is the nation's single largest employer, although it employs only about 12% of all government employees, compared to 24% at the state level and 63% at the local level. Although most federal agencies are based in the Washington, D.C. region, only about 16% (or about 284,000) of

11438-516: 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

11571-915: 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 ,

11704-829: 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

11837-465: The government are ranked in a precise order, which is established at the time of government formation. In this hierarchy, the prime minister is the head of government. They are appointed by the president of the Republic. While the president is constitutionally free to appoint whomever they like, in practice, they must nominate a candidate that reflects the will of the majority of the National Assembly, as

11970-545: The government relies on the confidence of the French Parliament. After being nominated to lead a government, the prime minister nominee must propose a list of ministers to the president. The president can either accept or reject these proposed ministers. Ministers are ranked by importance: According to the Constitution of the French Fifth Republic , the government directs and decides the policy of

12103-503: The government, and takes practical steps to implement that direction. In addition to writing and implementing policy, the government is responsible for national defense, and directs the actions of the French Armed Forces . The workings of the government of France are based on the principle of collegiality . Meetings of the Council of Ministers take place every Wednesday morning at the Élysée Palace. They are presided over by

12236-602: The government, who are appointed by the president following the recommendation of the prime minister, are responsible to the National Assembly , the lower house of the French Parliament . Cases of ministerial misconduct are tried before the Cour de Justice de la République . All members of the French government are appointed by the president of the Republic on the advice of the prime minister. Members of

12369-627: The growth of the British Empire , the bureaucracy of institutions such as the Office of Works and the Navy Board greatly expanded. Each had its own system, but in general, staff were appointed through patronage or outright purchase. By the 19th century, it became increasingly clear that these arrangements were falling short. "The origins of the British civil service are better known. During

12502-454: 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

12635-479: 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

12768-612: 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 ,

12901-479: 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

13034-440: The law and insurance differ. The posts usually are ranked by titles, the most common are technician for high school literates and analyst for undergraduates. There's also higher post ranks like auditor, fiscal, chief of police, prosecutor, judge, attorney, etc. The law does not allow servants to upgrade or downgrade posts internally; they need to be selected in separate external entrance examinations. Historians have explored

13167-433: The leader of a political party, it is customary that ministers should not occupy such a post. The government is responsible to the French Parliament. In particular, the government must assume responsibility for its actions before the National Assembly, and the National Assembly can dismiss the government with a motion of censure . The government cannot function during the tenure of acting (interim) president, as that position

13300-636: The main executive organ of the government, was established in the Constitution in 1958. Its members meet weekly at the Élysée Palace in Paris . The meetings are presided over by the president of France , the head of state , although the officeholder is not a member of the government. The government's most senior ministers are titled as ministers of state ( ministres d'État ), followed in protocol order by ministers ( ministres ), ministers delegate ( ministres délégués ), whereas junior ministers are titled as secretaries of state ( secrétaires d'État ). All members of

13433-404: The minister. Working groups consisting of representatives from several ministries are commonplace. It is the duty of the prime minister to oversee these inter-ministry meetings and to ensure that government work is done effectively and efficiently. All ministerial cabinet decisions must be co-signed by the prime minister. Any decree must also seek the prime minister's advice as well. The government

13566-589: The modern meritocratic civil service can be traced back to imperial examination founded in Imperial China . The imperial exam based on merit was designed to select the best administrative officials for the state's bureaucracy. This system had a huge influence on both society and culture in Imperial China and was directly responsible for the creation of a class of scholar-bureaucrats irrespective of their family pedigree. Originally appointments to

13699-610: The most secure employment, and the amount they are paid is set by national pay regulations ( Besoldungsordnungen ). Beamte are prohibited from striking . Arbeitnehmer have work contracts, whereas Beamte are appointed, employed, and removed in accordance with the Public Sector Service and Loyalty law ( öffentlich-rechtliches Dienst- und Treueverhältnis ). Most tasks can be either done by Arbeitnehmer or Beamte , however some specific tasks of official nature are supposed to be handled by Beamte since they are subject to

13832-452: The nation. In practice, the government writes bills to be introduced to parliament, and also writes and issues decrees . All political decisions made by the government must be registered in the government gazette . The Council of Ministers ( French : Conseil des ministres ) is established by the Constitution. It is composed only of the senior ministers, though some secretaries of state may attend Council meetings. The Council of Ministers

13965-529: The national system, in varying degrees. The Civil Service ( Malay : Perkhidmatan Awam ) of Brunei. The role of the civil service is as the government's administrative machinery to uphold the supreme authority of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, uphold the National Philosophy – MIB, Melayu Islam Beraja, ensure the development of the country and ensure the welfare of

