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144-649: The Millau Viaduct ( French : Viaduc de Millau , IPA: [vja.dyk də mi.jo] ) is a multispan cable-stayed bridge completed in 2004 across the gorge valley of the Tarn near (west of) Millau in the Aveyron department in the Occitanie Region, in Southern France . The design team was led by engineer Michel Virlogeux and English architect Norman Foster . As of October 2023, it

288-572: A de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. Most of these countries are members of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), the community of 54 member states which share the official use or teaching of French. It is spoken as a first language (in descending order of the number of speakers) in France; Canada (especially in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick); Belgium ( Wallonia and

432-443: A chartered engineer ). Civil engineering structures are often subjected to very extreme forces, such as large variations in temperature, dynamic loads such as waves or traffic, or high pressures from water or compressed gases. They are also often constructed in corrosive environments, such as at sea, in industrial facilities, or below ground. The forces which parts of a machine are subjected to can vary significantly and can do so at

576-744: 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

720-741: A beam (divided along its length) to go into compression and the other part into tension. The compression part must be designed to resist buckling and crushing, while the tension part must be able to adequately resist the tension. A truss is a structure comprising members and connection points or nodes. When members are connected at nodes and forces are applied at nodes members can act in tension or compression. Members acting in compression are referred to as compression members or struts while members acting in tension are referred to as tension members or ties . Most trusses use gusset plates to connect intersecting elements. Gusset plates are relatively flexible and unable to transfer bending moments . The connection

864-598: A bridge closed to pedestrians, a run took place in 2004, and another on 13 May 2007: 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 ,

1008-461: A coating of petroleum wax, and an extruded polyethylene sheath). The exterior envelope of the stays is itself coated along its entire length with a double helical weatherstrip. The idea is to avoid running water which, in high winds, could cause vibration in the stays and compromise the stability of the viaduct. The stays were installed by the Freyssinet company. To allow for deformations of

1152-431: 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,

1296-555: 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

1440-708: A four or five-year undergraduate degree, followed by a minimum of three years of professional practice before being considered fully qualified. Structural engineers are licensed or accredited by different learned societies and regulatory bodies around the world (for example, the Institution of Structural Engineers in the UK). Depending on the degree course they have studied and/or the jurisdiction they are seeking licensure in, they may be accredited (or licensed) as just structural engineers, or as civil engineers, or as both civil and structural engineers. Another international organisation

1584-634: A great rate. The forces which a boat or aircraft are subjected to vary enormously and will do so thousands of times over the structure's lifetime. The structural design must ensure that such structures can endure such loading for their entire design life without failing. These works can require mechanical structural engineering: Aerospace structure types include launch vehicles, ( Atlas , Delta , Titan), missiles (ALCM, Harpoon), Hypersonic vehicles (Space Shuttle), military aircraft (F-16, F-18) and commercial aircraft ( Boeing 777, MD-11). Aerospace structures typically consist of thin plates with stiffeners for

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1728-421: A more defined and formalized profession with the emergence of architecture as a distinct profession from engineering during the industrial revolution in the late 19th century. Until then, the architect and the structural engineer were usually one and the same thing – the master builder. Only with the development of specialized knowledge of structural theories that emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries, did

1872-428: A multiple-span viaduct cable-stayed bridge , presented by the structural engineering group Sogelerg, Europe Etudes Gecti and Serf, and the architects Foster + Partners was declared the best. Detailed studies were carried out by the successful consortium, steered by the highways authority until mid-1998. After undergoing wind tunnel tests , the shape of the road deck was altered, and detailed corrections were made to

2016-405: A negative impact on the town, cost more, and lengthened the driving distance. The choice of the 'high' solution was decided by ministerial decree on 29 October 1991. After the choice of the high viaduct, five teams of architects and researchers worked on a technical solution. The concept and design for the bridge was devised by French designer and structural engineer Michel Virlogeux. He worked with

