"Chanel a donne la liberte aux femmes, YSL leur a donne le pouvoir.

Legendary designer

Yves Saint Laurent dies at 71

AP

Posted: 2008-06-01 23:44:31

By ELAINE GANLEY
Associated Press Writer

PARIS (AP) - Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent, who reworked the rules of fashion by putting women into elegant pantsuits that came to define how modern women dressed, died Sunday evening, a longtime friend and associate said. He was 71.

Pierre Berge, Saint Laurent's business partner for four decades, said he had died at his Paris home following a long illness.

A towering figure of 20th century fashion, Saint Laurent was widely considered the last of a generation that included Christian Dior and Coco Chanel and made Paris the fashion capital of the world, with the Rive Gauche, or Left Bank, as its elegant headquarters.

In the fast-changing world of haute couture, Saint Laurent was hailed as the most influential and enduring designer of his time. From the first YSL tuxedo and his trim pantsuits to see-through blouses, safari jackets and glamorous gowns, Saint Laurent created instant classics that remain stylish decades later.

"I am saddened by the loss of such a legendary talent," designer Tommy Hilfiger said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press. "He was a creative genius who changed the world of fashion forever."

"Chanel gave women freedom" and Saint Laurent "gave them power," Berge said on France-Info radio. Saint Laurent was a "true creator," going beyond the aesthetic to make a social statement, Berge said.

When Saint Laurent announced his retirement in 2002 at age 65 and the closure of the Paris-based haute couture house he had founded 40 years earlier, it was mourned in the fashion world as the end of an era. His ready-to-wear label, Rive Gauche, which was sold to Gucci in 1999, still has boutiques around the world.

"Mr. Saint Laurent revolutionized modern fashion with his understanding of youth, sophistication and relevance. His legacy will always be remembered," said Calvin Klein designer Francisco Costa.

Saint Laurent was born Aug. 1, 1936, in Oran, Algeria, where his father worked as a shipping executive. He first emerged as a promising designer at the age of 17, winning first prize in a contest sponsored by the International Wool Secretariat for a cocktail dress design.

A year later in 1954, he enrolled at the Chambre Syndicale school of haute couture, but student life lasted only three months. He was introduced to Christian Dior, then regarded as the greatest creator of his day, and Dior was so impressed with Saint Laurent's talent that he hired him on the spot.

When Dior died suddenly in 1957, Saint Laurent was named head of the House of Dior at the age of 21. The next year, his first solo collection for Dior - the "trapeze" line - launched Saint Laurent's stardom. The trapeze dress - with its narrow shoulders and wide, swinging skirt - was a hit, and a breath of fresh air after years of constructed clothing, tight waists and girdles.

In 1960, Saint Laurent was drafted into military service - an experience that shattered the delicate designer, who by the end of the year was given a medical discharge for nervous depression.

Bouts of depression marked his career. Berge, the designer's longtime business partner and former romantic partner, was quoted as saying that Saint Laurent was born with a nervous breakdown.

Saint Laurent returned to the spotlight in 1962, opening his own haute couture fashion house with Berge. The pair later started a chain of Rive Gauche ready-to-wear boutiques.

Life Magazine hailed his first line under his own label as "the best collection of suits since Chanel."

Nowhere was Saint Laurent's gift more evident than the valedictory fashion show that marked his retirement in January 2002.

Forty years of fashion were paraded in a 300-piece retrospective that blurred the boundaries of time, mixing his creations of yesterday and today in one stunning tribute to the endurance of Saint Laurent's style. He also designed costumes for theater and film.

There was the simple navy blue pea coat over white pants, which the designer first showed in 1962 when he opened his couture house and kept as one of his hallmarks.

His "smoking," or tuxedo jacket, of 1966 remade the tux as a high fashion statement for both sexes. It remained the designer's trademark item and was updated yearly until he retired.

Also from the 60s came Beatnik chic - a black leather jacket and knit turtleneck with high boots - and sleek pantsuits that underlined Saint Laurent's statement on equality of the sexes. He showed that women could wear "men's clothes," which when tailored to the female form became an emblem of elegant femininity.

"More than any other designer since Chanel, YSL represented Paris as the style leader," The Independent of London wrote in an editorial after Saint Laurent's retirement. "By putting a woman in a man's tuxedo, he changed fashion forever, in a style that never dated."

