Rebellious nobles
154-458: Supported by: The Mad War ( French : la Guerre folle ) was a late medieval conflict between a coalition of feudal lords and the French monarchy. It occurred during the regency of Anne of Beaujeu in the period after the death of Louis XI and before the majority of Charles VIII . The war began in 1485 and ended in 1488. The principal lords involved were Louis II of Orléans , the cousin of
308-570: A bourgeois city rooted in private enterprise. On 18 July 1789, locals seized the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany in an imitation of the storming of the Bastille . Rural western France, Catholic and conservative, strongly opposed the abolition of the monarchy and the submission of the clergy . A rebellion in the neighbouring Vendée began in 1793, quickly spreading to surrounding regions. Nantes
462-420: A canning industry during the 1820s, but canning was eclipsed by sugar imported from Réunion in the 1840s and 1850s. Nantes tradesmen received a tax rebate on Réunion sugar, which was lucrative until disease devastated the cane plantations in 1863. By the mid-19th century, Le Havre and Marseille were the two main French ports; the former traded with America and the latter with Asia . They had embraced
616-581: A theatre or an amphitheatre , the city had sewers, public baths and a temple dedicated to Mars Mullo . After an attack by German tribes in 275, Nantes's inhabitants built a wall; this defense also became common in surrounding Gaulish towns. The wall in Nantes, enclosing 16 hectares (40 acres), was one of the largest in Gaul. Christianity was introduced during the third century. The first local martyrs ( Donatian and Rogatian ) were executed in 288–290, and
770-744: 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
924-535: A cathedral was built during the fourth century. Like much of the region, Nantes was part of the Roman Empire during the early Middle Ages. Although many parts of Brittany experienced significant Breton immigration (loosening ties to Rome), Nantes remained allied with the empire until its collapse in the fifth century. Around 490, the Franks under Clovis I captured the city (alongside eastern Brittany) from
1078-534: A city in dire need of repair after the wars of succession and a series of storms and fires between 1387 and 1415. Many buildings were built or rebuilt (including the cathedral and the castle), and the University of Nantes , the first in Brittany, was founded in 1460. The marriage of Anne of Brittany to Charles VIII of France in 1491 began the unification of the duchy of Brittany with the French crown which
1232-431: 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,
1386-667: A financial role with its Chamber of Accounts. During the French Wars of Religion from 1562 to 1598, the city was a Catholic League stronghold. The Duke of Mercœur , governor of Brittany, strongly opposed the succession of the Protestant Henry IV of France to the throne of France in 1589. The Duke created an independent government in Nantes, allying with Spain and pressing for independence from France. Despite initial successes with Spanish aid, in 1598 he submitted to Henry IV (who had by then converted to Catholicism);
1540-555: 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
1694-721: A major industrial city during the second half of the 19th century with the aid of several families who invested in successful businesses. In 1900, the city's two main industries were food processing and shipbuilding. The former, primarily the canning industry, included the biscuit manufacturer LU and the latter was represented by three shipyards which were among the largest in France. These industries helped maintain port activity and facilitated agriculture, sugar imports, fertilizer production, machinery and metallurgy, which employed 12,000 people in Nantes and its surrounding area in 1914. Because large, modern ships had increased difficulty traversing
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#17327689489491848-549: A mixture of diplomacy and shows of force, Anne succeeded in breaking the revolt without a major battle. On 2 November 1485, the Peace of Bourges suspended the hostilities. According to some historians, this ended the first phase of the Mad War. The second phase of the conflict, from June 1486 to November 1488, is sometimes called the "War of Brittany". Other commentators, mainly Breton nationalists , distinguish this second phase from
2002-599: 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
2156-682: A reference to the many quays and river channels in the old town before they were filled in during the 1920s and 1930s. The city is commonly known as la Cité des Ducs "the City of the Dukes [of Brittany] " for its castle and former role as a ducal residence. The first inhabitants of what is now Nantes settled during the Bronze Age , later than in the surrounding regions (which have Neolithic monuments absent from Nantes). Its first inhabitants were apparently attracted by small iron and tin deposits in
2310-494: 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
2464-783: A request to the pope to annul his marriage, so that he would be free to marry Anne of Brittany , Francis's heir. On 23 November, he signed a treaty which envisaged his marriage with Anne. Returning to the royal court, Louis tried to take the King into his custody, but Anne de Beaujeu prevented him by force: she stopped some lords of the royal guard and placed the Duke of Orléans under house arrest at Gien. Having escaped from Gien on 17 January 1485, Louis of Orléans tried to invest Paris, but failed. He managed to escape on 3 February to Alençon, and made amende honorable on 12 March. Royal troops placed around Évreux prevented him from joining Brittany, and he
