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00:00 Thank you very much for joining us here on France 24.
00:10 We're going to go across to a speech by the French president who is inaugurating a French
00:15 Language Cultural Institute.
00:17 Ladies and gentlemen, in your respective titles, dear friends, I must say that this has been
00:27 something that I have waited for for some time and I'm greatly happy to be here today.
00:35 I wanted to invite here today all those people who changed my life, all the authors who had
00:42 an impact on my life and left me with great memories.
00:45 Some of our greatest authors that now appear in the Playad collection, who are part of
00:53 our own most personal pantheon, countless fragrances, feelings, emotions that I lived
01:02 through French literature before I lived them myself, that our very language gave me insight
01:08 into before I could live them myself.
01:13 The reason I am here today is to attempt to answer three simple questions.
01:20 Why here today in this very castle are we creating a city of French language, a museum
01:28 of French language?
01:33 Why does it make such sense to have it here?
01:36 Third, what can the French language be in that it is so essential to each and every
01:44 one of us?
01:48 Here in the Aisne region, between the Aisne and the Oise rivers, in the Picardy region,
01:57 which is a region so close to my heart, this venue became so important for me back seven
02:10 years ago during the presidential campaign.
02:13 Jacques Rabel, I'm sure you remember, and a few others here today, we were walking down
02:22 and we were standing there in a central square in front of the statue of Alexandre Dumas.
02:30 First key fact, Alexandre Dumas was born here in this city.
02:34 His father was a general of the empire, retired, son of a marquis sent out to San Domingo,
02:47 was insolent, was disciplined, and ended up living with his own wife's fortunes.
03:00 Racine, also, Chateau Thierry, where La Fontaine grew up.
03:08 Such great names of the French language are tied to this very place, in this very venue,
03:17 in this very castle.
03:24 It is a place that is tied up not just to French literature, but also French politics.
03:32 People, kings who came here to hunt, to write, some even came here to pass away.
03:39 This is a place that is very close to the hearts of many authors.
03:45 Racine, Claudel, was inspired by this very venue.
03:54 His writings and his very life are tied to this place.
03:59 It is quite clearly the epicentre of politics and literature in France.
04:06 Back in March 2017, this castle was completely cut off from all life.
04:13 The windows were boarded up, and the courtyard was in a great state of disrepair.
04:24 So it was part of France's heritage that was on the brink of destruction.
04:29 So I took a pledge, a pledge to rebuild this venue, to bring back its bygone glory and
04:37 beauty.
04:40 This place, this castle, is one of the few castles that was actually reinvented by King
04:50 Francis I.
04:51 So he came back to France after travelling abroad, and it was in 1530 he made a decision
05:05 to rebuild a number of key places.
05:10 Fontainebleau, Villa Cotteret.
05:13 Fontainebleau is almost a cousin of this very castle.
05:16 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, the Louvre as well.
05:22 It is what he called places that were part of his own pleasure.
05:28 And this place would become a hunting ground for his own leisure activities, but later
05:34 a place where he would hold government.
05:36 But when we look at the writings of Rabelais and Clément Marot, they also came here to
05:42 spend time.
05:45 And King Francis I came here to hunt and to govern.
05:54 Molière actually spoke of this in Tartuffe following the 14th.
06:01 It then later on became a barracks for soldiers, a refuge for homeless people.
06:12 It became a hospice during the First World War, and it became a venue for signs of solidarity
06:20 for numerous decades.
06:22 And then bit by bit, it fell into a state of disrepair and was abandoned.
06:27 And in 2014, there were a few final remnants of people passing through here.
06:37 But this building was in great need of being brought back to life as a... as well as the
06:48 forest around it, which was part of France's own natural heritage.
06:53 So we had to bring this venue back into what it was meant to be.
06:59 It was a place where we could cherish our language and hear the French voice.
07:09 Because this is a place where we see the crossings of politics and literature.
07:13 So when King Francis I wanted to undertake building this place, it was also him taking
07:20 a key decision in... when he created one of the most emblematic legal texts of French
07:30 legal history, one of the oldest legal texts that is still in act today.