2160-416: A partial collapse of the three-story schoolhouse that sent neighbors fleeing. The final collapse killed 94 people, mostly children. In other cases structural failures require careful study, and the results of these inquiries have resulted in improved practices and a greater understanding of the science of structural engineering. Some such studies are the result of forensic engineering investigations where

2304-427: A patient's medical state. Monitors may measure patient vital signs and other parameters including ECG , EEG , blood pressure, and dissolved gases in the blood; diagnostic medical equipment may also be used in the home for certain purposes, e.g. for the control of diabetes mellitus. A biomedical equipment technician (BMET) is a vital component of the healthcare delivery system. Employed primarily by hospitals, BMETs are

2448-652: A period of prosperity and prominence among European nations. Richelieu established the Académie française to protect the French language. By the early 1800s, Parisian French had become the primary language of the aristocracy in France. Near the beginning of the 19th century, the French government began to pursue policies with the end goal of eradicating the many minorities and regional languages ( patois ) spoken in France. This began in 1794 with Henri Grégoire 's "Report on

2592-494: 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

2736-683: 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 ,

2880-414: A structure of around 2,500 metres (8,200 ft) in length. During 1993–1994, the government consulted with seven architects and eight structural engineers . During 1995–1996, a second definition study was made by five associated architect groups and structural engineers. In January 1995, the government issued a declaration of public interest to solicit design approaches for a competition. In July 1996

3024-479: A structure to move freely with the ground. Civil structural engineering includes all structural engineering related to the built environment. It includes: The structural engineer is the lead designer on these structures, and often the sole designer. In the design of structures such as these, structural safety is of paramount importance (in the UK, designs for dams, nuclear power stations and bridges must be signed off by

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3168-493: A toll plaza 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) north of the viaduct, costing an additional € 20 million . The builders, Eiffage , financed the construction in return for a concession to collect the tolls for 75 years, until 2080. However, if the concession yields high revenues, the French government can assume control of the bridge as early as 2044. The project required about 127,000 cubic metres (166,000  cu yd ) of concrete , 19,000 tonnes (21,000 short tons ) of steel for

3312-547: 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

3456-457: 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

3600-437: 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

3744-461: Is IABSE(International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering). The aim of that association is to exchange knowledge and to advance the practice of structural engineering worldwide in the service of the profession and society. Structural building engineering is primarily driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms and the underlying mathematical and scientific ideas to achieve an end that fulfills its functional requirements and

3888-409: Is a complex non-linear relationship. A beam may be defined as an element in which one dimension is much greater than the other two and the applied loads are usually normal to the main axis of the element. Beams and columns are called line elements and are often represented by simple lines in structural modeling. Beams are elements that carry pure bending only. Bending causes one part of the section of

4032-472: 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

4176-489: 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

4320-485: Is direct and without tolls for the 340 kilometres (210 mi) between Clermont-Ferrand and Béziers, except for the bridge. The Eiffage group, which constructed the Viaduct also operates it, under a government contract, which allows the company to collect tolls for up to 75 years. As of 2018, the toll bridge costs €8.30 for light automobiles (or €10.40 during the peak season of 15 June to 15 September). Each of

4464-652: 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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4608-563: 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

4752-713: Is inside the perimeter of the Grands Causses regional natural park. The Millau Viaduct forms the last link of the existing A75 autoroute (known as "la Méridienne"), from Clermont-Ferrand to Béziers . The A75, with the A10 and A71, provides a continuous high-speed route south from Paris through Clermont-Ferrand to the Languedoc region, thence to Spain , considerably reducing the cost and time of vehicle traffic travelling along this route. Many tourists heading to southern France and Spain follow this route because it

4896-404: 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

5040-418: Is needed to ensure that the assumed collapse mechanism is realistic. Shells derive their strength from their form and carry forces in compression in two directions. A dome is an example of a shell. They can be designed by making a hanging-chain model, which will act as a catenary in pure tension and inverting the form to achieve pure compression. Arches carry forces in compression in one direction only, which