2618-683: A result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 16th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. French has a long history as an international language of literature and scientific standards and is a primary or second language of many international organisations including the United Nations , the European Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ,
2772-458: A revolutionary tribunal notorious for cruelty and ruthlessness. Between 12,000 and 13,000 people (including women and children) were arrested, and 8,000 to 11,000 died of typhus or were executed by the guillotine , shooting or drowning. The Drownings at Nantes were intended to kill large numbers of people simultaneously, and Carrier called the Loire "the national bathtub". The French Revolution
2926-461: A rich cultural life, advertising itself as a creative place near the ocean. Institutions and facilities (such as its airport) were re-branded as "Nantes Atlantique" to highlight this proximity. Local authorities have commemorated the legacy of the slave trade, promoting dialogue with other cultures. Nantes has been noted in recent years for its climate of social unrest, marked by frequent and often violent clashes between protesters and police. Tear gas
3080-547: 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
3234-457: A working language along with English and German ; in some institutions, French is the sole working language (e.g. at the Court of Justice of the European Union ). French is also the 16th most natively spoken language in the world, the sixth most spoken language by total number of speakers , and is among the top five most studied languages worldwide, with about 120 million learners as of 2017. As
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#17327689489493388-415: Is 60 kilometres (37 miles) in length. The river's bed and banks have changed considerably over a period of centuries. In Nantes the Loire had divided into a number of channels, creating a dozen islands and sand ridges. They facilitated crossing the river, contributing to the city's growth. Most of the islands were protected with levees during the modern era , and they disappeared in the 1920s and 1930s when
3542-437: 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
3696-472: 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
3850-489: 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
4004-652: 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
4158-508: Is frequently deployed during protests. The city has a significant ultra-left radical scene, owing in part to the proximity of the ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes . Masked rioters have repeatedly ransacked shops, offices and public transport infrastructure. The death of Steve Maia Caniço in June 2019 has led to accusations of police brutality and cover-ups. Nantes is in northwestern France, near
4312-563: Is growing in the business and media environment. Out of about 900,000 students, about 500,000 are enrolled in Francophone schools, public or private, in which the teaching of mathematics and scientific subjects is provided in French. Actual usage of French varies depending on the region and social status. One-third of high school students educated in French go on to pursue higher education in English-speaking institutions. English
4466-404: 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
4620-619: Is named after a tribe of Gaul , the Namnetes , who established a settlement between the end of the second century and the beginning of the first century BC on the north bank of the Loire near its confluence with the Erdre . The origin of the name Namnetes is uncertain, but is thought to come from the Gaulish root * nant- 'river, stream' (from the pre-Celtic root *nanto 'valley') or from Amnites , another tribal name possibly meaning 'men of
4774-469: Is often considered to be a useful skill by business owners in the United Kingdom; a 2014 study found that 50% of British managers considered French to be a valuable asset for their business, thus ranking French as the most sought-after foreign language there, ahead of German (49%) and Spanish (44%). MIT economist Albert Saiz calculated a 2.3% premium for those who have French as a foreign language in
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4928-828: 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
5082-475: Is primarily a student neighbourhood, with many bars and small shops. The eastern extension (behind Nantes Cathedral ) was traditionally inhabited by the aristocracy , and the larger western extension along the Loire was built for the bourgeoisie . It is Nantes's most-expensive area, with wide avenues, squares such as the Place Saint-Pierre and hôtels particuliers . The area was extended towards
5236-431: Is suitable for growing a variety of plants, from temperate vegetables to exotic trees and flowers imported during the colonial era. Nantes's layout is typical of French towns and cities. It has a historical centre with old monuments, administrative buildings and small shops, surrounded by 19th-century faubourgs surrounded by newer suburban houses and public housing . The city centre has a medieval core (corresponding to
5390-639: Is taught in universities around the world, and is one of the world's most influential languages because of its wide use in the worlds of journalism, jurisprudence , education, and diplomacy. In diplomacy, French is one of the six official languages of the United Nations (and one of the UN Secretariat 's only two working languages ), one of twenty official and three procedural languages of the European Union , an official language of NATO ,
5544-553: 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
5698-483: 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
5852-492: 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
6006-424: 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