07:38 And it was when he decided to say that all legal documents within the Kingdom of France
07:44 would be written, recorded and issued to all parties in their mother tongue French and
07:52 in no other language.
07:55 In other words, it was to say that Latin would no longer be the language of law.
08:02 So France, the French language became so omnipresent.
08:09 And French, through that decree, became the language of our laws, of justice.
08:23 And as such, it became symbolically and in concrete terms, a language of all.
08:33 It was no longer just the language used by the literate.
08:38 Shared laws, shared rules.
08:40 And 10 years after that, Joachim de Vellée, in defending the power of the French language,
08:47 he waged a war.
08:48 He waged a war in that he was saying the French language is no longer just a language spoken
08:57 by the barbarians or spoken by the hoi polloi.
09:00 It was a language that was on the same footing as Latin and ancient Greek.
09:05 It was a way of joining both the ancient world and the modern world.
09:08 And that is the beauty of French.
09:10 As a language, then as it is now.
09:14 And bit by bit, French language became the language of the Kingdom, a language to found
09:20 nations and then the language of the Republic right through to when Jacques Toubon defended
09:30 the importance of using French in all legal documents once again, to bringing life back
09:35 into this place.
09:38 It is bringing us back to almost the origins, a space dedicated to French speakers, to the
09:46 French, to our language and to what makes us unique.
09:51 By paying tribute to the decree from 1539, right through to where we are today, where
09:59 French is now a language spoken across all continents.
10:02 So what will this place now become?
10:08 This international city for the French language, this museum for the French language?
10:13 In 2017, we started works on creating this museum.
10:20 23,000 square metres of floor space that needed to be refurbished, roofing that needed to
10:27 be refurbished.
10:30 Countless construction companies and renovation companies, artisans working to renovate this
10:37 building.
10:38 And they did an exemplary job in doing so, in doing it in such short time.
10:46 Because thanks to everything that we, what we did on this side, we were able to employ
10:53 some 500 young employees seeking jobs, which are able to create jobs for the local populations.
11:05 And this castle, like a diamond in the forest, as it was once written about, it is now a
11:09 place where people can come for picnics and enjoy the forest.
11:17 Because these castle walls are now open to all.
11:23 This space is quite a unique space.
11:27 Because nowhere before has there ever been a space dedicated to the history and beauty
11:32 of our French language.
11:33 Never before outside of Paris has such a venue ever existed.
11:41 And never before has the Aisne region received such a cultural programme.
11:45 Because this is more than just a museum.
11:48 There is a permanent itinerary that people can take as part of a visit, where they will
11:54 explore the French language.
11:56 There is a laboratory, a research centre.
12:01 And each and every person who walks around the doors is at home.
12:07 I would like to make a quick mention of the craftsmen who worked on this site.
12:12 Because they did not just a fantastic job.
12:14 They did much more than that.
12:16 It is thanks to the teams of the Ministry of Culture and our Minister, the current and
12:22 past.
12:23 I would like to thank you for all the work that you did, working with the national monuments
12:29 with Philippe Elaval and then Marie Lavandier.
12:33 And all of their teams.
12:34 And so many others who worked with the Ministry of Culture.
12:52 The International Organisation for Francophone Countries.
12:56 All of those people, Olivier Vez, the lead architect for historical monuments.
13:02 The firm that worked on coming up with all of the signage.
13:07 So many companies who were partners to the success of this building.
13:12 But also local representatives, the local mayors.
13:15 Mr Montesquieu, who championed this project right from the outset.
13:21 Nicolas Fricoteau, who represented the department.
13:25 Xavier Bertrand, president of the department.
13:29 The vice president in charge of culture.
13:33 All people working for the local government and regional and department governments.
13:41 Thank you all for everything that you have done.
13:44 Many right from the outset.
13:46 Because many of you saw what this place could become.
13:50 But this is just a beginning.
13:53 The forest around us was clearly part of what inspired the Three Musketeers.
14:06 That inspired Dumas with his great tales.
14:11 None of this would have been possible without all of the support from the International
14:15 Organisation for Francophone Countries.
14:17 And the support of dear Louise, the chairwoman of the organisation.
14:24 All of you worked to show just how important French as a language is and how it is part
14:29 of our common wealth.