5184-469: 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

5328-828: 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

5472-522: Is situated at each side of the toll plaza. The total cost was €20 million . The rest area of Brocuéjouls, named Aire du Viaduc de Millau , is situated just north of the viaduct, and is centred on an old farm building named 'Ferme de Brocuéjouls'. It was inaugurated by the prefect of Aveyron , Chantal Jourdan, on 30 June 2006, after 7 months of works. The farm and its surroundings can accommodate entertainment and tourism promotion activities. The cost of this work amounted to €5.8 million : Unusually for

5616-738: Is structurally safe when subjected to all the loads it could reasonably be expected to experience. This is subtly different from architectural design, which is driven by the creative manipulation of materials and forms, mass, space, volume, texture, and light to achieve an end which is aesthetic, functional, and often artistic. The structural design for a building must ensure that the building can stand up safely, able to function without excessive deflections or movements which may cause fatigue of structural elements, cracking or failure of fixtures, fittings or partitions, or discomfort for occupants. It must account for movements and forces due to temperature, creep , cracking, and imposed loads. It must also ensure that

5760-639: 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 ,

5904-416: Is technically called a beam-column but practically, just a column). The design of a column must check the axial capacity of the element and the buckling capacity. The buckling capacity is the capacity of the element to withstand the propensity to buckle. Its capacity depends upon its geometry, material, and the effective length of the column, which depends upon the restraint conditions at the top and bottom of

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6048-509: Is the tallest bridge in the world , having a structural height of 343 metres (1,125 ft). The Millau Viaduct is part of the A75 – A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers and Montpellier . The cost of construction was approximately € 394 million ( US$ 424 million ). It was built over three years, formally inaugurated on 14 December 2004, and opened to traffic two days later on 16 December. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of

6192-553: 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

6336-483: 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

6480-492: 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

6624-424: 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

6768-484: Is transmitted by an Ethernet network to a computer in the IT room at the management building situated near the toll plaza . The toll plaza is on the A75 autoroute ; the bridge toll booths and the buildings for the commercial and technical management teams are situated 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of the viaduct. The toll plaza is protected by a canopy in the shape of a leaf, formed from tendrilled concrete , using

6912-418: Is usually arranged so that the lines of force in the members are coincident at the joint thus allowing the truss members to act in pure tension or compression. Trusses are usually used in large-span structures, where it would be uneconomical to use solid beams. Plates carry bending in two directions. A concrete flat slab is an example of a plate. Plates are understood by using continuum mechanics , but due to

7056-473: Is why it is appropriate to build arches out of masonry. They are designed by ensuring that the line of thrust of the force remains within the depth of the arch. It is mainly used to increase the bountifulness of any structure. Catenaries derive their strength from their form and carry transverse forces in pure tension by deflecting (just as a tightrope will sag when someone walks on it). They are almost always cable or fabric structures. A fabric structure acts as

7200-764: 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

7344-609: The Brussels-Capital Region ); western Switzerland (specifically the cantons forming the Romandy region); parts of Luxembourg; parts of the United States (the states of Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Monaco; the Aosta Valley region of Italy; and various communities elsewhere. French is estimated to have about 310 million speakers, of which about 80 million are native speakers. According to

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7488-609: 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

7632-517: 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

7776-497: The Dutch engineering firm Arcadis, responsible for the structural engineering of the bridge. The 'high solution' required the construction of a 2,500-metre-long (8,200 ft) viaduct . From 1991 to 1993, the structures division of Sétra , directed by Virlogeux, carried out preliminary studies, and examined the feasibility of a single structure spanning the valley. Taking into account technical, architectural, and financial issues,

7920-533: 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

8064-559: 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,

8208-399: The French colonial empire , there are numerous French-based creole languages , most notably Haitian Creole . A French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is an official language in 27 countries , as well as one of the most geographically widespread languages in the world, with about 50 countries and territories having it as