6160-644: Is the third-highest-ranking city in France, after Paris and Lyon . The Gamma category includes cities such as Algiers , Orlando , Porto , Turin and Leipzig . Nantes has been praised for its quality of life , and it received the European Green Capital Award in 2013. The European Commission noted the city's efforts to reduce air pollution and CO 2 emissions, its high-quality and well-managed public transport system and its biodiversity , with 3,366 hectares (8,320 acres) of green space and several protected Natura 2000 areas. Nantes
6314-764: 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
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6468-522: The Atlantic Ocean and 340 kilometres (210 miles) southwest of Paris . Bordeaux , the other major metropolis of western France, is 275 kilometres (171 miles) south. Nantes and Bordeaux share positions at the mouth of an estuary, and Nantes is on the Loire estuary. The city is at a natural crossroads between the ocean in the west, the centre of France (towards Orléans ) in the east, Brittany in
6622-461: The Bretons in 851 with the help of Lambert II of Nantes . Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century dukes of Brittany , Rennes became the provincial capital after the 1532 union of Brittany and France . During the 17th century, after the establishment of the French colonial empire , Nantes gradually became the largest port in France and was responsible for nearly half of
6776-609: 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
6930-517: The Democratic Republic of the Congo . In some North African countries, though not having official status, it is also a first language among some upper classes of the population alongside indigenous languages, but only a second one among the general population. In 2015, approximately 40% of the Francophone population (including L2 and partial speakers) lived in Europe, 36% in sub-Saharan Africa and
7084-521: The Edict of Nantes (legalising Protestantism in France) was signed in the town, concluding the French wars of religion. Nonetheless, the town remained fervently Catholic (by contrast to nearby La Rochelle ), and the local Protestant community did not number more than 1,000. Coastal navigation and the export of locally produced goods (salt, wine and fabrics) dominated the local economy around 1600. During
7238-533: 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
7392-559: 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,
7546-570: The Gaulish word condate 'confluence'. The Namnete root of the city's name was introduced at the end of the Roman period, when it became known as Portus Namnetum "port of the Namnetes" and civitas Namnetum 'city of the Namnetes'. Like other cities in the region (including Paris ), its name was replaced during the fourth century with a Gaulish one: Lutetia became Paris (city of
7700-458: The House of Plantagenet ). During the 14th century, Brittany experienced a war of succession which ended with the accession of the House of Montfort to the ducal throne. The Montforts, seeking emancipation from the suzerainty of the French kings, reinforced Breton institutions. They chose Nantes, the largest town in Brittany (with a population of over 10,000), as their main residence and made it
7854-554: The Industrial Revolution , thanks to Parisian investments; Nantes lagged behind, struggling to find profitable activities. Nostalgic for the pre-revolutionary golden age, the local elite had been suspicious of political and technological progress during the first half of the 19th century. In 1851, after much debate and opposition, Nantes was connected to Paris by the Tours–Saint-Nazaire railway . Nantes became
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#17327689489498008-877: 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
8162-546: The Loire , 50 km (31 mi) from the Atlantic coast . The city is the sixth largest in France , with a population of 320,732 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitants (2020). With Saint-Nazaire , a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations. It is the administrative seat of the Loire-Atlantique department and
8316-626: The Oaths of Strasbourg and the Sequence of Saint Eulalia , while Old French literature began to be produced in the eleventh century, with major early works often focusing on the lives of saints (such as the Vie de Saint Alexis ), or wars and royal courts, notably including the Chanson de Roland , epic cycles focused on King Arthur and his court , as well as a cycle focused on William of Orange . It
8470-529: The Parisii ), and Darioritum became Vannes (city of the Veneti ). Nantes's name continued to evolve, becoming Nanetiæ and Namnetis during the fifth century and Nantes after the sixth, via syncope (suppression of the middle syllable). Nantes is pronounced [nɑ̃t] , and the city's inhabitants are known as Nantais [nɑ̃tɛ] . In Gallo , the oïl language traditionally spoken in
8624-502: The Pays de la Loire region , one of 18 regions of France. Nantes belongs historically and culturally to Brittany , a former duchy and province , and its omission from the modern administrative region of Brittany is controversial. Nantes was identified during classical antiquity as a port on the Loire. It was the seat of a bishopric at the end of the Roman era before it was captured by
8778-406: 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 was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by
8932-450: The Treaty of Sablé , also known as the "Treaty of le Verger" or "Treaty of the Orchard", was signed between Francis II of Brittany and King Charles VIII of France . Francis acknowledged himself as a vassal of the king, promised to remove foreign troops from the duchy and to no longer summon such troops, and to pledge the territories conquered by France to remain under their control. In turn, Charles removed his forces from Brittany except in
