Francophonie in the context of "Organisation internationale de la Francophonie"

The French language became an international language, the second international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... until the end of the fifteenth century, the French of the chancellery spread as a political and literary language because the French court was the model of chivalric culture". Consequently, it was less as a centralising monarch than as a "gentle courtly prince" that the king unwittingly spread his language" and "the methods of expansion were not political"'. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the language of European diplomacy and international relations.

The terms Francophonie or Francophone world refer the whole body of people and organizations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. French is an official de jure language in 26 independent nations and 10 territories, the second most number of countries after English. It is the 22nd most natively spoken language in the world, the 6th most spoken by total number of speakers, and the third most geographically widespread language, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. In 2017 it was the second most studied language in the world with about 120 million learners. Although it is an official language in more than two dozen countries, its role as a native or majority language is limited to only five states and territories; in most other Francophone countries it serves primarily as a second language or lingua franca.

African French (French: français africain) is the umbrella grouping of varieties of the French language spoken throughout Francophone Africa. Used mainly as a secondary language or lingua franca, it is spoken by an estimated 320 million people across 34 countries and territories, some of which are not Francophone, but merely members or observers of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Of these, 19 sovereign states recognize it as an official de jure language, though it is not the native tongue of the majority. According to Ethnologue, only 1,2 million people spoke it as a first language. African French speakers represent 67% of the Francophonie, making Africa the continent with the most French speakers in the world.

In Africa, French is often spoken as a second language alongside the Indigenous ones, but in a small number of urban areas (in particular in Central Africa and in the ports located on the Gulf of Guinea) it has become a first language, such as in the region of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the urban areas of Douala, Yaoundé in Cameroon, in Libreville, Gabon, and Antananarivo.

Sorbonne University (French: Sorbonne Université) is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when the College of Sorbonne was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the University of Paris, one of the first universities in Europe. Its current iteration was formed in 2018 by the merger of Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) and the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI).

Sorbonne University is one of the most sought after universities by students and researchers from France, Europe, and the French speaking countries. Most notably, Marie Skłodowska-Curie, who came from Poland in 1891 and joined the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Paris, was also the first woman to become a professor at the Sorbonne. Marie Curie and her husband Pierre Curie are considered the founders of the modern-day Faculty of Science and Engineering of Sorbonne University. As of 2021, its alumni and professors have won 33 Nobel Prizes, six Fields Medals, and one Turing Award.

African French (French: français africain) is the umbrella grouping of varieties of the French language spoken throughout Francophone Africa. Used mainly as a secondary language or lingua franca, it is spoken by an estimated 167 million people across 34 countries and territories, some of which are not Francophone, but merely members or observers of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. Of these, 20 sovereign states recognize it as an official de jure language, though it is not the native tongue of the majority. According to Ethnologue, only 1,2 million people spoke it as a first language. African French speakers represent 47% of the Francophonie, making Africa the continent with the most French speakers in the world.

In Africa, French is often spoken as a second language alongside the Indigenous ones, but in a small number of urban areas (in particular in Central Africa and in the ports located on the Gulf of Guinea) it has become a first language, such as in the region of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the urban areas of Douala, Yaoundé in Cameroon, in Libreville, Gabon, and Antananarivo.

French America (French: Amérique française), sometimes called Franco-America, in contrast to Anglo-America, is the French-speaking community of people and their diaspora, notably those tracing back origins to New France, the early French colonization of the Americas. The Canadian province of Quebec is the centre of the community and is the point of origin of most of French America. It also includes communities in all provinces of Canada (especially in New Brunswick, where francophones are roughly one third of the population), Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Martinique, Guadeloupe (all are parts of France), Saint Lucia and Haiti in the Caribbean; French Guiana (overseas region of France) in South America. Also there are minorities of French speakers in part of the United States (New England, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, California, Illinois and New York), the Dominican Republic, Dominica, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Ordre des francophones d'Amérique is a decoration given in the name of the community to its members. It can also be described as the Francophonie of the Americas.