14:33 And as I said, this is just beginning.
14:35 Because we are going to continue to bring this place alive.
14:37 Yet thanks to everything that you have done and are going to do, we are going to show
14:40 that this place can leverage everything that the digital world can offer to bring the immaterial
14:47 to life.
14:49 To bring words to life.
14:51 Because a language, its history, what makes it so unique.
14:57 And this venue will work with other venues around the local region.
15:02 With Château Thierry, Pierrefont as well.
15:08 There is quite a vast array of places that this site will interact with.
15:15 With the National Library, with the National Press, the National Organisation for Books.
15:21 We will continue to work with the Château to again champion the French language.
15:29 So this project, this project is about our heritage.
15:34 About bringing life back to our heritage.
15:43 But more than just the language, it is also the architectural history.
15:46 With the Jeu de Paume, with the main staircase, with the main courtyards.
15:52 With their own architectural beauty.
15:59 These places which are so present in so many books, we can live them now through the tours
16:09 that people will take as they go from one room to the next, from one word to the next,
16:13 from one book to the next.
16:15 This space is a space for teachers and students where they can come to learn, study French.
16:22 Where they can receive training.
16:25 Training in French.
16:27 Training in French literature.
16:29 A place for translators and artists.
16:31 A place for shows and performances.
16:35 Tonight there will be a performance.
16:37 Now obviously there are performances.
16:39 I didn't wait for the official opening for the past few months.
16:42 You have already been hosting numerous events and shows.
16:48 Bringing this place alive.
16:51 So that answers the second question.
16:59 What will this place be?
17:01 But the third question is one which is much more important from a global point of view.
17:09 Why speak of the French language?
17:11 Why is the French language so important?
17:14 Some would say that is it the right time?
17:17 Some would say we shouldn't be doing this now.
17:21 Some would say it's just a pipe dream.
17:26 Some would say it shouldn't be in a museum because a museum is a tired and fusty.
17:30 Well it's not a museum.
17:31 It's more than a museum.
17:32 It is what we call a city of French language.
17:35 So few other countries in the world have such a passionate debate about their own language.
17:39 So thank you for that.
17:40 Thank you for being part of this fantastic debate.
17:44 We have the academy.
17:45 The French language academy.
17:46 The cream of the crop.
17:51 Why is it so important to speak of the French language and to champion it?
17:57 Simply because the French language is what the unity of our nation is built upon.
18:05 It's a language of liberty, freedoms and universalism.
18:11 And given the current world that we live in, this project takes on its full importance.
18:22 To focus on our unity at a time when the world is divided, where hatred is on the rise, where
18:30 people are trying to spit some communities against others, religions against others.
18:36 Language can be there to cement us all together, to root us in the present.
18:42 It is a way of understanding our relationship between us and the nation, between us and
18:48 the French Republic.
18:49 So to choose it, to speak it, means you are part of our nation.
18:58 Because we are in a country that has adopted so many other authors from around the world.
19:03 But we live in a country unified by our language.
19:07 It is the very core of politics and the political decision made by King Francis I back when
19:14 he determined that French would be the language of law.
19:19 The French language was a way of fighting off all of those outward forces trying to
19:24 shake our nation.
19:28 The French language through the academy as the defenders of the French language.
19:35 And I would just like to welcome you here once again and everything you do, because
19:39 what you do is you set the French language in stone, you make sure that we use the right
19:44 words, that the words are used for the right purpose.
19:50 As a way of fighting against misunderstanding.
19:53 Because through what you do, we shape the unity of the kingdom in the past and the nation
19:57 today.
19:58 At the time of the French Revolution, French language was there.
20:05 When we set down the unified meter, French language was there and it normalised our world.
20:14 It created us the right conditions so that we could build our world, build our nation
20:20 in a sense of unity.
20:21 The unity of the French Revolution, the French Republic, was possible thanks to the French
20:26 language.
20:33 Because what consolidates each part of a country?
20:36 Our language.
20:40 And it's up to our French teachers who can teach French and teach everything that we
20:45 know through this language.
20:47 There were times even in recent French history where even people who fought for France didn't
20:56 speak the French language, but after they fought for France, they learnt the French
21:00 language and therein they became citizens of our nation.