9086-459: The Visigoths after a sixty-day siege; it was used as a stronghold against the Bretons . Under Charlemagne in the eighth century the town was the capital of the Breton March , a buffer zone protecting the Carolingian Empire from Breton invasion. The first governor of the Breton March was Roland , whose feats were mythologized in the body of literature known as the Matter of France . After Charlemagne's death in 814, Breton armies invaded
9240-436: The World Trade Organization , the International Olympic Committee , the General Conference on Weights and Measures , and the International Committee of the Red Cross . French is a Romance language (meaning that it is descended primarily from Vulgar Latin ) that evolved out of the Gallo-Romance dialects spoken in northern France. The language's early forms include Old French and Middle French . Due to Roman rule, Latin
9394-497: 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; 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
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#17327689489499548-465: The "Peace of Bourges", the truce was signed on 2 November 1485. With the end of the truce, the rebellion again erupted. Already in June 1486, Maximilian I of Austria had invaded the north of France, but then retreated; in November, the rebel François de Dunois seized the castle of Parthenay . On 11 January 1487, Louis of Orléans escaped from the castle of Blois and, pursued by royal archers, took refuge again in Brittany. The royal army left from Tours at
9702-427: 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 is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in
9856-417: The 18th-century French Atlantic slave trade . The French Revolution resulted in an economic decline, but Nantes developed robust industries after 1850 (chiefly in shipbuilding and food processing). Deindustrialization in the second half of the 20th century spurred the city to adopt a service economy . In 2020, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked Nantes as a Gamma world city . It
10010-455: 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;
10164-474: 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
10318-481: The Atlantic dominate, and north and north-west winds are also common. Slight variations in elevation make fog common in valleys, and slopes oriented south and south-west have good insolation . Winters are cool and rainy, with an average temperature of 6 °C (43 °F); snow is rare. Summers are warm, with an average temperature of 20 °C (68 °F). Rain is abundant throughout the year, with an annual average of 820 millimetres (32 inches). The climate in Nantes
10472-510: 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
10626-614: 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,
10780-416: The Dukes of Orléans and Brittany were both declared rebels at the Parlement of Paris . They and their associates were no longer regarded as vassals, but rather as subjects, and thus guilty of lèse-majesté . In the spring, the Duke of Orléans renewed the struggle for his ally, taking Vannes, Auray, and Ploërmel, and forcing the Viscount of Rohan to capitulate. On 24 April 1488, a judgment of confiscation
10934-408: 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
11088-484: 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
11242-643: The Indian Ocean, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas, and 1% in Asia and Oceania. French is the second most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union . Of Europeans who speak other languages natively, approximately one-fifth are able to speak French as a second language. French is the second most taught foreign language in the EU. All institutions of the EU use French as
11396-568: The Interior and the U.S. Army. The postwar years were a period of strikes and protests in Nantes. A strike organised by the city's 17,500 metallurgists during the summer of 1955 to protest salary disparities between Paris and the rest of France deeply impacted the French political scene, and their action was echoed in other cities. Nantes saw other large strikes and demonstrations during the May 1968 events , when marches drew about 20,000 people into
11550-411: The King (and future Louis XII of France); Francis II of Brittany ; René II, Duke of Lorraine ; Alain d'Albret ; Jean de Châlon, Prince of Orange ; and Charles, Count of Angoulême . Other leading lords supported the revolt, including Philippe de Commines and Odet d'Aydie, Count of Commines and Governor of Guyenne. As a revolt against French royal authority, it was supported by the foreign enemies of
11704-409: The King of France: England, Spain, and Austria. Its principal outcome was the absorption of Brittany into the French kingdom. The derogatory expression "Mad War" to designate this struggle of major feudal lords against central royal power was coined by Paul Emile in his Histoire des faicts, gestes et conquestes des roys de France , published in 1581. There is some dispute about the extent to which
11858-495: The Loire but near the city centre) and north-bank communes including Saint-Herblain , Orvault and Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire . The 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8 sq mi) Isle of Nantes is divided between former shipyards on the west, an old faubourg in its centre and modern housing estates on the east. Since the 2000s, it has been subject to the conversion of former industrial areas into office space, housing and leisure facilities. Local authorities intend to make it an extension of
12012-481: The Loire to reach Nantes, a new port in Saint-Nazaire had been established at the mouth of the estuary in 1835. Saint-Nazaire, primarily developed for goods to be transhipped before being sent to Nantes, also built rival shipyards. Saint-Nazaire surpassed Nantes in port traffic for the first time in 1868. Reacting to the growth of the rival port, Nantes built a 15-kilometre-long (9.3 mi) canal parallel to