In his own words, Saint Laurent said he felt "fashion was not only supposed to make women beautiful, but to reassure them, to give them confidence, to allow them to come to terms with themselves."

Some of his revolutionary style was met with resistance. There are famous stories of women wearing Saint Laurent pantsuits who were turned away from hotels and restaurants in London and New York.

One scandal centered on the designer himself, when he posed nude and floppy-haired for a photographer in 1971, wearing only his trademark thick black glasses, to promote his perfume.

Saint Laurent's rising star was eternalized in 1983, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art devoted a show to his work, the first ever to a living designer.

Subsequent shows at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg and in Beijing made him a French national treasure, and he was awarded the Legion d'Honneur in 1985.

When France basked in the glory of its 1998 World Cup soccer final, it was Saint Laurent who took center field pre-kick off with an on-field retrospective at the Stade de France.

In 1999, Saint Laurent sold the rights of his label to Gucci Group NV, ceding control of his Rive Gauche collection, fragrances, cosmetics and accessories for US$70 million cash and royalties.

Industry insiders cited friction between Saint Laurent and Gucci's creative director, Tom Ford, as a likely factor in the fashion guru's decision to retire three years later. Ford stepped down in 2003.

When he bowed out of fashion in 2002, Saint Laurent spoke of his battles with depression, drugs and loneliness, though he gave no indication that those problems were directly tied to his decision to stop working.

"I've known fear and terrible solitude," he said. "Tranquilizers and drugs, those phony friends. The prison of depression and hospitals. I've emerged from all this, dazzled but sober."

Associated Press writers Rachid Aouli and Joelle Diderich in Paris and Samantha Critchell in New York contributed to this report.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

 

YVES SAINT LAURENT ( En Francais)

 

06/01/08 23:43 EDT

 

Yves Saint Laurent, l'un des couturiers majeurs du XXe siècle, est décédé dimanche à l'âge de 71 ans des suites d'une longue maladie.

 

Il avait notamment pour emblèmes le tailleur pantalon ou le smoking pour les femmes.

Yves Saint Laurent était l'une des grandes figures de la mode au XXe siècle et l'un des créateurs français les plus connus dans le monde.

sur ce sujet

La santé du couturier était déclinante depuis plusieurs mois en raison d'une tumeur au cerveau, au point qu'il ne venait plus au siège de la griffe, transformée en 2004 en Fondation, où il avait toujours son bureau. Pierre Bergé, le compagnon de toute sa vie, s'est déclaré «bouleversé».

 Pour lui, Yves Saint Laurent restera dans le panthéon de la mode avec Coco Chanel.

«(Gabrielle) Chanel a donné la liberté aux femmes. Yves Saint Laurent leur a donné le pouvoir. Il a quitté le territoire esthétique pour pénétrer sur le territoire social. Il a accompli une oeuvre à portée sociale», a-t-il dit sur France Info.

Les obsèques d'Yves Saint Laurent auront lieu jeudi à l'église Saint-Roch à Paris.

Débuts fulgurants

Né le 1er août 1936 à Oran (Algérie), celui qui s'appelle alors Yves-Mathieu Saint-Laurent débute aux côtés de Christian Dior, le couturier le plus célèbre de l'après-guerre. La mort prématurée de l'inventeur du New-Look le propulse directeur artistique de la maison Dior dès la fin des années 1950.

Avec sa ligne «Trapèze» (1958), qui rompt avec les tailles de guêpe de l'époque, le mince et timide jeune homme de 20 ans fait toute de suite sensation. En 1961, il crée sa propre maison en partenariat avec Pierre Bergé. Ensemble, le premier à la création, le second à la gestion, ils vont bâtir une griffe qui symbolise toujours l'élégance française.

Une nouvelle liberté aux femmes

Yves Saint Laurent était un homme timide et réservé.[Keystone]

Ancré dans son temps, il donnera aux femmesune nouvelle liberté en modernisant la couture et créant un prêt-à-porter puisé dans le vestiaire masculin: caban, saharienne, tailleur-pantalon et bien sûr smoking, porté par exemple avec une blouse très transparente, autre emblème Saint Laurent.

Le président français Nicolas Sarkozy a salué la mémoire du maître en affirmant qu'avec lui «disparaît un des plus grands noms de la mode, le premier à élever la haute couture au rang d'un art en lui assurant un rayonnement planétaire».