8352-557: The Garabit viaduct in 1884, a railway bridge in the neighbouring Cantal département ), and the Enerpac company for the roadway's hydraulic supports. The engineering group Setec has authority in the project, with SNCF engineering having partial control. Appia (company)  [ fr ] was responsible for the job of the bituminous road surface on the bridge deck, and Forclum ( fr ) for electrical installations. Management

8496-877: 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

8640-626: 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

8784-586: The Walloon engineering firm Greisch from Liège , Belgium , also an information and communication technologies (ICT) company of the Walloon Region. They carried out the general calculations and the resistance calculations for winds of up to 225 kilometres per hour (140  mph ). They also applied the launching technology. The sliding shutter technology for the bridge piers came from PERI . The bridge's construction cost up to €394 million , with

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8928-775: 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

9072-466: The ceracem process . Consisting of 53 elements ( voussoirs ), the canopy is 100 metres (330 ft) long and 28 metres (92 ft) wide. It weighs around 2,500 tonnes (2,500 long tons ; 2,800 short tons ). The toll plaza can accommodate sixteen lanes of traffic, eight in each direction. At times of low traffic volume , the central booth is capable of servicing vehicles in both directions. A car park and viewing station, equipped with public toilets,

9216-506: 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;

9360-773: 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

9504-503: The Administration of Roads opened the question for competition among structural engineers and architects to widen the search for realistic designs. By July 1993, seventeen structural engineers and thirty-eight architects applied as candidates for the preliminary studies. With the assistance of a multidisciplinary commission, the Administration of Roads selected eight structural engineers for a technical study, and seven architects for

9648-545: The Beipan River. In 2012, Mexico's Baluarte Bridge surpassed Millau as the world's highest cable-stayed bridge. The Royal Gorge suspension bridge in the U.S. state of Colorado is also higher, with a bridge deck approximately 291 metres (955 ft) over the Arkansas River . The Millau Viaduct is on the territory of the communes of Millau and Creissels , France, in the département of Aveyron . Before

9792-703: 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

9936-614: 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,

10080-408: 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

10224-416: 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

10368-643: 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

10512-606: The Latin spoken in Gaul , and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues d'oïl —languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, which French ( Francien ) largely supplanted. French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the ( Germanic ) Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to

10656-539: The Millau Viaduct, which are the tallest elements (the tallest one being 244.96 metres (803.7 ft)) were produced and mounted by PAECH Construction Enterprise from Poland. The Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau, working with the architect Norman Foster , was successful in obtaining the tender. Because the government had already taken the design work to an advanced stage, the technical uncertainties were considerably reduced. A further advantage of this process

10800-451: 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

10944-613: The Renaissance and have since developed into computer-based applications pioneered in the 1970s. The history of structural engineering contains many collapses and failures. Sometimes this is due to obvious negligence, as in the case of the Pétion-Ville school collapse , in which Rev. Fortin Augustin " constructed the building all by himself, saying he didn't need an engineer as he had good knowledge of construction" following

11088-440: The architectural study. Simultaneously, a school of international experts representing a wide spectrum of expertise (technical, architectural, and landscape), chaired by Jean-François Coste, was established to clarify the choices that had to be made. In February 1995, on the basis of proposals of the architects and structural engineers, and with support of the school of experts, five general designs were identified. The competition

11232-438: The base of pylon P2. Being the tallest of all, it is therefore under the most intense stress . These sensors detect movements on the order of a micrometre . Other extensometers, electrical this time, are distributed on top of P2 and P7. This apparatus is capable of taking up to 100 readings per second. In high winds, they continuously monitor the reactions of the Viaduct to extreme conditions. Accelerometers placed strategically on

11376-627: The bridge was constructed, traffic had to descend into the Tarn valley and pass along the route nationale N9 near the town of Millau, causing much traffic congestion at the beginning and end of the July and August holiday season . The bridge now traverses the Tarn valley above its lowest point, linking two limestone plateaus , the Causse du Larzac and the Causse Rouge  [ fr ] , and