14098-420: 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

14231-461: The notion of the imperial system as a route to social mobility was somewhat mythical. In Tang's magnum opus, The Peony Pavilion, sc 13, Leaving Home, the male lead, Liu Mengmei, laments: "After twenty years of studies, I still have no hope of getting into office", and on this point Tang may be speaking through Liu as his alter ego. The system was finally abolished by the Qing government in 1905 as part of

14364-589: 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;

14497-570: The other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to 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

14630-534: 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

14763-539: The people as well as its traditional role as the peacekeeper, law enforcer, regulator and service providers. However, the adjudication system is separate from the civil service to maintain its independence and impartiality. The Civil Service ( Khmer : សេវាកម្មស៊ីវិល , Sevakamm Civil ) of Cambodia is the policy implementing arm of the Royal Government of Cambodia . In executing this important role, each civil servant ( Khmer : មន្រ្តីរាជការ , Montrey Reachkar )

14896-624: The pleasure of the president—a person could be fired at any time. The spoils system meant that jobs were used to support the political parties. This was changed in slow stages by the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 and subsequent laws. By 1909, almost two-thirds of the U.S. federal work force was appointed based on merit, that is, qualifications measured by tests. Certain senior civil service positions, including some heads of diplomatic missions and executive agencies, are filled by political appointees . Under

15029-724: The powerful role of civil service since the 1840s. In Canada, the civil service at the federal level is known as the Public Service of Canada , with each of the ten provincial governments as well as the three territorial governments also having their own separate civil services. The federal civil service consists of all employees of the crown . Ministers' exempt staff and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police or Canadian Armed Forces are not civil servants. There are approximately 357,000 federal civil servants (2023), and more than 350,000 employees at

15162-471: 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

15295-439: The president of the Republic, who promotes solidarity and collegiality amongst government ministers. These meetings follow a set format. In the first part of a meeting, the Council deliberates over general interest bills, ordinances, and decrees. In the second part, the Council discusses individual decisions by each minister regarding the appointment of senior civil servants . In the third part, usually, either one minister will give

15428-463: The provincial and territorial levels. In the United States, the federal civil service was established in 1871. The Civil Service is defined as "all appointive positions in the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the Government of the United States, except positions in the uniformed services." ( 5 U.S.C.   § 2101 ). In the early 19th century, government jobs were held at

15561-471: 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

15694-449: The state budget for the coming year. The parliament must vote on all applications of finance law. Members of the French government cannot occupy any parliamentary office or position of occupational or trade leadership at the national level, any public employment, or any professional activity. These restrictions are in place to alleviate external pressure and influence on ministers, and to enable them to focus on their governmental work. Thus,

15827-568: The stultifying effect of this on the Chinese civil service had contributed in no small measure to China's failure to develop its early lead over Western civilisations': Coolican, p. 107. In 1853 the Chancellor of the Exchequer William Gladstone , commissioned Sir Stafford Northcote and Charles Trevelyan to look into the operation and organisation of the Civil Service. Influenced by the Chinese imperial examinations,

15960-466: The total number of French speakers will reach approximately 500 million in 2025 and 650 million by 2050, largely due to rapid population growth in sub-Saharan Africa . OIF estimates 700 million French speakers by 2050, 80% of whom will be in Africa. In a study published in March 2014 by Forbes , the investment bank Natixis said that French could become the world's most spoken language by 2050. In

16093-679: 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

16226-508: 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

16359-485: 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

16492-481: 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

16625-462: The world's French-speaking population lives in Africa. According to a 2023 estimate from the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie , an estimated 167 million African people spread across 35 countries and territories can speak French as either a first or a second language . This number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as

16758-819: 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

16891-463: 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

17024-496: Was ideally suited to literary candidates. Thus, toward the end of the Ming Dynasty, the system attracted the candidature of Tang Xianzu (1550–1616). Tang at 14 passed the imperial examination at the county level; and at 21, he did so at the provincial level; but not until he was 34 did he pass at the national level. However, he had already become a well-known poet at age 12, and among other things he went on to such distinction as

17157-609: Was introduced as Her Majesty's Civil Service . A Civil Service Commission was also set up in 1855 to oversee open recruitment and end patronage, and most of the other Northcote–Trevelyan recommendations were implemented over some years. The same model, the Imperial Civil Service , was implemented in British India from 1858, after the demise of the East India Company 's rule in India through

17290-536: 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

17423-594: 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

17556-422: Was that of the Chinese government'. The Roman empire (27 BC – AD 395) had several types of civil servants who fulfilled diverse functions in Roman society. They were called apparitores . Accensi were usually professional civil servants, providing assistance to the elected magistrates during their term in office. In the courts, they summoned witnesses, kept track of time, and helped keep order. Outside of

17689-570: 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 ,

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