CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · History & Society

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

international organization of French-speaking governments

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ134102 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF; French for "International Organisation of the Francophonie"; sometimes shortened to La Francophonie, French: La Francophonie [la fʁɑ̃kɔfɔni], sometimes also called International Organisation of La Francophonie in English) is an international organization representing states and governments with a notable affiliation with French language and culture.

The organization comprises 93 member states and governments; of these, 56 states and governments are full members, 5 are associate members and 32 are observers. The term francophonie (with a lowercase "f"), or francosphere (often capitalized in English), also refers to the global community of French-speaking peoples, constitutes a network of private and public organizations promoting equal ties among countries where the French language or culture plays a significant historical role, culturally, militarily, or politically.

The organization was created in 1970. Most of its founding members and current full members were part of the French colonial empire. Its headquarters is located on Avenue Bosquet in Paris, France. Its motto is égalité, complémentarité, solidarité ("equality, complementarity, and solidarity"), a deliberate allusion to France's motto liberté, égalité, fraternité. Starting as a small group of French-speaking countries, the Francophonie has since evolved into a global organization whose numerous branches cooperate with its member states in the fields of culture, science, economy, justice, and peace. Its mission is to promote the French language and cultural and linguistic diversity, promote peace, democracy, and human rights, and support education, research, and cooperative development. It is an observer of the United Nations (UN).

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie” as international organization of French-speaking governments. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1970—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1970-03-20. The account is most persuasive where Organisation, internationale and Francophonie can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the history & society register because the source frames it as international organization of French-speaking governments. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q134102. VIAF identifies the subject as 146363601. The Library of Congress control number is nr2003020990. Authority coordinates are 48.860, 2.303. 5 of 9 selected statements include explicit references; 5 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970.

Critical limits

Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
Verify next

Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Organisation internationale de la Francophonie primary sources, Organisation internationale de la Francophonie archive and Organisation research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie”?
  2. Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
  3. Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Organisation internationale de la Francophonie” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.