11520-479: The bridge was tensioned overall, and weight tested. After this, the temporary pylons could be removed. The construction Millau Viaduct broke several records: Since opening in 2004, the deck height of Millau has been surpassed by several suspension bridges in China, including Sidu River Bridge , Baling River Bridge , and two spans ( Beipan River Guanxing Highway Bridge and Beipan River Hukun Expressway Bridge ) over

11664-409: The column. The effective length is K ∗ l {\displaystyle K*l} where l {\displaystyle l} is the real length of the column and K is the factor dependent on the restraint conditions. The capacity of a column to carry axial load depends on the degree of bending it is subjected to, and vice versa. This is represented on an interaction chart and

11808-441: The complexity involved they are most often designed using a codified empirical approach, or computer analysis. They can also be designed with yield line theory, where an assumed collapse mechanism is analyzed to give an upper bound on the collapse load. This technique is used in practice but because the method provides an upper-bound (i.e. an unsafe prediction of the collapse load) for poorly conceived collapse mechanisms, great care

11952-505: The concrete pylons. Between each of them, eleven stays (steel cables) are anchored, providing support for the road deck. Each mast of the Viaduct is equipped with a monoaxial layer of eleven pairs of cable-stays; laid face to face. Depending on their length, the cable stays were made of 55 to 91 high tensile steel cables, or strands, themselves formed of seven strands of steel (a central strand with six intertwined strands). Each strand has triple protection against corrosion ( galvanisation ,

12096-714: The country near French-speaking Quebec, however, it is the foreign language more commonly taught. Vowel phonemes in French Structural engineering Structural engineering theory is based upon applied physical laws and empirical knowledge of the structural performance of different materials and geometries. Structural engineering design uses a number of relatively simple structural concepts to build complex structural systems . Structural engineers are responsible for making creative and efficient use of funds, structural elements and materials to achieve these goals. Structural engineering dates back to 2700 B.C. when

12240-473: The deck, on the pylons, and on the masts. The pylons, road deck, masts, and cable stays are equipped with a multitude of sensors to enable structural health monitoring . These are designed to detect the slightest movement in the Viaduct, and measure its resistance to wear-and-tear over time. Anemometers , accelerometers , inclinometers , and temperature sensors are all used for the instrumentation network. Twelve fibre optic extensometers were installed in

12384-519: 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

12528-602: The design is practically buildable within acceptable manufacturing tolerances of the materials. It must allow the architecture to work, and the building services to fit within the building and function (air conditioning, ventilation, smoke extract, electrics, lighting, etc.). The structural design of a modern building can be extremely complex and often requires a large team to complete. Structural engineering specialties for buildings include: Earthquake engineering structures are those engineered to withstand earthquakes . The main objectives of earthquake engineering are to understand

12672-457: The design of structures, with the functionality to assist in the drawing, analyzing and designing of structures with maximum precision; examples include AutoCAD , StaadPro, ETABS , Prokon, Revit Structure, Inducta RCB, etc. Such software may also take into consideration environmental loads, such as earthquakes and winds. Structural engineers are responsible for engineering design and structural analysis. Entry-level structural engineers may design

12816-465: The design of the pylons . When the details were eventually finalised, the whole design was approved in late 1998. Once the Ministry of Public Works had taken the decision to offer the construction and operation of the viaduct as a grant of contract, an international call for tenders was issued in 1999. Five consortia tendered: Piers were built with Lafarge high performance concrete. The pylons of

12960-448: 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

13104-594: 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

13248-429: The external surfaces, bulkheads, and frames to support the shape and fasteners such as welds, rivets, screws, and bolts to hold the components together. A nanostructure is an object of intermediate size between molecular and microscopic (micrometer-sized) structures. In describing nanostructures it is necessary to differentiate between the number of dimensions on the nanoscale. Nanotextured surfaces have one dimension on

13392-516: 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

13536-403: The flow and reduce journey times for long-distance traffic, but also to improve the quality of access to Millau for its local businesses and residents. One of the solutions considered was the construction of a road bridge to span the river and gorge valley. The first plans for a bridge were discussed in 1987 by CETE , and by October 1991 the decision was made to build a high crossing of the Tarn by