21:08 Because we have a singular, strong, powerful language that can unite our country together.
21:15 And yet, is it so simple to have just a language that can unify people to that extent?
21:26 It is both changed and changing, it is set but moving.
21:32 There are so many words, contrasting words to describe our very language.
21:39 People have many often tried to define how specific the French language is because it's
21:45 highly specific.
21:46 But it's the language spoken by Racine, by the Academy, by Rabelais, Mallarmé and many
21:53 others.
21:56 People say that French is a language of being concise, a language of reason, through Ionisco,
22:05 Cuneo and many others.
22:12 Maybe we should stop trying to define how powerful the French language is by finding
22:17 a singular definition but by focusing on how plural it is.
22:21 The language spoken by Corneille is the same language spoken by Baudelaire, by the Surrealists,
22:28 by slam poets, by the greatest literary powers.
22:35 It's a language that brings to life a blank page.
22:44 For all those people who learnt the French language and who chose the French language
22:50 is brought together by the very language that they chose or learnt.
23:00 And then on top of the language you have the accents, you have the beautiful sounds of
23:04 the south of France, the north of France, from the overseas territories, from the centre
23:10 of Paris.
23:11 Our language reflects our traditions, our cultures, our mindsets that are neither the
23:17 same nor different, yet what they are are indivisible, like our republic, like our nation.
23:26 A united nation that does not exclude others.
23:32 Because we have vernacular, we have our patois.
23:37 And they have to be able to live together in peace with 72 regional languages, Breton,
23:42 Basque, Gascon, Provençal, Occitan, Catalan, Corsican, from Creole, Canak, Polynesian dialects
23:51 as well.
23:53 A French speaker can actually belong to multiple linguistic communities and we all have the
23:59 right to speak our own language when we can.
24:04 All languages are equal from a point of dignity, which is why we need to teach more and more
24:11 our regional languages so that they can be seen more in the public arena.
24:16 They are more than just providing regionalisms, they also provide a sense of cohesion at the
24:22 national level.
24:23 I actually wrote to Amine Maloufa, speaking of this need for a language and an identity,
24:29 how everyone has such a powerful need to feel that connection.
24:34 But through this word identity, we're not speaking of pitting one identity against another,
24:41 but having one identity working with others to feed into a multiple whole.
24:48 And that is where the power of French comes in.
24:52 We need all these languages.
24:55 We need a language to connect people from Nouméa to Pointe-à-Pitre to Paris, to show
25:02 that we can be a nation through our differences.
25:06 And for that we need French.
25:09 French is the language of instruction.
25:14 French is a language that crosses generations.
25:17 There will always be multiple languages within the Republic, but there will also be a language
25:22 of the French Republic.
25:27 Probably the most remarkable fact about the history of France is that we have a nation
25:32 that was built up by and of itself through those people who live in the nation and who
25:39 make that nation.
25:41 And that is why in just a few months, when the new edition of the French Academy's
25:47 Focus will reflect the fact that we've recognized the importance of these languages
25:55 within France.
26:00 That's why we need to let our language live, inspire itself from others, draw on other
26:05 languages, reinvent itself.
26:10 But while we also seek elsewhere to renew and keep our language alive, we also need
26:15 to build upon the groundwork, the bedrock of our language.
26:25 We have our language.
26:27 We don't need to reinvent grammar.
26:37 France is, through French, built up through years and years of toing and froing.
26:51 But this is the language of a people building its nation in a sense of unity, unified by
26:57 their language.
27:01 Oftentimes people look to what divises us, to misunderstanding.
27:11 And sometimes people will push us to great heights of stress and tension between people.
27:20 And the reason we get to that stage is because we cannot find the right words.
27:28 And when words can no longer reflect our differences, that's when violence comes in.
27:33 The second reason that I wanted to speak of is that France is a language of universalism
27:44 and liberty.
27:46 And in our current world, I think this is a message that we must remember.
27:56 The French language is a language of revolution, of standing up against arbitrary decisions.
28:06 It's a language of Cartesian doubt, of the universal declaration of rights of man and
28:12 citizen, of j'accuse.
28:14 It was the language of the final day of the condemned.
