Article 2 of the French constitution (amended on 25 June 1992) stipulates that 'the language of the French Republic is French' and article 75-1 (amended on 23 July 2008) states that 'regional languages are part of national heritage' (it should be noted that these languages are not listed). Moreover, these regional languages (Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Creole, Occitan…) are taught at secondary level and there are regular competitive exams to recruit teachers (CAPES). Article 1 of the law on 'the use of the French language' (4 August 1994), the so-called 'Toubon Law', specifies that French is 'the language of teaching, working and discussion in public services'. Other articles of this law will be cited below under the relevant headings.

With regards this heading and the three subsequent headings (primary, secondary and higher education), article 11 of the law on 'the use of the French language' stipulates that:

'The language of teaching, examinations and competitive examinations as well as theses and dissertations in state and private institutions is French, notwithstanding exceptions that are justified by the requirements of teaching regional or foreign languages and cultures or where teachers are foreign associate or guest teachers.Foreign schools or those that are set up especially to host pupils of a foreign nationality as well as schools teaching lessons of an international nature are not subject to this requirement.

Primary education is in French. In parallel heritage cultures and languages (ELCO) are taught for a number of migrant languages such as Arabic or Turkish, aimed at children of migrants and organised in the school setting by the country of origin. With regards Arabic, it is the standard form that is taught rather than the linguistic forms actually spoken in families. 

Primary pupils (99.9% of pupils in cycle 3) are also taught a foreign language, usually English. They are also sometimes taught a regional language (49 800 pupils).

There are also secular and free charity-run schools (Diwan for Breton, Calendreta for Occitan, Bressola for Catalan...) in which teaching is in the regional language.

Under the compulsory foreign language syllabus, pupils can choose between more languages than in most other European countries. These are divided into two types according to two political approaches:  the languages of European member states on the one hand, and languages that are in keeping with France's foreign policy choices (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese...). Pupils (or parents) tend to favour English, followed by Spanish and German. It should be noted that Russian has fallen out of favour in parallel with the fall of the Berlin Wall and that Arabic is mainly chosen by pupils of immigrant origin. 

Eleven regional languages should be added to the taught foreign languages cited in the France country profile (Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Creole, Gallo, Melanesian languages, and the regional languages of Alsace, regional languages of the Moselle, Occitan, and Tahitian).

Moreover, pupils may take a paper at the baccalauréat in a regional or foreign language of their choice. Altogether, 57 languages were assessed orally or in writing, at the 2011 baccalauréat exam.

As stipulated by law (see above) French is the language of higher education. However in universities many languages are taught, thirty for example at the University of Aix-Marseille, and a specialised higher education institute such as the Institut National des Langues et Civilisations Orientales (INALCO) teaches 93 different languages.

On the national airwaves (radio and television) there are local programmes in regional languages (Breton, Corsican...). The survey did not address access to foreign languages on television and it should be specified here that the various cable or satellite packages make it possible to access channels in a great number of the world's languages. As for the press, there are few publications in regional languages (and we could enquire as to the existence of a potential readership) but a great number of foreign publications. The combined effect of tourism and immigration ensure that exogenous multilingualism maintains an important position in France. An extensive range of foreign language print media is available all year round in Paris and in Marseille, and in the tourist season in Corte, with 13 languages in Marseille and 15 in Paris, totalling nearly 80 foreign language publications for these two cities.

Public services operate in French. The law on 'the use of the French language' stipulates in particular that, whether governed by public or private law, when carrying out a public service duty, individuals must use the French language (article 5).

In the public sphere, regional languages appear on street signs in some towns and on the road signs of some highways next to the French language form. The situation varies substantially from one region to another:  Corsican is very prevalent in Corsica, Breton and Occitan less so in their respective regions. This situation should be understood in the context of what was said in the introduction on the low transmission rate of these languages.

With regards the use of languages in companies, the most prevalent languages (English, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese...) are European languages which, taking into account the various factors, carry the most weight relatively speaking.

With regards work contracts, the law highlights the precedence of the French language and, at the same time, protects foreign employees. Indeed article 8 of the law on 'the use of the French language' specifies that 'When a position that is under contract can only be designated by a foreign term without a French equivalent, the contract must include an explanation in French of the foreign term. When the employee is of foreign nationality and the contract is in writing, a translation of the contract is drafted, at the request of the employee, in their own language. Both texts are legally binding. In the event of discrepancies between the two texts, only the text drafted in the language of the foreign employee can be held against them'.

It is important to underline that the classification which distinguishes between “migrant languages” and “foreign languages” can be flawed by the reality and complexity of real-life situations. For example, languages like Italian, Spanish or Portuguese can be taught in secondary education (as “foreign” languages) and at the same time be the first language of part of the migrant population. The survey shows that the linguistic policy of France in the area of education is both open linguistically (many languages are offered) but equally reflects the linguistic aspects of globalisation (English widely dominates in front of German and Spanish). It should be noted however that the situation in Corte gives the impression that the presence of a regional language seems to slow down the trend towards multillingualism.

At the international level, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie organised a global forum on French language in Quebec in 2012. At the national level, the French authorities organised a convention on multilingualism in overseas territories in December 2011 and the Strategic Advisory Council on languages published a report in January 2012 entitled “To learn a language is to learn about the world”. Universities, city councils and training centres in France make significant efforts to provide teaching of French as a foreign language (FLE) with the double objective of integrating migrants and disseminating the French language externally. The University of Strasbourg will be putting in place, at the beginning of the 2012/3 academic year, a project looking at mutual understanding of related languages. Finally, the city of Marseille will be the European Capital of Culture in 2013, which should support its effort to become more multilingual.