13680-450: The footings was poured at the same time as pilings. In March 2002, the pylons emerged from the ground. The speed of construction then rapidly increased. Every three days, each pylon increased in height by 4 metres (13 ft). This performance was mainly due to sliding shuttering . Thanks to a system of shoe anchorages and fixed rails in the heart of the pylons, a new layer of concrete could be poured every 20 minutes. The bridge road deck

13824-915: 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 ,

13968-829: 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

14112-522: The greatest engineering achievements of modern times, and received the 2006 Outstanding Structure Award from the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering . In the 1980s, high levels of road traffic near Millau in the Tarn valley were causing congestion, especially in the summer due to holiday traffic on the route from Paris to Spain . A method of bypassing Millau had long been considered, not only to ease

14256-672: The individual structural elements of a structure, such as the beams and columns of a building. More experienced engineers may be responsible for the structural design and integrity of an entire system, such as a building. Structural engineers often specialize in particular types of structures, such as buildings, bridges, pipelines, industrial, tunnels, vehicles, ships, aircraft, and spacecraft. Structural engineers who specialize in buildings may specialize in particular construction materials such as concrete, steel, wood, masonry, alloys and composites. Structural engineering has existed since humans first started to construct their structures. It became

14400-461: The interaction of structures with the shaking ground, foresee the consequences of possible earthquakes, and design and construct the structures to perform during an earthquake. Earthquake-proof structures are not necessarily extremely strong like the El Castillo pyramid at Chichen Itza shown above. One important tool of earthquake engineering is base isolation , which allows the base of

14544-594: The jury decided in favour of a cable-stayed design with multiple spans, as proposed by the SODETEG consortium led by Michel Virlogeux , Norman Foster and Arcadis . The decision to proceed by grant of contract was made in May 1998; then in June 2000, the contest for the construction contract was launched, open to four consortia. In March 2001, Eiffage established the subsidiary Compagnie Eiffage du Viaduc de Millau (CEVM), and

14688-412: The knowledge successfully a structural engineer generally requires detailed knowledge of relevant empirical and theoretical design codes , the techniques of structural analysis , as well as some knowledge of the corrosion resistance of the materials and structures, especially when those structures are exposed to the external environment. Since the 1990s, specialist software has become available to aid in

14832-454: 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

14976-479: 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

15120-612: 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 ,

15264-479: 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

15408-484: The laying of the first stone on 14 December 2001, workers started digging deep shafts for the pilings. Each pylon is supported by four concrete pilings. Each piling is 15 metres (49 ft) deep and 5 metres (16 ft) in diameter, assuring the stability of the pylons. At the top of the pilings a large footing was poured, 3–5 metres (10–16 ft) in thickness,to reinforce the strength of the pilings. The 2,000 cubic metres (2,600 cu yd) of concrete necessary for

15552-408: The metal road deck under traffic, a special surface of modified bitumen was installed by research teams from Appia (company)  [ fr ] . The surface is somewhat flexible to adapt to deformations in the steel deck without cracking, but it must nevertheless have sufficient strength to withstand motorway conditions (fatigue, density, texture, adherence, anti-rutting etc.). The 'ideal formula'

15696-478: The micrometer range. The term 'nanostructure' is often used when referring to magnetic technology. Medical equipment (also known as armamentarium) is designed to aid in the diagnosis, monitoring or treatment of medical conditions. There are several basic types: diagnostic equipment includes medical imaging machines, used to aid in diagnosis; equipment includes infusion pumps, medical lasers, and LASIK surgical machines ; medical monitors allow medical staff to measure

15840-508: The nanoscale, i.e., only the thickness of the surface of an object is between 0.1 and 100 nm. Nanotubes have two dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the diameter of the tube is between 0.1 and 100 nm; its length could be much greater. Finally, spherical nanoparticles have three dimensions on the nanoscale, i.e., the particle is between 0.1 and 100 nm in each spatial dimension. The terms nanoparticles and ultrafine particles (UFP) often are used synonymously although UFP can reach into

