Secondary or non-official language According Article 2 of Constitution official language of France French, Romance language derived from Latin Since 1635 Académie française has been France's official authority French language although its recommendations carry no legal weight There also regional languages spoken France such Occitan Breton Catalan Flemish (Dutch dialect) Alsatian (German dialect) Basque others (see Languages of France) Italian was official language of Corsica until May 9 1859The French government does not regulate choice of language publications individuals but use of French required law commercial workplace communications addition mandating use of French territory of Republic French government tries promote French European Union globally through institutions such La Francophonie perceived threat from anglicisation has prompted efforts safeguard position of French language France Besides French there exist 77 vernacular minority languages of France eight spoken French metropolitan territory 69 French overseas territoriesFrom 17th mid-20th century French served pre-eminent international language of diplomacy international affairs well lingua franca among educated classes of Europedominant position of French language international affairs was overtaken English since emergence of US major powerFor most of time which French served international lingua franca was not native language of most Frenchmen report 1794 conducted Henri Grégoire found that of country's 25 million people only three million spoke French natively rest spoke one of country's many regional languages such Alsatian Breton or Occitan Through expansion of public education which French was sole language of instruction well other factors such increased urbanisation rise of mass communication French gradually came be adopted virtually entire population process not completed until 20th centuryAs result of France's extensive colonial ambitions between 17th 20th centuries French was introduced Americas Africa Polynesia South-East Asia Caribbean French second most studied foreign language world after English, lingua franca some regions notably Africa legacy of French living language outside Europe mixed nearly extinct some former French colonies (The Levant South Southeast Asia) while creoles pidgins based French have emerged French departments West Indies South Pacific (French Polynesia) other hand many former French colonies have adopted French official language total number of French speakers increasing especially AfricaIt estimated that between 300 million 500 million people worldwide can speak French either mother tongue or second languageAccording 2007 Adult Education survey part of project European Union carried France Insee based sample of 15,350 persons French was first mother tongue of 87.2% of total population or roughly 55.81 million people followed Arabic (3.6% 2.30 million) Portuguese (1.5% 0.96 million) Spanish (1.2% 0.77 million) Italian (1.0% 0.64 million) People who had other languages their mother tongue made up 5.2% of populationReligion. France's highest courts located Paris Court of Cassation highest court judicial order which reviews criminal civil cases located Palais de Justice Île de la Cité, while Conseil d'État which provides legal advice executive acts highest court administrative order judging litigation against public bodies located Palais-Royal 1st arrondissementConstitutional Council advisory body with ultimate authority constitutionality of laws government decrees also meets Montpensier wing of Palais RoyalParis its region host headquarters of several international organisations including UNESCO Organisation Economic Co-operation Development International Chamber of Commerce Paris Club European Space Agency International Energy Agency Organisation internationale de la Francophonie European Union Institute Security Studies International Bureau of Weights Measures International Exhibition Bureau International Federation Human RightsFollowing motto Only Paris worthy of Rome only Rome worthy of Paris only sister city of Paris Rome although Paris has partnership agreements with many other cities around worldPolice force. Main articles French Renaissance (c 1400–c 1650) Early modern France (1500–1789) French Wars of Religion (1562–1598) Ancien Régime (c 1400–1792), A map of Greater Paris Metropolis (Métropole du Grand Paris) its 131 communes, Musée des Confluences new museum of sciences anthropology which opened its doors 20 December 2014La Sucrière contemporary art centre. École des Beaux-Arts ECAM Lyon (École Catholique d'Arts et Métiers de Lyon), Main article Religion Marseille Lyon–Saint Exupéry Airport located east of Lyon serves base domestic international flights key transport facility entire Rhône-Alpes region with coach links other cities area in-house train station Gare de Lyon Saint-Exupéry connects airport nationwide TGV network Rhônexpress tram monopoly links airport with business quarter of La Part Dieu less than 30 minutes offers connections with Underground A Tramway T1 T3 & T4 bus lines Lyon public transport Sytrail offers no service despite bus service operating nearby suburb regular price of public transport €1.90 opposed €15 one way Rhonexpress suburb of Bron smaller Lyon-Bron Airport provides alternative domestic aviationLyon has two major railway stations Lyon Part-Dieu which was built accommodate TGV Lyon Perrache older station that now provides mostly regional service Smaller railway stations include Gorge-de-Loup Vaise Vénissieux Saint-Paul Jean Macé Lyon was first city be connected Paris TGV 1981 Since that time TGV train network has expanded links Lyon directly Perpignan Toulouse Nice Marseille Strasbourg Nantes Lille International trains operate directly Madrid Barcelona Milan Turin Geneva Frankfurt Luxembourg Brussels LondonThe city heart of dense road network located meeting point of several highways A6 (to Paris) A7 (to Marseille) A42 (to Geneva) A43 (to Grenoble) city now bypassed A46 double motorway tunnel passes under Fourvière connecting A6 A7 autoroutes both forming Autoroute du SoleilLyon served Eurolines intercity coach organisation Its Lyon terminal located city's Perrache railway station which serves intermodal transportation hub that also includes tramways local regional trains buses terminus of Metro line A of Tramway T2 bicycle service Vélo'v taxisPublic transport map, Marseille listed major centre of art history city has many museums galleries there many ancient buildings churches of historical interestCentral Marseille.
1st arrondissement Slopes of La Croix-Rousse Terreaux Martinière/St-Vincent, See also Marseille-Provence 2013, drawing of Storming of Bastille 14 July 1789 smoke of gunfire enveloping stone castle; By 1901 population of Paris had grown 2,715,000 beginning of century artists from around world including Pablo Picasso Modigliani Henri Matisse made Paris their home was birthplace of Fauvism Cubism abstract art, authors such Marcel Proust were exploring new approaches literatureDuring First World War Paris sometimes found itself front line 600 1,000 Paris taxis played small but highly important symbolic role transporting 6,000 soldiers front line First Battle of Marne city was also bombed Zeppelins shelled German long-range guns years after war known Les Années Folles Paris continued be mecca writers musicians artists from around world including Ernest Hemingway Igor Stravinsky James Joyce Josephine Baker Sidney Bechet surrealist Salvador DalíIn years after peace conference city was also home growing numbers of students activists from French colonies other Asian African countries who later became leaders of their countries such Ho Chi Minh Zhou Enlai Léopold Sédar SenghorGeneral Charles de Gaulle Champs-Élysées celebrating liberation of Paris (26 August 1944).
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