28:18 There is always something about the French language that can provide a voice to widowers,
28:27 to orphans, a language of liberty and resistance.
28:38 And disseminating French throughout our regions and throughout the world through our colonies
28:44 was one of constraint and force.
28:49 It was one of trying to enforce its values on the world.
28:53 But France at the time was trying to have those values brought to life around the world.
29:05 French was often seen as the language of those dominating.
29:09 But then those who were dominated, they took the language and used it against those who
29:13 had dominated them.
29:17 That is what the French language is all about.
29:23 French was put an end to by the French Republic in France.
29:35 The French language is so unique in that it is the language of both colonisation and decolonisation.
29:45 French is a language of abolition.
29:53 It was a way to turn humiliation into power by Senghor, Césaire, Marie Amabat, Marie
30:00 Skondé, so many other writers who used the French language to break down the history
30:11 of colonisation and to see in it a new beauty.
30:19 The French language is a language of decolonisation, as said Senghor.
30:25 So all of the great speeches of decolonisation were thought of, written and pronounced, spoken
30:31 in French.
30:37 And there is the unique organisation defending peace, freedom, democracy and values, spoken
30:46 by presidents who were not born into the French language.
30:54 It was a sense of emancipation through French as a language.
31:00 The French speakers of the world nowadays, in fact the current city with the most French
31:07 speakers is no longer Paris but Kinshasa, and that is why French is an international
31:13 language.
31:14 It is not just a language of France.
31:17 There are more speakers of French outside French borders.
31:21 230 million men, women and children around the world speaking French.
31:26 In dozens of countries across five continents, from Vanuatu to the Congo River to the Mississippi,
31:36 countless others have French words in their own languages.
31:43 5,000 words in Turkish, 30,000 words in English come from French.
31:49 What fantastic tribute, or what better tribute could we pay than that?
31:55 We have the perpetual secretary of the French academy, himself was not born in France, but
32:02 yet is the highest defender of the French language.
32:05 Hélène Carrière-Dancos, or Amine Malouf, learnt French at the age of four, or at the
32:11 age of 20 like François Chang, and found in the French language a sense of hospitality
32:19 and open doors to new worlds.
32:24 A language heard in countless classrooms around Europe, a language of diplomacy, a language
32:34 chosen by all others, by Beckett or Akira Muzabayashi, to write their own literature
32:44 works in what was for them a foreign language, Millend Kundera, using French to throw off
32:52 the yoke of their own oppression from their own language.
32:59 It was a language used by people who wanted to say that they were part of a community,
33:04 a part of a way of life, all through a single language.
33:10 So universalism is something made possible through French.
33:17 And Paul Valéry said that we need to focus on how unique French is and how universal
33:25 French is.
33:26 But yes, the French language is a language of alliance.
33:33 It is what brought our hearts and minds together to reason and greatness.
33:43 The French language has always been a language of minorities throughout the world.
33:51 A language of minorities spoken in the East was always French because French is a language
33:58 of freedom.
34:03 And that is why in Tehran, Damascus, in Cairo, in Beirut, Alexandria, people speak French.
34:12 Free men and women speak French.
34:15 It is a way of standing up against incomprehension.
34:20 And that is what French as a language has always said to the world, where people would
34:25 have us withdraw, or people would pit religions against the Western world, or people would
34:34 say that we cannot live together peacefully.
34:36 The French language is a way of saying that despite these divisions, we can live together.
34:47 And that is why Villa Cotteret will be one of the key centres of the French language
34:55 from today onwards.
34:58 And in autumn of 2024, it will be the beating heart of the International Summit for Francophonia.
35:07 The Francophone Summit, it's a reason that since 2018, students from Senegal have been
35:14 able to travel the world.
35:17 It is an organisation that builds up discussions, exchanges.
35:22 It is one of the largest international cultural networks, with 350,000 euros in grants being
35:33 given to countless people around the world.
35:35 Since March 2018, 712 new French institutes around the world, 40,000 additional students
35:44 learning French, two-thirds of whom are foreigners.
35:48 It is that organisation that the French language is being spread around the world, from Asia
35:52 to the Caribbean Ocean.
