Language policy in France is structured around two complementary objectives: safeguarding French as the language of the Republic and promoting linguistic diversity as part of the country’s cultural heritage and social cohesion. Article 2 of the Constitution states that “the language of the Republic is French”, while Article 75-1, introduced in 2008, recognises that “regional languages belong to the heritage of France”. Public policy therefore combines the protection of French in public life with support for regional, minority and multilingual practices.
The legal framework remains centred on the Law of 4 August 1994 on the use of the French language (the Toubon Law), which guarantees the use of French in public administration, employment, consumer information, advertising and publicly funded cultural activities. The law also aims to strengthen the status of French in economic, scientific and technological fields. Responsibility for implementing language policy lies primarily with the Délégation générale à la langue française et aux langues de France (DGLFLF), a department of the Ministry of Culture responsible for terminology development, linguistic innovation, multilingualism and the promotion of the languages of France.
French Language and Francophonie
The promotion of French forms an important component of France’s international cultural policy. According to the latest report of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) of March 2026, French is spoken by approximately 396 million people worldwide and is now considered the fourth most spoken language in the world, compared with 321 million speakers and fifth place in the previous 2022 edition. Around 65% of French speakers live in Africa, reflecting the growing demographic importance of the continent within the Francophone world. French remains one of the few languages spoken on all continents and is also the fourth most used language on the Internet.
Through the Francophonie framework, cultural diplomacy networks, educational cooperation and international broadcasters such as TV5MONDE and Radio France Internationale, France promotes both the French language and multilingualism as elements of cultural diversity. According to OIF projections, the number of French speakers could continue to increase significantly by 2050, largely due to demographic growth and educational expansion in sub-Saharan Africa.
Regional and Minority Languages
Alongside the promotion of French, public authorities increasingly recognise linguistic diversity as a component of cultural rights and intangible cultural heritage. France identifies approximately 75 regional and non-territorial languages as part of the “languages of France”, including Breton, Basque, Corsican, Occitan, Alsatian, Catalan, Tahitian and various Creole languages, as well as languages historically associated with migrant and minority communities, such as Arabic dialects, Berber, Armenian, Romani and Yiddish. French Sign Language (Langue des signes française – LSF) also enjoys official recognition and forms part of broader policies promoting accessibility and inclusion.
The transmission and teaching of regional languages have expanded over the past decade through bilingual programmes, dedicated language courses and associative immersion schools. According to the Ministry of National Education, more than 180,000 pupils received instruction in a regional language during the 2022–2023 school year. Networks such as Diwan (Breton), Calandreta (Occitan), Ikastola (Basque) and La Bressola (Catalan) continue to play an important role alongside public education systems.
The adoption of the Law of 21 May 2021 on the protection and promotion of regional languages (the Molac Law) represented a significant development in this field, strengthening the visibility of regional languages in education and public life. However, subsequent decisions of the Constitutional Council limited some provisions concerning immersive education, illustrating the continuing tensions between the constitutional status of French and the promotion of linguistic diversity.
Contemporary Challenges
Language policy increasingly addresses the challenges posed by digitalisation, platform economies and artificial intelligence. The Ministry of Culture and the DGLFLF support initiatives aimed at strengthening the presence of French and regional languages in digital environments through terminology databases, open linguistic resources, digitisation programmes and AI-compatible corpora.
Language policy increasingly addresses the challenges posed by digitalisation, platform economies and artificial intelligence. The Ministry of Culture and the DGLFLF support initiatives aimed at strengthening the presence of French and regional languages in digital environments through terminology databases, open linguistic resources, digitisation programmes and AI-compatible corpora.
More broadly, contemporary language policy seeks to reconcile several objectives: maintaining French as a common language of citizenship and public life, supporting regional and minority languages as elements of cultural heritage, promoting multilingualism in education and international cooperation, and ensuring the visibility of linguistic diversity in digital environments. These debates reflect broader questions concerning cultural diversity, inclusion and cultural sovereignty in an increasingly globalised world (Ministry of Culture / DGLFLF, Annual Report to Parliament on the French Language 2025; Ministry of Culture / DGLFLF, Language Policy).
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