15984-420: 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

16128-631: The original engineer seems to have done everything in accordance with the state of the profession and acceptable practice yet a failure still eventuated. A famous case of structural knowledge and practice being advanced in this manner can be found in a series of failures involving box girders which collapsed in Australia during the 1970s. Structural engineering depends upon a detailed knowledge of applied mechanics , materials science , and applied mathematics to understand and predict how structures support and resist self-weight and imposed loads. To apply

16272-534: 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

16416-411: The people responsible for maintaining a facility's medical equipment. Any structure is essentially made up of only a small number of different types of elements: Many of these elements can be classified according to form (straight, plane / curve) and dimensionality (one-dimensional / two-dimensional): Columns are elements that carry only axial force (compression) or both axial force and bending (which

16560-471: 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

16704-451: The professional structural engineers come into existence. The role of a structural engineer today involves a significant understanding of both static and dynamic loading and the structures that are available to resist them. The complexity of modern structures often requires a great deal of creativity from the engineer in order to ensure the structures support and resist the loads they are subjected to. A structural engineer will typically have

16848-418: The pyramid, whilst primarily gained from its shape, relies also on the strength of the stone from which it is constructed, and its ability to support the weight of the stone above it. The limestone blocks were often taken from a quarry near the building site and have a compressive strength from 30 to 250 MPa (MPa = Pa × 10 ). Therefore, the structural strength of the pyramid stems from the material properties of

16992-509: The reinforced concrete, and 5,000 tonnes (5,500 short tons) of pre-stressed steel for the cables and shrouds. The builder claims that the lifetime of the bridge will be at least 120 years. Numerous organisations opposed the project, including the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), France Nature Environnement , the national federation of motorway users, and Environmental Action. Opponents advanced several arguments: Two weeks after

17136-471: 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

17280-467: The road deck monitor the oscillations that can affect the metal structure. Displacements of the deck on the abutment level are measured to the nearest millimetre. The cable stays are also instrumented, and their ageing meticulously analysed. Additionally, two piezoelectric sensors gather traffic data: weight of vehicles, average speed , density of the flow of traffic, etc. This system can distinguish between fourteen different types of vehicle. The data

17424-456: The road decks, each pylon was topped with a mechanism on top of each pylon that also pushed the deck. This mechanism consisted of a computer-controlled pair of wedges under the deck manipulated by hydraulics. The upper and lower wedge of each pair pointed in opposite directions. The wedges were hydraulically operated, and moved repeatedly in the following sequence: The launching advanced the road deck at 600 millimetres (24 in) per cycle which

17568-673: The seven pylons is supported by four deep shafts, 15 metres (49  ft ) deep and 5 metres (16 ft) in diameter. The abutments are concrete structures that provide anchorage for the road deck to the ground in the Causse du Larzac and the Causse Rouge. The metallic road deck, which appears very light despite its total mass of around 36,000 tonnes (40,000 short tons ), is 2,460 metres (8,070 ft) long and 32 metres (105 ft 0 in) wide. It comprises eight spans . The six central spans measure 342 metres (1,122 ft), and

17712-435: The step pyramid for Pharaoh Djoser was built by Imhotep , the first engineer in history known by name. Pyramids were the most common major structures built by ancient civilizations because the structural form of a pyramid is inherently stable and can be almost infinitely scaled (as opposed to most other structural forms, which cannot be linearly increased in size in proportion to increased loads). The structural stability of

17856-463: The stones from which it was built rather than the pyramid's geometry. Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction were carried out by artisans, such as stonemasons and carpenters, rising to the role of master builder. No theory of structures existed, and understanding of how structures stood up was extremely limited, and based almost entirely on empirical evidence of 'what had worked before' and intuition . Knowledge