35:54 It's an organisation that continues to invent, to have fun, to seek new ways of using our
36:06 language.
36:08 Some here probably don't know the word 'zibouletteur'.
36:10 The younger students here probably know exactly what we're talking about.
36:14 But words that appear on the glass window are a sign that our language is changing.
36:22 They may be surprising for some, but I don't want to give anything away.
36:28 I don't want to give anything away, but this is a fine selection of what our language is
36:32 and how much diversity there is in our language.
36:43 We continue to meet between Prime Ministers, with the French and Canadian Prime Ministers,
36:47 we continue to meet through the Francophone networks, the libraries that we have, the
36:55 French language book fairs that are constantly being held around the world are just a few
37:01 minor examples of what the Francophone world is.
37:05 It's a place where we can celebrate the French language, create new works in the French language.
37:11 It's a place where economic, literary, cultural people can come together.
37:17 It's such a lifeblood that we can tap into.
37:23 And I would like to thank the Secretary General of the Francophone organisation for organising
37:28 the next summit here in Villeray, Pilier-Cotteret.
37:32 And it's through this organisation that future generations will be able to be won over by
37:39 the French language, choose it, so that they can choose to see their words up on the wall.
37:55 That is why French is so important, a language of universality, of liberty, of unity.
38:06 Allow me to finish with just one final thought.
38:10 This will be a place where we will pay great homage, a great tribute to five key figures
38:17 who will continue to drive the universal nature of the French language.
38:23 Teachers, authors, actors, librarians and translators.
38:36 These five key figures are those men and women who breathe life into French.
38:46 It is thanks to them, and I'm sure you know that French is a language that is taught through
38:55 languages, through its rules.
38:57 Some would say that it is too caught up and it is stuck, but these five people are the
39:07 ones who free it.
39:09 But yes, a language is to be learnt, a spelling, grammar.
39:18 It is thanks to these people that we know exactly how to use a comma and a full stop.
39:25 To all French teachers, my thoughts go out to you.
39:34 Most recently a French teacher was murdered simply because he taught French as a language.
39:45 And in Arras, like in any other, many other cities and towns around France, there are
39:51 teachers teaching their students.
39:57 Like Mr Germain that Albert Camus paid great tribute to, quite moving tribute to.
40:03 All of these teachers who can share their enthusiasm, excitement for the French language,
40:10 Bernard Pivot, Eric Orsenat, with their work of beautiful grammar, Claude Ajage, and countless
40:22 others travelling through the French language.
40:26 All of these men and women, they changed my life.
40:34 They opened up my horizons to new continents because they enabled me to understand my world
40:45 and the world around me.
40:48 So I want this place to be for teachers so that they can bring their students in.
40:52 We're listening to the French President Emmanuel Macron speaking at the inauguration of the
40:57 French Language Cultural Institute.
41:00 The facility, which is located in a stronghold of the far-right Marine Le Pen, aims to promote
41:06 the French language here in France and right around the world.
41:09 We can now bring in France 24's Clovis Casali, who was listening to that speech with me.
41:13 Clovis, talk us through, what exactly is this pet project of the French President?
41:17 Well, clearly it's a very personal project.
41:19 We've just been hearing the French President making it personal, paying tribute to all
41:25 of those writers, those public figures in France who spent their lives promoting French
41:30 language and helping, as Emmanuel Macron said, help the young Macron open his eyes to new
41:37 continents, to new ideas.
41:40 He was born and brought up in Amiens, not very far north of Villers-Cotterêts, in a
41:45 small inner town, not in the French capital.
41:49 He very much said that French language played an essential role for him in his upbringing,
41:55 making him into the person he is today.
41:57 Just like for everyone, French language builds an identity.
42:02 Final words on why it's so personal for Emmanuel Macron.
42:04 So possibly, he married a French teacher, a former French teacher, Brigitte Macron,
42:09 who's, as a First Lady, spending a lot of time and energy promoting French language,
42:15 also trying to reform schooling and the education system.
42:20 She's not reforming herself, of course, but she's clearly giving advice, helping Emmanuel
42:25 Macron, who's also always said that education and the defense of French language were essential
42:31 in his mandate.