Féru de théâtre, d'opéra et de littérature, Yves Saint Laurent a dessiné des bijoux, des décors et des costumes pour des pièces et des spectacles. Toujours à l'avant-garde, il a créé des parfums, dont le premier Opium, en 1977, fut un succès immédiat et lancé le prêt-à-porter de luxe en ouvrant un magasin rive gauche.

Accompagner la libération féminine

«Je me suis toujours élevé contre les fantasmes de certains qui satisfont leur ego à travers la mode. J'ai au contraire toujours voulu me mettre au service des femmes. J'ai voulu les accompagner dans ce grand mouvement de libération que connut le siècle dernier», avait-il dit lors de l'annonce de ses adieux à la haute couture en 2002.

La maison Saint Laurent sera vendue deux fois: en 1993 à Elf Sanofi et en 1999 au groupe Gucci, filiale du groupe français PPR, qui a scindé la griffe en deux entités, la haute couture étant préservée au 5 avenue Marceau où Yves Saint Laurent créera ses modèles jusqu'en 2002. Cette année-là et pour ses adieux, il a présenté au centre Georges Pompidou, à Paris, un défilé rétrospective de 40 ans de création à la fin duquel il a été ovationné.

ats/cer

La vie en rose

LA VIE EN ROSE

Synopsis: According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to America to the South of France. Abandoned by her mother, Piaf grew up in her grandmother's brothel... According to Marlene Dietrich, chanteuse Edith Piaf's voice was "the soul of Paris." This French drama explores the often troubled life of the singer as her fame took her from the City of Lights to America to the South of France. Abandoned by her mother, Piaf grew up in her grandmother's brothel and her father's circus, which is hardly the fun one might imagine. While singing on the streets of Paris as a teen, Piaf (played as an adult by Marion Cotillard, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT) is discovered by club owner Louis Leplée (Gérard Depardieu), and this chance encounter changes the woman's life. Her powerful voice takes her all over the globe, but it can't guard her from the pain and suffering she can't avoid. As Piaf, Cotillard is mesmerizing. She fully inhabits the singer's ivory skin, crafting a character that never descends into caricature or camp. She lip syncs to Piaf's legendary voice, but the performance is seamless. Like WALK THE LINE and RAY, this biopic creates a fascinating picture of an artist whose songs only begin to reflect the singer's painful life. But director-writer Olivier Dahan (LA VIE PROMISE) doesn't take the traditional biopic route with LA VIE EN ROSE. Instead, the film jumps between various moments in the singer's life, with little concern for linear narrative. Cotillard is just as adept at playing the teenage Piaf as she is the songbird on her deathbed at the age of 47, and it's her amazing performance that makes LA VIE EN ROSE worth seeing.

La Vie en Rose  June 15, 2007

Cast & Credits Edith Piaf: Marion Cotillard Anetta Gassion: Clotilde Courau Louis Gassion: Jean Paul Rouve Momone: Sylvie Testud Louis Barrier: Pascal Greggory Marcel Cerdan: Jean Pierre Martins Titine: Emmanuelle Seigner Louis Leplee: Gerard Depardieu Louise: Catherine Allegret Marlene Dietrich: Caroline Silhol Edith, age 5: Manon Chevallier Edith, age 8: Pauline Burlet Picturehouse presents a film directed by Olivier Dahan. Written by Dahan and Isabelle Sobelman. Running time: 140 minutes. Rated PG-13. Opening today at Evanston CineArts, Pipers Alley and Landmark Renaissance.

by Roger Ebert

She was the daughter of a street singer and a circus acrobat. She was dumped by her mother with her father, who dumped her with his mother, who ran a brothel. In childhood, diseases rendered her temporarily blind and deaf. She claimed she was cured by St. Therese, whose shrine the prostitutes took her to. One of the prostitutes adopted her, until her father returned, snatched her away, and put her to work in his act. From her mother and the prostitute she heard many songs, and one day when his sidewalk act was doing badly, her father commanded her, "Do something." She sang "La Marseilles." And Edith Piaf was born.

Piaf. The French word for "sparrow." She was named by her first impresario, Louis Leplee. He was found shot dead not long after -- possibly by a pimp who considered her his property. She stood 4 feet, 8 inches tall, and so became "the Little Sparrow." She was the most famous and beloved French singer of her time -- of the century, in fact -- and her lovers included Yves Montand (who she discovered) and the middleweight champion Marcel Cerdan. She drank too much, all the time. She became addicted to morphine, and required ten injections a day. She grew old and prematurely stooped, and died at 47.

