Geographical distribution of French speakers

The French language became an international language, the second international language alongside Latin, in the Middle Ages, "from the fourteenth century onwards". It was not by virtue of the power of the Kingdom of France: '"... until the end of the fifteenth century, the French of the chancellery spread as a political and literary language because the French court was the model of chivalric culture". Consequently, it was less as a centralising monarch than as a "gentle courtly prince" that the king unwittingly spread his language" and "the methods of expansion were not political"'. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the language of European diplomacy and international relations.

The terms Francophonie or Francophone world refer the whole body of people and organizations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. French is an official de jure language in 26 independent nations and 10 territories, the second most number of countries after English. It is the 22nd most natively spoken language in the world, the 6th most spoken by total number of speakers, and the third most geographically widespread language, with about 50 countries and territories having it as a de jure or de facto official, administrative, or cultural language. In 2017 it was the second most studied language in the world with about 120 million learners. Although it is an official language in more than two dozen countries, its role as a native or majority language is limited to only five states and territories; in most other Francophone countries it serves primarily as a second language or lingua franca.