42:32 And you mentioned the First Lady, Brigitte Macron, because she was there.
42:36 A lot of people within the government, including the foreign minister and the education minister
42:40 were there.
42:41 Foreign minister Catherine Colonna, education minister Gabriel Attal, as well as the culture
42:47 minister Rima Abdul-Malak.
42:49 Why?
42:50 Because this project, which is actually dubbed the greatest, the most important, or ambitious,
42:56 if you will, cultural project of the Macron presidency, well, this is at the crossroads
43:01 of different policies, fields, cultural, scientific, educational, of course.
43:08 And it's -- what is this project exactly?
43:12 It's basically going to be a residency for artists, for writers.
43:15 It will be a celebration, as the French president said, of teachers, writers, actors, librarians,
43:24 translators.
43:25 It's basically not a museum, as he said.
43:28 There will be exhibitions, but it will also be a lively venue, a cité, as we say in French,
43:34 an institution where you'll have different projects.
43:37 It's open to everyone.
43:39 And there will be exhibitions, digital aspects also, of course, because it's going to be
43:44 a modern venue.
43:46 It will be open to all.
43:47 And it will be a place where people can really learn about the evolution of French language,
43:52 see where it's going, and also celebrate it in many different ways.
43:56 Clovis, you said this facility is not located in a big city.
44:02 It's about two hours away from Paris.
44:06 Depending on the traffic.
44:07 Depending on the traffic.
44:08 What's the significance of this location?
44:10 Yes, it's 80 kilometers north of Paris.
44:13 Villers-Cotterêts is in, let's say, a de-industrialized area, an impoverished area currently.
44:19 It wasn't always the case, but where you have a high unemployment rate.
44:24 And it's also a far-right bastion, if you will.
44:27 The mayor of Villers-Cotterêts is from the National Rally Party, far-right of Marine
44:32 Le Pen.
44:33 And she, the far-right candidate, has always recorded very high numbers of votes.
44:41 She finished first in the first round and second round of the presidential election
44:44 against Emmanuel Macron.
44:46 So for Emmanuel Macron, it's also a way of saying, we're not abandoning these areas.
44:51 We're bringing a lot of jobs.
44:53 150 local employees just for the building of this ambitious project.
44:57 Over 200 million euros invested to renovate a castle that was very much decrepit, a 16th
45:05 century castle that's now been renovated, restored.
45:10 And it's used for this institute, this international site, institute for the French language.
45:17 So in a way, it's for Emmanuel Macron to say, OK, we're going to bring back jobs.
45:21 We're going to try to attract visitors, create business.
45:24 Surely that's going to happen.
45:26 And also, in a way, tell the French far-right and the nostalgic fringes of French society
45:33 that Emmanuel Macron and the government are not abandoning French culture, language, and
45:38 tradition to the far-right.
45:40 Emmanuel Macron did speak about the use of French in different languages.
45:45 He mentioned Turkish.
45:46 He mentioned Persian.
45:47 Did he have anything to say about what's going on in the world right now?
45:50 Well, actually, he did.
45:51 He said that French language was the prime tool to ensure unity in the country.
45:56 When people know the language, they can integrate better.
46:00 They can use language for their own good, if you will.
46:04 And also, at a time, he said, at such a critical time in the world.
46:08 And of course, he was hinting at what's going on with this war between the Hamas and Israel,
46:14 the risks in the region, this hatred on the rise.
46:18 He was saying with people trying to put one religion against another, while Emmanuel Macron
46:23 said that French language was a prime tool, the best way to ensure unity, because French
46:31 is not just spoken in France.
46:33 It's spoken around the world.
46:35 Actually, the largest number of people speaking a language in a country is in the Democratic
46:41 Republic of Congo, not even in France.
46:43 The largest Francophone city is Kinshasa, not Paris.
46:48 And regardless of your nationality, maybe of your political ideas, French language ensures
46:55 unity and it helps overcome differences and hatred.
47:00 And that was his message.
47:01 Thank you very much for that.
47:02 French language, any language, any common language.
47:05 And for him, for the French president, French language has always meant universality and
47:12 common values, values of liberty, freedom and tolerance.
47:17 Thank you for that.
47:18 clubs because I'll be there.