Olivier Dahan's "La Vie en Rose," one of the best biopics I've seen, tells Piaf's life story through the extraordinary performance of Marion Cotillard, who looks like the singer. The title, which translates loosely as "life through rose-colored glasses," is fromone of Piaf's most famous songs, which she wrote herself. She is known for countless other songs perhaps most poignantly for "Non je ne regrette rien" ("No, I regret nothing"), which is seen in the film as her final song; if it wasn't, it should have been.

How do you tell a life story to chaotic, jumbled and open to chance as Piaf's? Her life did not have an arc but a trajectory. Joy and tragedy seemed simultaneous. Her loves were heartfelt but doomed; after she begged the boxer Cerdan to fly to her in New York, he was killed in the crash of his flight from Paris. Her stage triumphs alternated with her stage collapses. If her life resembled in some ways Judy Garland's, there is this difference: Garland lived for the adulation of the audience, and Piaf lived to do her duty as a singer. From her earliest days, from the prostitutes, her father and her managers, she learned that when you're paid, you perform.

Oh, but what a performer she was. Her voice was loud and clear, reflecting her early years as a street singer. Such a big voice for such a little woman. At first she sang mechanically, but was tutored to improve her diction and express the meaning of her words. She did that so well that if you know what the words "Non je ne regrette rien" mean, you can essentially feel the meaning of every other word in the song.

Dahan and his co-writer, Isabelle Sobelman, move freely through the pages of Piaf's life. A chronology would have missed the point. She didn't start here and go there; she was always, at every age, even before she had the name, the little sparrow. The action moves back and forth from childhood to final illness, from applause to desperation, from joy to heartbreak (particularly in the handling of Cerdan's last visit to her).

This mosaic storytelling style has been criticized in some quarters as obscuring facts (quick: how many times was she married?). But think of it this way: Since there are, in fact, no wedding scenes in the movie, isn't it more accurate to see husbands, lovers, friends, admirers, employees and everyone else as whirling around her small, still center? Nothing in her early life taught her to count on permanence or loyalty. What she counted on was singing, champagne, infatuation and morphine.

Many biopics break down in depicting their subjects in old age, and Piaf, at 47, looked old. Gene Siskel once referred to an actor's old-age makeup as making him look like a turtle. In "La Vie en Rose" there is never a moment's doubt. Even the hair is right; her frizzled, dyed, thinning hair in the final scenes matches the real Piaf in the videos I cite below. The only detail I can question is her resiliency after all-night drinking sessions. I once knew an alcoholic who said, "If I wasn't a drinker and I woke up with one of these hangovers, I'd check myself into the emergency room."

Then there are the songs, a lot of them. I gather from the credits that some are dubbed by other singers, some are sung by Piaf herself, and some, in parts at least, by Cotillard. In the video clips you can see how Piaf choreographed her hands and fingers, and Cotillard has that right, too. If a singer has been dead 50 years and sang in another language, she must have been pretty great to make it onto so many saloon jukeboxes, which is how I first heard her. Now, of course, she's on my iPod, and I'm listening to her right now.

Pour moi toute seule.

A more sophisticated mind...

Neuroscientist Finds “Cognitive Edge”
when Children Learn French.

When children learn French, or another foreign language, they develop more sophisticated minds than their monolingual peers, according to a study of bilingual children presented to the Society for Neuroscience.

The report on bilingual children who learn French and English was presented by professor Laura-Ann Petitto, PhD, a cognitive neuroscientist at Dartmouth College, who has spent over 30 years researching the biological foundations of language.

“Our findings show that bilingual children can perform certain cognitive tasks more accurately than monolinguals,” Dr. Petitto said, in a press release. “Being bilingual can give you a cognitive edge.”

How much of an edge? When children learn French or another foreign language do they actually become “smarter” than kids who only speak English? So far, the research of Petitto and her colleagues has revealed no quantifiable answers to these questions but the overall implication is interesting.

Granted, most parents who encourage their children to learn French are more concerned with the culture – the chocolat and cinéma – than experiments in cognition. Even so, the science is provocative. By taking a look at recent studies in educational neuroscience, we can better understand the significance of their findings.

What does the “Simon Task” tell us about children who learn French?