18000-466: 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

18144-679: 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

18288-621: The two outer spans are 204 metres (669 ft). These are composed of 173 central box beams, the spinal column of the construction, onto which the lateral floors and the lateral box beams were welded . The central box beams have a 4 metres (13 ft 1 in) cross-section, and a length of 15–22 metres (49–72 ft) for a total weight of 90 metric tons (99 short tons ). The deck has an inverse airfoil shape, providing negative lift in strong wind conditions. The seven masts, each 87 metres (285  ft ) high, and weighing around 700 tonnes (690 long tons ; 770 short tons ), are set on top of

18432-508: 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

18576-485: 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

18720-536: The workplace. In 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese . In English-speaking Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, French is the first foreign language taught and in number of pupils is far ahead of other languages. In the United States, French is the second-most commonly taught foreign language in schools and universities, although well behind Spanish. In some areas of

18864-402: 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

19008-436: Was constructed on plateaus at both ends of the viaduct, and pushed onto the pylons using bridge launching techniques. Each half of the assembled road deck was pushed lengthwise from the plateaus to the pylons, passing across one pylon to the next. During the launching, the road deck was also supported by eight temporary towers, which were removed near the end of construction. In addition to hydraulic jacks on each plateau pushing

19152-452: Was declared winner of the contest and awarded the prime contract in August. In initial studies, four potential options were examined: The fourth option was selected by ministerial decree on 28 June 1989. It encompassed two possibilities: After long construction studies by the Ministry of Public Works, the low solution was abandoned because it would have intersected the water table , had

19296-819: 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

19440-429: Was found after two years of research. The electrical installations of the viaduct are large in proportion to the size of the bridge. There are 30 kilometres (19 mi) of high-current cables, 20 kilometres (12 mi) of fibre optics , 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) of low-current cables, and 357 telephone sockets; allowing maintenance teams to communicate with each other and with the command post. These are situated on

19584-400: Was gradually adopted by the inhabitants of Gaul. As the language was learned by the common people, it developed a distinct local character, with grammatical differences from Latin as spoken elsewhere, some of which is attested in graffiti. This local variety evolved into the Gallo-Romance tongues, which include French and its closest relatives, such as Arpitan . The evolution of Latin in Gaul

19728-479: Was handled by Eiffage Concessions. The only other business that had a notable role on the building site was Freyssinet , a subsidiary of the Vinci Group specialising in prestressing . It installed the cable stays and put them under tension, while the prestress division of Eiffage was responsible for prestressing the pillar heads. The steel road deck, and the hydraulic action of the road deck were designed by

19872-652: 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

20016-429: Was relaunched: five combinations of architects and structural engineers, drawn from the best candidates of the first phase, were formed; each was to conduct in-depth studies of one of the general designs. On 15 July 1996, Bernard Pons , minister of Public Works, announced the decision of the jury, which was constituted of elected artists and experts, and chaired by Christian Leyrit, the director of highways. The solution of

20160-565: Was retained by guilds and seldom supplanted by advances. Structures were repetitive, and increases in scale were incremental. No record exists of the first calculations of the strength of structural members or the behavior of structural material, but the profession of a structural engineer only really took shape with the Industrial Revolution and the re-invention of concrete (see History of Concrete ). The physical sciences underlying structural engineering began to be understood in

20304-419: Was roughly four minutes long. The mast pieces were driven over the new road deck lying down horizontally. The pieces were joined to form the one complete mast, still lying horizontally. The mast was then tilted upwards, as one piece, at one time in a tricky operation. In this way, each mast was erected on top of the corresponding concrete pylon. The stays connecting the masts and the deck were then installed, and

20448-594: 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

20592-570: 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 ,

20736-576: Was to make negotiating the contract easier, reducing public expense, and speeding up construction, while minimising such design work as remained for the contractor. All the member companies of the Eiffage group had some role in the construction work. The construction consortium was made up of the Eiffage TP company for the concrete part, the Eiffel company for the steel roadway ( Gustave Eiffel built

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