12166-520: The Loire to remain accessible to large ships. The canal, completed in 1892, was abandoned in 1910 because of the efficient dredging of the Loire between 1903 and 1914. At the beginning of the 20th century, the river channels flowing through Nantes were increasingly perceived as hampering the city's comfort and economic development. Sand siltation required dredging, which weakened the quays; one quay collapsed in 1924. Embankments were overcrowded with railways, roads and tramways. Between 1926 and 1946, most of
12320-573: The Loire were filled, the Erdre was diverted in central Nantes and its confluence with the Loire was moved further east. The Erdre includes Versailles Island, which became a Japanese garden during the 1980s. It was created in the 19th century with fill from construction of the Nantes–Brest canal . Nantes is built on the Armorican Massif , a range of weathered mountains which may be considered
12474-535: The March and fought the Franks. Nominoe (a Breton) became the first duke of Brittany, seizing Nantes in 850. Discord marked the first decades of Breton rule in Nantes as Breton lords fought among themselves, making the city vulnerable to Viking incursions. The most spectacular Viking attack in Nantes occurred in 843, when Viking warriors killed the bishop but did not settle in the city at that time. Nantes became part of
12628-451: The OIF, approximately 321 million people worldwide are "able to speak the language" as of 2022, without specifying the criteria for this estimation or whom it encompasses. In Francophone Africa, it is spoken mainly as a second language. However it has also become a native language in a number of urban areas, especially in regions like Ivory Coast , Cameroon , Gabon, Madagascar , and
12782-481: The Parc de Procé during the 19th century. The other faubourgs were built along the main boulevards and the plateaus, turning the valleys into parks. Outside central Nantes several villages, including Chantenay, Doulon, L'Eraudière and Saint-Joseph-de-Porterie, were absorbed by urbanisation. After World War II , several housing projects were built to accommodate Nantes's growing population. The oldest, Les Dervallières,
12936-727: The Romans prior to becoming Holy Roman Emperor . In the south, the Lord de Candale beat Alain d'Albret, a leading rebel, at the Battle of Nontron . D'Albret had intended to join the rebels in the north, but was forced to give up hostages. In Brittany, the allies of the royal party directed by the Viscount de Rohan held the north of the duchy, and took Ploërmel . In April 1487, Duke Francis II's attempt to mobilize Breton military forces (nobility and urban militia) failed due to widespread resentment of
13090-510: The Treaty of Chateaubriant, most of the Breton nobility came to an accommodation with the King. Royal forces agreed that the Duke would not be threatened by the army, which would leave Brittany as soon as the two rebels (Orléans and Dunois) were captured. Meanwhile, in the north, the Marshal de Esquerdes successfully pushed back Maximilian I of Austria, who shortly afterwards was elected King of
13244-539: The Treaty of Sablé as the king of France did not consent to this marriage, and it also placed the rule of Brittany in the hands of an enemy of France. As a result, France resumed its armed conflict with Brittany. The spring of 1491 brought new successes by the French general La Trémoille , and Charles VIII of France came to lay siege to Rennes. Maximilian failed to come to his bride's assistance, and Rennes fell. Anne became engaged to Charles and traveled to Langeais to be married. Although Austria made diplomatic protests, Anne
13398-526: The Viking realm in 919, but the Norse were expelled from the town in 937 by Alan II, Duke of Brittany . Feudalism took hold in France during the 10th and 11th centuries, and Nantes was the seat of a county founded in the ninth century. Until the beginning of the 13th century, it was the subject of succession crises which saw the town pass several times from the Dukes of Brittany to the counts of Anjou (of
13552-518: The area south of the Loire in the city of Ratiatum (present-day Rezé ) until the end of the second century AD. Ratiatum, founded under Augustus , developed more quickly than Nantes and was a major port in the region. Nantes began to grow when Ratiatum collapsed after the Germanic invasions . Because tradesmen favoured inland roads rather than Atlantic routes, Nantes never became a large city under Roman occupation. Although it lacked amenities such as
13706-457: The backbone of Brittany. The mountains, stretching from the end of the Breton peninsula to the outskirts of the sedimentary Paris Basin , are composed of several parallel ridges of Ordovician and Cadomian rocks. Nantes is where one of these ridges, the Sillon de Bretagne, meets the Loire. It passes through the western end of the old town, forming a series of cliffs above the quays. The end of
13860-643: The beginning of February and began its offensive in the southwest. At Bordeaux on 7 March, Odet d'Aydie, the pro-rebel governor of Guyenne, was deposed and replaced by Pierre de Beaujeu. As the royal army suppressed the rebels in Guyenne, Count Charles of Angoulême surrendered on 19 March 1487. The royal army set out from Bordeaux on the 15th, to take Parthenay on the 30th, Dunois managing to join Louis of Orléans in Nantes . The royal army then proceeded towards Brittany. With
14014-490: The border of the duchy, preparing to attack. On 12 July, royal forces captured Fougères and then Dinan . On 28 July 1488, the main Breton and French armies met at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier . The Breton forces, led by Marshal de Rieux , were decisively beaten by the French. The defeat put an end to the war. The Duke of Orléans was captured and Duke Francis II was forced to accept a punitive treaty. On 20 August 1488,
