Alliance françaiseAlliance française or AF (Alliance française, aljɑ̃s fʁɑ̃sɛz; "The French Alliance") is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name Alliance française pour la propagation de la langue nationale dans les colonies et à l'étranger (French alliance for the propagation of the national language in the colonies and abroad), known now simply as L'Alliance française, its primary goal is teaching French as a second language.
CanadiansCanadians (Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian. Canada is a multilingual and multicultural society home to people of groups of many different ethnic, religious, and national origins, with the majority of the population made up of Old World immigrants and their descendants.
Culture of FranceThe culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from the 19th century on, worldwide. From the late 19th century, France has also played an important role in cinema, fashion, cuisine, literature, technology, the social sciences, and mathematics. The importance of French culture has waxed and waned over the centuries, depending on its economic, political and military importance.
BelgiansBelgians (Belgen; Belges; Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural rather than ethnic. The majority of Belgians, however, belong to two distinct linguistic groups or communities (gemeenschap; communauté) native to the country, i.e. its historical regions: Flemings in Flanders, who speak Dutch; and Walloons in Wallonia, who speak French or Walloon.
Franco-ProvençalFranco-Provençal (also Francoprovençal, Patois or Arpitan) is a language within Gallo-Romance originally spoken in east-central France, western Switzerland and northwestern Italy. Franco-Provençal has several distinct dialects and is separate from but closely related to neighbouring Romance dialects (the langues d'oïl and the langues d'oc, in France, as well as Rhaeto-Romance in Switzerland and Italy). Even with all its distinct dialects counted together, the number of Franco-Provençal speakers has been declining significantly and steadily.
Organisation internationale de la FrancophonieThe Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, La Francophonie la fʁɑ̃kɔfɔni, sometimes also called International Organisation of La Francophonie in English) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a lingua franca or customary language, where a significant proportion of the population are francophones (French speakers), or where there is a notable affiliation with French culture.
French Community of BelgiumIn Belgium, the French Community (Communauté française; kɔmynote fʁɑ̃sɛːz) refers to one of the three constituent constitutional linguistic communities. Since 2011, the French Community has used the name Wallonia-Brussels Federation (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles), which is controversial because its name in the Belgian constitution has not changed and because it is seen as a political statement. The name "French Community" refers to Francophone Belgians, and not to French people residing in Belgium.
Fleur-de-lisThe fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural fleurs-de-lis or fleurs-de-lys), is a common heraldic charge in the shape of a lily (in French, fleur and lis mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively). Most notably, the fleur-de-lis is depicted on the traditional coat of arms of France that was used from the High Middle Ages until the French Revolution in 1792, and then again in brief periods in the 19th century. This design still represents France and the House of Bourbon in the form of marshalling in the arms of Spain, Quebec and Canada, for example.
Fez, MoroccoFez or Fes (fɛz; fās; fizaz; Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 million according to the 2014 census. Located to the northwest of the Atlas Mountains, it is surrounded by hills and the old city is centered around the Fez River (Oued Fes) flowing from west to east. Fez was founded under Idrisid rule during the 8th–9th centuries CE. It initially consisted of two autonomous and competing settlements.
French GuianaFrench Guiana (ɡiˈɑːnə or ɡiˈænə; Guyane ɡɥijan; Lagwiyann la.ɡɥi.jãn) is an overseas department of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas. Bordered by Suriname to the west and Brazil to the east and south, French Guiana covers a land area of , and is inhabited by 301,099 people. French Guiana is the second-largest region of France (more than one-seventh the size of Metropolitan France) and the largest outermost region within the European Union. It has a very low population density, with only .