Dr. Petitto’s research compared a group of monolingual children who spoke solely English or French, with a group of children who communicated in both languages. The groups were further categorized by age (from 4 to 6 years) and linguistic ability.

The children participated in the “Simon Task,” which involves colored squares flashing on a computer screen. As the squares jump randomly from side to side, the children are asked to quickly select whether they’re seeing a red or blue square. If red, they press a button on their right. If blue, they press a button onthe left. When correctly performed,a child who sees a blue square on the right-hand side of the screen will nonetheless press the left-hand button, signifying blue.

The bilingual children reportedly scored much better than the monolinguals, suggesting that when children learn French and English, they become better equipped to sort through abstract and contradictory information. Such activity requires a significant degree of mental sophistication, especially for a six-year-old.

Petitto attributed the difference in skill sets to the increased cognitive demands when children learn French and English or any other bilingual language pairing. By processing two languages, they develop greater mental flexibility and agility.

“For example, the brain that has been trained for bilingual language must look up and attend to the meaning for, say, ‘cup’ in one language, while suppressing the meaning for ‘cup’ in the child‘s other native language,” Petitto said, in the press release. “This requires heightened computational analysis in the brain.”

Other cognitive benefits when children learn French

Dr. Ellen Bialystok is a professor of psychology at York University in Canada, who collaborated with Dr. Petitto on the “Simon Task” study. For several years, Dr. Bialystok has been conducting her own research on the cognitive effects of learning another language. “There is a lot of fear that exposing children to languages will cause confusion and harm,” Bialystok told Cookie magazine in 2006.

Research led by Bialystok has shown that when children learn French and English or are bilingual in other languages, they consistently outperform monolingual kids on select cognitive tasks. The “Stroop Test,” for example, requires participants to name the color of ink on a flashcard that features a contradictory or confusing word; for example, the word “yellow” written in blue ink. Reportedly, bilinguals tend to be much better at naming the right color. Performance on the Stroop Test and Simon Task reflect levels of attention control, sorting ability, and the resolution of complex information. Cookie reports that 4-year-old bilingual children are generally more capable of sorting information and performing similar “frontal-lobe ‘executive’ functions” than monolingual children who are a full year older.

Children Learn French and Take Advantage of the Brain's Flexibility

While neuroscientists continue to debate the degree of cognitive benefits that come from learning a second language, educators and linguistic experts have determined that there are no benefits whatsoever to withholding second language education. In fact, when children learn French or another foreign language at an early age, they are much more likely to achieve fluency. The minds of preschoolers are surprisingly capable of acquiring and integrating new modes of communication.

Dr. Bialystok told Cookie that there is “not a shred of evidence” to support the superstition that when young children learn French or another foreign language, it leads to confusion or problems in English.

Dr. Petitto struck a similar chord when interviewed at a linguistics conference sponsored by George Washington University’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development. She declared : “I hope to make clear with regard to the architecture of the human brain that it is not set to learn only one language. The brain is not a closed system. It was not etched to learn one thing.”

“We have multiple ways and multiple languages,” Dr. Petitto concluded. “The brain can handle that.”

2008, Year of Languages

 

Pierre Kimm -2008- picture

The year 2008 has been proclaimed International Year of Languages by the United Nations General Assembly. UNESCO, which has been entrusted with the task of coordinating activities for the Year, is determined to fulfil its role as lead agency.

The Organization is fully aware of the crucial importance of languages when seen against the many challenges that humanity will have to face over the next few decades.

Languages are indeed essential to the identity of groups and individuals and to their peaceful coexistence. They constitute a strategic factor of progress towards sustainable development and a harmonious relationship between the global and the
local context.

They are of utmost importance in achieving the six goals of education for all (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on which the United Nations agreed in 2000.

As factors of social integration, languages effectively play a strategic role in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger (MDG 1); as supports for literacy, learning and life skills, they are essential to achieving universal primary education (MDG 2); the combat against HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (MDG 6) must be waged in the languages of the populations concerned if they are to be reached; and the safeguarding of local and indigenous knowledge and know-how with a view to ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG 7) is intrinsically linked to local and indigenous languages.

Moreover, cultural diversity is closely linked to linguistic diversity, as indicated in the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity and its action plan (2001), the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and the
Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005).