14168-518: The channels were filled in and their water diverted. Large thoroughfares replaced the channels, altering the urban landscape. Feydeau and Gloriette Islands in the old town were attached to the north bank, and the other islands in the Loire were formed into the Isle of Nantes . When the land reclamation was almost complete, Nantes was shaken by the air raids of the Second World War . The city
14322-466: The city centre and its surrounding area were destroyed by American bombs. About 20,000 people were left homeless by the 1943 raids, and 70,000 subsequently left the city. Allied raids killed 1,732 people and destroyed 2,000 buildings in Nantes, leaving a further 6,000 buildings unusable. The Germans abandoned the city on 12 August 1944, and it was recaptured without a fight by the French Forces of
14476-507: The city centre. Further development is also planned on the north bank along an axis linking the train station and the Loire. Nantes has 100 public parks, gardens and squares covering 218 hectares (540 acres). The oldest is the Jardin des Plantes , a botanical garden created in 1807. It has a large collection of exotic plants, including a 200-year-old Magnolia grandiflora and the national collection of camellia . Other large parks include
14630-486: The corruption of his government. At the same time, the royal army advanced into Brittany. It was accommodated favorably in Châteaubriant, Vitré, Ancenis, and Clisson. It besieged Nantes, but Cornish allies of Brittany, helped by foreign mercenaries, broke the siege. At the same time, Norman corsairs blockaded the Breton coast to stop further pro-Breton forces arriving from Britain and elsewhere. On 20 January 1488,
14784-499: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Nantes Nantes ( / n ɒ̃ t / , US also / n ɑː n t ( s )/ ; French: [nɑ̃t] ; Gallo : Naunnt or Nantt [nɑ̃(ː)t] ; Breton : Naoned [ˈnãunət] ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on
14938-519: 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
15092-448: 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
15246-594: 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
15400-547: The events can be defined as a single war. It followed a long succession of conflicts between royalty and the great lords of the kingdom in the second half of the 15th century, subsequent to the formation of the League of the Public Weal . As part of these power struggles, in 1484–1485, Louis II of Orléans, supported by Francis II of Brittany and a certain number of lords, attempted to depose the regent, Anne de Beaujeu. Mostly by
15554-516: 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
15708-534: The first, making it into a Franco-Breton war, or even a Breton war of independence, sometimes by connecting it to the earlier Breton War of Succession . At the beginning of the reign of Charles VIII , Louis II of Orléans tried to seize the regency but was rejected by the States General of Tours (15 January to 11 March 1484). In April, Louis left for Brittany to join Duke Francis II; he also sent
15862-915: 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 ,
16016-489: The former walled town) and 18th-century extensions running west and east. The northern extension, Marchix, was considered squalid and nearly disappeared during the 20th century. The old town did not extend south before the 19th century, since it would have meant building on the unsteady islands in the Loire. The medieval core has narrow streets and a mixture of half-timbered buildings, more recent sandstone buildings, post- World War II reconstruction and modern redevelopment. It
16170-774: 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
16324-530: The home of their council, their treasury and their chancery . Port traffic, insignificant during the Middle Ages , became the city's main activity. Nantes began to trade with foreign countries, exporting salt from Bourgneuf , wine, fabrics and hemp (usually to the British Isles ). The 15th century is considered Nantes's first golden age. The reign of Francis II saw many improvements to
16478-454: 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
16632-479: 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
16786-612: 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 ,
16940-428: The last to hold onto Gaulish. The beginning of French in Gaul was greatly influenced by Germanic invasions into the country. These invasions had the greatest impact on the northern part of the country and on the language there. A language divide began to grow across the country. The population in the north spoke langue d'oïl while the population in the south spoke langue d'oc . Langue d'oïl grew into what
17094-539: The main producers of French printed cotton fabric during the 18th century, and the Netherlands was the city's largest client for exotic goods. Although trade brought wealth to Nantes, the city was confined by its walls; their removal during the 18th century allowed it to expand. Neoclassical squares and public buildings were constructed, and wealthy merchants built sumptuous hôtels particuliers . The French Revolution initially received some support in Nantes,
17248-470: The market). In 1664 Nantes was France's eighth-largest port, and it was the largest by 1700. Plantations in the colonies needed labour to produce sugar, rum, tobacco, indigo dye, coffee and cocoa, and Nantes shipowners began trading African slaves in 1706. The port was part of the triangular trade : ships went to West Africa to buy slaves, slaves were sold in the French West Indies, and
17402-430: The mid-17th century, the siltation of local salterns and a fall in wine exports compelled Nantes to find other activities. Local shipowners began importing sugar from the French West Indies ( Martinique , Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue ) in the 1640s, which became very profitable after protectionist reforms implemented by Jean-Baptiste Colbert prevented the import of sugar from Spanish colonies (which had dominated
