Around thirty heads of state and government were welcomed by Emmanuel Macron and the Secretary General of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), Louise Mushikiwabo, this Friday, October 4 in Villers-Cotterêts, for the launch of the 19th summit of the institution. After the Cité internationale de la langue française, the delegations will meet at the Grand Palais, for the second and last day of the meeting.
In Villers-Cotterêts, Valérie Gas, Pierre Firtion, Nicolas Rocca and Igor Gauquelin
The 88 members of the International Organization of La Francophonie came to celebrate the French language in Villers-Cotterêts, birthplace of Alexandre Dumas, which now houses the International City of the French Language, inaugurated by Emmanuel Macron last year in the castle of François I. It is here, in Picardy, that the King of France signed, in 1539, the order imposing French as the language of use, instead of Latin, in administrative and judicial acts. .
Twenty-nine heads of state and government were welcomed by the French president and the organization’s secretary general, Louise Mushikiwabo. This year, the members of the OIF wanted to discuss, for their biannual meeting, developments in the French language in the digital age, the theme of this edition.
I was born in Villers-Cotterêts, a small town in the department of Aisne, located on the road from Paris to Laon, two hundred steps from the rue de la Noue, where Demoustier died, two leagues from La Ferté-Milon, where Racine was born, seven leagues from Château-Thierry, where La Fontaine was born.
“ The words we speak condition the ideas we deploy »
Emmanuel Macron delivered the opening speech. The French head of state praised the merits of this linguistic space. He wants to be the champion of a Francophonie playing a role of link on the diplomatic scene, taking literary accents to evoke this link which brings together all these countries spread over the five continents.
On this language, the sun never sets.
The French president posed himself as a defender of the French language. A language for entrepreneurship, for commerce too. An alternative to English. Language par excellence of passage, he said. “ Language of resistance, of combat “. Sometimes “ smuggling “, he even joked. Language ” always invention and reinvention “.
I deeply believe that the Francophonie, yes, is a place where we can together carry out diplomacy that defends sovereignty, territorial integrity, everywhere across the planet.
Excerpt from Emmanuel Macron’s speech on francophone space
“ From Madagascar to Mauritius via Reunion or Mayotte and the Comoros, it is a language that unifies this regional space »as it unifies West Africa, believes Emmanuel Macron. A way of trying to highlight the strength of this linguistic community and its importance in defending values. Language, words, are for the French president a vector of emancipation: “ The words we speak condition the ideas we deploy, which themselves condition the freedom we have. »
Also readA look back at the opening ceremony of the 19th Francophonie summit in Villers-Cotterêts
“ We all believe in the freedom of people to self-determination »
The president took care to recall, in his speech, that in its institutional form, the Francophonie had not been imagined in France, while French is, so to speak, itself a patchwork sometimes made from imports, particularly from Arabic or Chinese, he pointed out.
But it is also a diplomatic weapon, he wants to believe: “ The Francophonie, everywhere, is in some way an intermediary. It is this language which allows us to build the network, the network of friendships, human understanding, a diplomacy of action, of analysis. “The Francophonie, in the eyes of Emmanuel Macron, constitutes a space of influence, whose members must together carry a diplomacy which defends sovereignty and territorial integrity everywhere, “ without double standards », and this from Ukraine to Lebanon.
Wishful thinking or hope to see the Francophonie help it play a role on the international scene where crises follow one another? He mentioned the situation in the Middle East.
We all believe in the freedom of peoples to self-determine, are convinced that there can be no peace in the Middle East without a two-state solution. We all stand alongside the friendly Lebanese people, today their sovereignty and peace are being shaken.
Lebanon at the heart of attention during the day on Saturday in Paris
Lebanon is part of the Francophonie, and its fate will certainly be at the heart of the discussions between heads of state and government planned for the summit program this Saturday. It is obviously impossible for Prime Minister Najib Mikati to leave his country in person, given the crisis he is going through. Ziad Makary, Minister of Information, represented him. The protocol did not provide for a speech on his part, but everyone discussed the situation in the Middle East.
Emmanuel Macron recalled the French diplomatic line for a two-state solution. And Louise Mushikiwabo supported the Lebanese people.
Our heart is with Lebanon.
The delegation sent by Beirut can find in this rare opportunity a space for discussion on the situation, with around the table representatives of various countries such as Georgia, Romania or Switzerland, all represented at the highest level, and of course many African states. The King of Cambodia and the President of Laos are traveling this year, as is the new Secretary General of the Vietnamese Communist Party Tô Lam.
Among the notable absentees, however, are the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, and Tunisian President Kaïs Saed, candidate for re-election this Sunday in his country. It was the Prime Minister of Tunisia, Kamel Madouri, who, through his speech in Villers-Cotterêts, took charge of passing the torch to Emmanuel Macron after the previous summit which had been organized in his country in Djerba, there at two years old.
He also called on the other members of the OIF to take a stand for a lasting and just peace in the Middle East. This is one of the challenges of Saturday’s closed session between the heads of delegation, reaching agreement on a common position around a burning subject.
We can only express our deepest concern at the dangerous escalation that brotherly Lebanon has been witnessing in recent days. The obstinacy of the occupier to persist in his murderous madness, which risks at any moment bogging down the entire region in a nameless slaughter, should not make us indifferent. The international community, the nations, loving peace and peaceful coexistence, are called to act quickly at the risk of a general conflagration with unpredictable repercussions. We hope that in this regard, the OIF can, like other international and regional organizations, express a position regarding the urgency of declaring an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East and the need to achieve equitable and lasting peace throughout the region.
Kamel Madouri, Prime Minister of Tunisia
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LightingWhy does the Francophonie continue to expand to non-French-speaking countries?
An actor very committed diplomatic, political and cooperation »
This Friday we felt a desire to insist on a modern vision of the Francophonie. If French, the fifth most spoken language in the world, presents significant prospects for progress in terms of the number of speakers, it is also declining in many parts of the world.
The summit hosts wanted to highlight an organization and a language anchored in the present. The theme of today’s round table, Francophonie in the digital age, reflected this choice, as did the speeches. Louise Mushikiwabo spoke of an inclusive Francophonie, looking to the future.
The training of teachers and the strengthening of links between the countries of the organization also animated this first day of the summit.
No, the Francophonie is not a withdrawal against English, it is quite the opposite. It is a community that promotes the French language in the linguistic diversity that characterizes our world today. So, multilingualism on the international scene. And no, the Francophonie is not Françafrique. It is not only French and/or African, it is global.
Louise Mushikiwabo, secretary general of the International Organization of La Francophonie
While some criticize an institution that has become invisible, the secretary general of the OIF praised an organization that poses “ as a diplomatic, political and cooperation actor very committed to global issues “.
Accents of the worldFrance: opening of the 19th Francophonie Summit in Villers-Cotterêts