Emmanuel Macron vows to push French language in post-Brexit Europe and abroad
French was long dominant at EU headquarters in Brussels but English has become ubiquitous in European institutions
The English language is too dominant in Brussels, especially with Britain soon to exit the European Union, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday as he vowed to fight for a wider use of French in EU institutions and abroad.
There are some 274 million French speakers worldwide, making it the fifth-most widely spoken language and the fourth-most used language on the internet, according to the Francophonie organisation of French-speaking countries.
French was long dominant at EU headquarters in Brussels but English has become ubiquitous in European institutions, especially since eastern European members joined the bloc in 2004.
Britain, Europe’s second largest economy and by far its biggest English-speaking country, is due to leave the EU next year.
It’s up to us to … make French the language with whom one has access to a number of opportunities
“The situation now is quite paradoxical. English has probably never been as present in Brussels at the time when we are talking about Brexit,” Macron said.