17556-420: 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
17710-409: The north and Vendée (on the way to Bordeaux) in the south. It is an architectural junction; northern French houses with slate roofs are north of the Loire, and Mediterranean dwellings with low terracotta roofs dominate the south bank. The Loire is also the northern limit of grape culture. Land north of Nantes is dominated by bocage and dedicated to polyculture and animal husbandry , and
17864-534: 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
18018-471: 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
18172-474: The regency, he pardoned Louis. Francis II wanted his daughter Anne to marry Maximilian I of Austria as a means to (hopefully) ensure the sovereignty of Brittany. Francis II died on 9 September 1488, and Anne was enthroned as duchess in January of the following year. Francis' loyal supporters facilitated the union with Maximilian for Anne in a marriage by proxy held 19 December 1490. Unfortunately, this violated
18326-492: The region around Nantes, the city is spelled Naunnt or Nantt and pronounced identically to French, although northern speakers use a long [ ɑ̃ ] . In Breton , Nantes is known as Naoned or an Naoned , the latter of which is less common and reflects the more-frequent use of articles in Breton toponyms than in French ones. Nantes's historical nickname was "Venice of the West" (French: la Venise de l'Ouest ),
18480-554: The region's subsoil. The area exported tin, mined in Abbaretz and Piriac , as far as Ireland . After about 1,000 years of trading, local industry appeared around 900 BC; remnants of smithies dated to the eighth and seventh centuries BC have been found in the city. Nantes may have been the major Gaulish settlement of Corbilo, on the Loire estuary, which was mentioned by the Greek historians Strabo and Polybius . Its history from
18634-471: 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
18788-586: The ridge, the Butte Sainte-Anne, is a natural landmark 38 metres (125 feet) above sea level ; its foothills are at an elevation of 15 metres (49 feet). The Sillon de Bretagne is composed of granite ; the rest of the region is a series of low plateaus covered with silt and clay , with mica schist and sediments found in lower areas. Much of the old town and all of the Isle of Nantes consist of backfill. Elevations in Nantes are generally higher in
18942-567: The river'. Its first recorded name was by the Greek writer Ptolemy , who referred to the settlement as Κονδηούινκον ( Kondēoúinkon ) and Κονδιούινκον ( Kondioúinkon ) —which might be read as Κονδηούικον ( Kondēoúikon )—in his treatise, Geography . The name was Latinised during the Gallo-Roman period as Condevincum (the most common form), Condevicnum , Condivicnum and Condivincum . Although its origins are unclear, Condevincum seems to be related to
19096-473: The seventh century to the Roman conquest in the first century BC is poorly documented, and there is no evidence of a city in the area before the reign of Tiberius in the first century AD. During the Gaulish period it was the capital of the Namnetes people, who were allied with the Veneti in a territory extending to the northern bank of the Loire. Rivals in the area included the Pictones , who controlled
19250-499: The ships returned to Nantes with sugar and other exotic goods. From 1707 to 1793, Nantes was responsible for 42 percent of the French slave trade; its merchants sold about 450,000 African slaves in the West Indies. Manufactured goods were more lucrative than raw materials during the 18th century. There were about fifteen sugar refineries in the city around 1750 and nine cotton mills in 1786. Nantes and its surrounding area were
19404-444: The slave trade re-established itself as Nantes's major source of income in the first decades of the 19th century. It was the last French port to conduct the illegal Atlantic trade, continuing it until about 1827. The 19th-century slave trade may have been as extensive as that of the previous century, with about 400,000 slaves deported to the colonies. Businessmen took advantage of local vegetable production and Breton fishing to develop
19558-459: The smallest waterways were filled in. The Loire in Nantes now has only two branches, one on either side of the Isle of Nantes. The river is tidal in the city, and tides are observed about 30 kilometres (19 miles) further east. The tidal range can reach 6 metres (20 feet) in Nantes, larger than at the mouth of the estuary. This is the result of 20th-century dredging to make Nantes accessible by large ships; tides were originally much weaker. Nantes
19712-407: The south is renowned for its Muscadet vineyards and market gardens. The city is near the geographical centre of the land hemisphere , identified in 1945 by Samuel Boggs as near the main railway station (around 47°13′N 1°32′W / 47.217°N 1.533°W / 47.217; -1.533 ). The Loire is about 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) long and its estuary, beginning in Nantes,
19866-520: The streets. The 1970s global recession brought a large wave of deindustrialisation to France, and Nantes saw the closure of many factories and the city's shipyards. The 1970s and 1980s were primarily a period of economic stagnation for Nantes. During the 1980s and 1990s its economy became service-oriented and it experienced economic growth under Jean-Marc Ayrault , the city's mayor from 1989 to 2012. Under Ayrault's administration, Nantes used its quality of life to attract service firms. The city developed
20020-414: 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
20174-400: The town garrisons of the territories pledged by Francis. The most interesting stipulation of the pact was that it required the agreement of the French king to any marriage of the daughters of Francis II. Amnesty was granted to d'Aydie, Dunois, and the majority of the combatants. Louis of Orléans was imprisoned in a fortress, but when Charles VIII reached his majority three years later and assumed