However, within the space of a few generations, more than 50% of the 7,000 languages spoken in the world may disappear. Less than a quarter of those languages are currently used in schools and in cyberspace, and most are used only
sporadically. Thousands of languages – though mastered by those populations for whom it is the daily means of expression – are absent from education systems, the media, publishing and the public domain in general.

We must act now as a matter of urgency. How? By encouraging and developing language policies that enable each linguistic community to use its first language, or mother tongue, as widely and as often as possible, including in education, while
also mastering a national or regional language and an international language. Also by encouraging speakers of a dominant language to master another national or regional language and one or two international languages. Only if multilingualism is fully accepted can all languages find their place in our globalized world.

UNESCO therefore invites governments, United Nations organizations, civil society organizations, educational institutions, professional associations and all other stakeholders to increase their own activities to foster respect for, and the promotion and protection of all languages, particularly endangered languages, in all individual and collective contexts.

Whether it be through initiatives in the fields of education, cyberspace or the literate environment; be it through projects to safeguard endangered languages or to promote languages as a tool for social integration; or to explore the relationship between languages and the economy, languages and indigenous knowledge or languages and creation, it is important that the idea that “languages matter!” be promoted everywhere.

The date of 21 February 2008, that of the ninth International Mother Language Day, will have a special significance and provide a particularly appropriate deadline for the introduction of initiatives to promote languages.

Our common goal is to ensure that the importance of linguistic diversity and multilingualism in educational, administrative and legal systems, cultural expressions and the media, cyberspace and trade, is recognized at the national, regional and international levels.

The International Year of Languages 2008 will provide a unique opportunity to make decisive progress towards achieving these goals.

Koïchiro Matsuura

 

 

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Ten good reasons to learn French!!!

 

10 GOOD REASONS TO LEARN FRENCH

1. A world language

More than 200 million people speak French on the five continents. The Francophonie, the international organisation of French-speaking countries, comprises 68 states and governments. French is the second most widely learned foreign language after English, and the ninth most widely spoken language in the world.

French is also the only language, alongside English, that is taught in every country in the world. France operates the biggest international network of cultural institutes, which run French-language courses for more than 750,000 learners.

2. A language for the job market

An ability to speak French and English is an advantage on the international job market. A knowledge of French opens the doors of French companies in France and other French-speaking parts of the world (Canada, Switzerland, Belgium, and North and sub-Saharan Africa). As the world’s fifth biggest economy and number-three destination for foreign investment, France is a key economic partner.

3. The language of culture

French is the international language of cooking, fashion, theatre, the visual arts, dance and architecture. A knowledge of French offers access to great works of literature, as well as films and songs, in the original French. French is the language of Victor Hugo, Molière, Léopold Sendar Senghor, Edith Piaf, Jean-Paul Sartre, Alain Delon and Zinedine Zidane.

4. A language for travel

France is the world’s number-one tourist destination and attracts more than 70 million visitors a year. A little French makes it so much more enjoyable to visit Paris and all the regions of France (from the mild climes of the Cote d’Azur to the snow-capped peaks of the Alps via the rugged coastline of Brittany) and offers insights into French culture, mentality and way of life. French also comes in handy when travelling to Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Monaco, the Seychelles and other places.

5. A language for higher education

Speaking French opens up study opportunities at renowned French universities and business schools, ranked among the top higher education institutions in Europe and the world. Students with a good level of French are eligible for French government scholarships to enrol in postgraduate courses in France in any discipline and qualify for internationally recognised French degrees.

 

6. The other language of international relations

French is both a working language and an official language of the United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, the International Red Cross and international courts. French is the language of the three cities where the EU institutions are headquartered: Strasbourg, Brussels and Luxembourg.

7. A language that opens up the world

After English and German, French is the third most used language on the Internet, ahead of Spanish. An ability to understand French offers an alternative view of the world through communication with French speakers from all the continents and news from the leading French-language international media (TV5, France 24 and Radio France Internationale).

8. A language that is fun to learn

French is an easy language to learn. There are many methods on the market that make learning French enjoyable for children and adults alike. It does not take long to reach a level where you can communicate in French.

9. A language for learning other languages

French is a good base for learning other languages, especially Romance languages (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian) as well as English, since fifty per cent of current English vocabulary is derived from French.

10. The language of love and reason

First and foremost, learning French is the pleasure of learning a beautiful, rich, melodious language, often called the language of love. French is also an analytical language that structures thought and develops critical thinking, which is a valuable skill for discussions and negotiations.

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