Attention: This page is designed using recognized Web standards. You are seeing this message because your browser does not support those standards. You will have full access to the content of this page, but it will look much better if you use a recent browser such as Internet Explorer 7.x (Windows), or Mozilla Firefox (Windows/Mac). Learn more...

French Program

French Program > French Facts

French Facts

Where is it used?

  • the United Nations
  • UNESCO
  • NATO
  • Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
  • the International Labor Bureau
  • the International Olympic Committee
  • the 31-member Council of Europe
  • the European Community
  • the Universal Postal Union
  • the International Red Cross
  • Union of International Associations (UIA)

French is the dominant working language at:

  • the European Court of Justice
  • the European Tribunal of First Instance
  • the European Court of Auditors in Luxembourg.
  • the Press Room at the European Commission
  • in Brussels, Belgium

One example of the importance of French can be seen in a recent listing of international jobs (12/14/99) distributed by the US State Department: 82 required or preferred French, 43 a UN language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish), 37 Spanish, 11 Russian, 5 Arabic, 3 Chinese and 3 German.

Of the various types of professional positions for which international organizations recruit, five required French, two Spanish, one Portuguese, and on Arabic, according to the fact sheet released by the UN Employment Information and Assistance Unit Bureau of International Organization Affairs U.S. Department of State, September 16, 1999.

The Economics of French and France

  • French is the foreign language spoken by our largest trading partner (Canada).
  • In 1994 the United States did business and trade with the following countries in order of importance: 1. French-speaking countries; 2. Japan; 3. Spanish-speaking countries.
  • The U.S. and France share many trade similarities, particularly their global standing as the world's top 2 exporters in 3 very important sectors: defense products, agricultural goods, and services. Franco-American trade is also remarkable for its symmetry, as 6 of the top 10 exports are the same each way.
  • France has the fourth largest economy in the world after the U.S., Japan and Germany.
  • France is the second largest exporter of agricultural products in the world after the U.S.
  • In recent years, the U.S. has been the largest direct investor in France and France has been one of the three largest investors in the U.S.
  • French companies employ over 400,000 Americans.
  • French is one of the languages spoken in the US: 1.9 million Americans speak French in the home. (1990 US Census)
  • France is the third largest destination of foreign investments in the world.
  • Overall, the French export more per capita than the Japanese and more than twice as much as the Americans. France is overall, the fourth largest exporting nation of the world.
  • France is the world's leader in the production of luxury goods.
  • More tourists visit France than any other country in the world.
  • France has rated higher on the United Nation's Human Development Index (HDI) in two of the last three years (1997-99). Canada has been ranked higher in each of these years. The HDI measures the overall achievements in a country in life expectancy, educational attainment and adjusted income.
  • France gives more foreign aid to developing nations than the US.

Science and Technology

  • Seven of France's top ten exports to the U.S. are industrial or high technology products.
  • France is the fourth largest producer of automobiles in the world (Renault, Peugeot, Citroën) and the third largest exporter. (All Mack trucks are manufactured by Renault.) France is fourth in research among countries of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (after Japan, Germany, and the US).
  • France is a major world research center in the field of high energy physics.
  • The French are a world leader in medical research: the AIDS virus was first isolated by French doctors.
  • The French are a leader in medical genetics (the Human Genome Project is located in Paris).
  • The French are the world's third manufacturers of electronics equipment.
  • European leader in aerospace (Aérospatiale, Arianespace, Airbus...).
  • Most commercial satellites are put into space on French Ariane rockets.
  • The fastest train (TGV) is French.
  • The fastest commercial airplane (Concorde) is French (built in collaboration with British Airways).
  • France is the world's third military power (after the US and Russia), and has the world's second largest defense industry (i.e. exocet missiles, radar technology.)
  • France is the world's second largest builder and exporter of civilian and military aircraft and helicopters (Airbus is the world's second largest fleet of commercial airliners, and many of the US Coast Guard helicopters are made by Aérospatiale in Toulouse.)
  • France has one of the most advanced systems of telecommunications in the world. Fiber optics were invented in France.
  • France is the world's largest manufacturer of television sets (HDTV was invented in France).