“La Francophonie: An Engine of Economic Growth for the Americas”

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS. French is the third business language in the world after English and Chinese. This is why companies should not hesitate to do more business in the language of Molière in Quebec, but also abroad, starting with the United States, when this is of course possible.

This is roughly the message that Charles Milliard, President and CEO of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec (which brings together 123 chambers of commerce and 1,100 corporate members), will deliver during a conference that he will deliver only in French. at Harvard University on April 27.

This conference will be called La Francophonie: An Engine of Economic Growth for the Americasand it will be presented to New England students, diplomats and economic development advisers.

Charles Milliard will address two main themes: the challenges and actions to protect the Francophonie in North America as well as the economic opportunities linked to the Francophonie in business.

In interview at Dealshe explains that the adoption in 2022 of Law 96 (An Act respecting the official and common language of Quebec, French) has caused concern in business circles in Canada and abroad, and that he feels the need to correct the situation.

“We talk a lot about French in a defensive context right now. We think we should talk about it more as a tool for economic development,” he insists.

Since the fall of 2022, Harvard — one of the most prestigious universities in the world — has been offering a course on Francophonie in North America.

This course is interested in Quebec, but also in the French-speaking communities present in the United States, which could have up to 3.5 million speakers, according to the Francophonie Center of the Americas.

This is without mentioning the Americans who claim French-Canadian origins, in the wake of the migrations of French-speakers to New England in the 19th century, of which a large part of the migrants came from Quebec.

New England’s Francophone Roots

For example, in New Hampshire, nearly one in four residents (23.2%) declares having a French-Canadian, Acadian or French identity. Even more surprising: 10% of the population of Coös County, in southern Quebec, still speaks French at home today.

In fact, in Quebec (and elsewhere in Anglo-Saxon North America), we too often ignore the importance of the French language in the world, and of the market of hundreds of millions of consumers represented by the Francophonie, according to Charles Billion.

In its 2022 report, theWorld Organization of La Francophonie estimates that the planet is home to 321 million French speakers, making French the fifth most spoken language after English, Chinese, Spanish and Hindi.

It is also the 4th language of the internet, not to mention the fact that 51 million people (the equivalent of the population of South Korea) are currently learning French on all continents.

Of course, the chances are very slim of convincing American entrepreneurs to use or learn French to do business in Quebec.

And forget any strategy of approaching future customers or suppliers in the United States in French, unless you are sure that your interlocutor understands the language of Molière.

Even though French is the third business language, the lingua franca in the world remains English, and even further south of the border!

On the other hand, the awareness, in the United States or elsewhere in the world, of the economic weight of the French language represents an asset for Quebec.

Charles Milliard believes that our companies can be seen as springboards for accessing international markets, starting with French-speaking Europe and Africa.

The fact that Canada has a free trade agreement with the European Union — the United States and the EU have tried to conclude one, but without success — is doubly advantageous for Quebec.

Not only does Quebec offer American companies established here privileged access to the European market, but it can also provide them with improved access by having French as a common language with Belgian, French and Swiss companies.

And why not in parts of Germany, since the engine of the European Union is home to 12.3 million French speakers, according to theFrench language observatory (OLF).

French-speaking employers group together

The economic Francophonie is so dynamic that 26 States — such as France, Belgium, Switzerland, Morocco, Senegal, Lebanon, Cambodia, Laos and Quebec — launched the Alliance des patronats in March 2022. Francophones (APF).

Its head office is located in Paris and the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ) occupies one of the nine vice-presidential positions.

One figure stood out last year at the start of this organization: 20% of trade in the world is between French-speaking countries.

This is considerable given that the 321 million French speakers represent only 4% of the world’s population.

However, it should be kept in mind, for example, that a country like Vietnam (97 million inhabitants), which is a member of the World Organization of La Francophonie, in fact has only 693,000 Francophones.

Also, this situation increases the weight of French-speaking countries in international trade.

That said, French is one of the most dynamic languages ​​in the world.

It also progresses very quickly.

According to the OLF, French could even be the official language of more than a billion people in 2065.

In this context, it is understandable that the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce is in the process of seduction in the United States.

In French.