Some conclusions...

As we have been able to see, la Francophonie comprises more than 300 million citizens worldwide. Two of every three Francophones live outside of France, and in more than 50 countries all across the 5 continents. La Francophonie "is a community, based on a common language, which believes in the unity and diversity of cultures" (Hamilton 1994, 21). Considering these facts, it is not surprise that French is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and a key language in international diplomatic relations as well. It is used alongside Arabic, Chinese, English, Russian and Spanish as an official language at the United Nations, as well as the European Union and many more world-wide organizations. 

Leopold Sedar Senghor, the former president of Senegal, and one of the first leaders to push for summit meetings, said that French isn't just a practical common language for use in administration and education. Senghor defined the French language as "a way of thinking and of acting: a certain way of asking the question and of finding solutions thanks to a language which contains all the richness of centuries" (Hamilton 1994, 21).

However, all these research, surveys and statistics clearly certifies that the Francophonie community is much more than people sharing a common language. Through this project we have been able to see everything necessary to comprehend something as complex as an organization that holds a language, history, cultures, politics, and economy. In conclusion, we can define la Francophonie as a linguistic region with the characteristics of a political institution and what that entails. The organization behind it is moved by a desire to unite different nations with diverse cultural backgrounds and strive towards widespread democracy and progress, in addition to a desire by France to maintain its influence over its former colonies.


References:

- Chazan, D.(2018) English-speaking Macron campaigns for French to be global language in Telegraph, 20 March, Retrieved 9 November, 2019. Available: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/03/20/english-speaking-macron-campaigns-french-global-language/
- Hamilton, J. (1994) Canada in Action: The Commonwealth, La Francophonie, edited by Rupert J. Taylor. Waterloo, Ottawa - Ontario : Foreign Affairs and International Trades
- Maurer, B. (2015) Mesurer la francophonie et identifier les francophones. Inventaire critique des sources et des méthodes. Paris : Éditions des Archives contemporaines,  2016, 230 pages.

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