20328-754: 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
20482-568: 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
20636-485: 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
20790-449: The western neighbourhoods on the Sillon, reaching 52 metres (171 feet) in the north-west. The Erdre flows through a slate fault. Eastern Nantes is flatter, with a few hills reaching 30 metres (98 feet). The city's lowest points, along the Loire, are 2 metres (6.6 feet) above sea level. Nantes has an oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb ) influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean . West winds produced by cyclonic depressions in
20944-599: 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
21098-402: 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
21252-503: 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 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
21406-418: Was an important Republican garrison on the Loire en route to England . On 29 June 1793, 30,000 Royalist troops from Vendée attacked the city on their way to Normandy (where they hoped to receive British support). Twelve thousand Republican soldiers resisted and the Battle of Nantes resulted in the death of Royalist leader Jacques Cathelineau . Three years later another Royalist leader, François de Charette ,
21560-477: Was at the point where the river current and the tides cancelled each other out, resulting in siltation and the formation of the original islands. The city is at the confluence of two tributaries. The Erdre flows into the Loire from its north bank, and the Sèvre Nantaise flows into the Loire from its south bank. These two rivers initially provided natural links with the hinterland. When the channels of
21714-587: Was captured by Nazi Germany on 18 June 1940, during the Battle of France . Forty-eight civilians were executed in Nantes in 1941 in retaliation for the assassination of German officer Karl Hotz . They are remembered as "the 50 hostages" because the Germans initially planned to kill 50 people. British bombs first hit the city in August 1941 and May 1942. The main attacks occurred on 16 and 23 September 1943, when most of Nantes's industrial facilities and portions of
21868-461: Was declared against all the goods of Louis of Orléans. Meanwhile, Alain d'Albret had obtained a subsidy from the court of Spain, and thereupon joined the Duke of Brittany with 5,000 men. Maximilian I of Austria sent 1,500 men to him, and the English leader Lord Scales successfully landed with additional reinforcements. Despite this concentration of forces the Breton alliance was still outnumbered. It
22022-467: Was developed in 1956 and was followed by Bellevue in 1959 and Le Breil and Malakoff in 1971. Once areas of poverty, they are experiencing regeneration since the 2000s. The northern outskirts of the city, along the Erdre , include the main campus of the University of Nantes and other institutes of higher education. During the second half of the 20th century, Nantes expanded south into the communes of Rezé , Vertou and Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire (across
22176-474: Was disastrous for the local economy. The slave trade nearly disappeared because of the abolition of slavery and the independence of Saint-Domingue , and Napoleon's Continental Blockade decimated trade with other European countries. Nantes never fully recovered its 18th-century wealth; the port handled 43,242 tons of goods in 1807, down from 237,716 tons in 1790. Outlawed by the French Revolution,
22330-819: 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
22484-596: Was executed in Nantes. After the Battle of Nantes, the National Convention (which had founded the First French Republic ) decided to purge the city of its anti-revolutionary elements. Nantes was seen by the convention as a corrupt merchant city; the local elite was less supportive of the French Revolution, since its growing centralisation reduced their influence. From October 1793 to February 1794, deputy Jean-Baptiste Carrier presided over
22638-521: Was further weakened because Maximilian I was diverted by a rebellion in Flanders , which was being supported by the Marshal de Esquerdes. The various lords supporting the Duke of Brittany were also in dispute with each other for the hand of Anne of Brittany : Louis of Orléans, Alain d'Albret, and Maximilian I all being candidates. The French royal general Louis II de la Trémoille gathered his forces on
22792-463: 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
22946-652: 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
23100-524: Was locked up in Orléans. At the same time, the roused Breton nobility was brought back to order by the royal troops. On 30 August, Louis of Orléans issued a proclamation against the regency. The royal army marched to Orléans, but Louis escaped to Beaugency, whence he was dislodged by the young Louis II de La Trémoille in September. On 9 August, Francis II of Brittany agreed to a year-long truce. Known as
23254-440: Was ratified by Francis I of France in 1532. The union ended a long feudal conflict between France and Brittany, reasserting the king's suzerainty over the Bretons. In return for surrendering its independence, Brittany retained its privileges. Although most Breton institutions were maintained, the unification favoured Rennes (the site of ducal coronations). Rennes received most legal and administrative institutions, and Nantes kept
23408-411: 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
23562-437: 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 ,
23716-405: Was wed to Charles VIII on 6 December 1491. The marriage was subsequently validated by Pope Innocent VIII on 15 February 1492. 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
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