There are some 200 million French speakers worldwide and more than 870 million households in the 70 countries of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), representing nearly 19% of global trade. French is more than a basic common language, today’s Francophone world operates as a multifaceted and complex place, an important political, social and economic link between North and South.

With regard to the forthcoming Francophone Summit to be held in Montreux from October 22 to 24, InfoSud seeks to put into perspective topics that are the subject of debate in the French-speaking world today including the role of French in global governance. With a maximum of reporting from the field, InfoSud will address in particular the following issues:

 To what extent policies implemented in the Francophone world today can promote respect for human rights (eg, migration, human trafficking, etc.)? What are the social, economic and/or political barriers faced?

 What are the emerging challenges for sustainable development, including food security and global warming? What kind of corrective and adaptive actions can be implemented? What is the actual impact of multilateral cooperation?

 As the ninth largest spoken language in the world and, along with English, the only one spoken on all five continents, French is trying to retain its place as the second official language of many international organizations. Similarly, on the Web, French is the fifth most popular language after English and Chinese. In the face of fierce competition, how can French remain competitive while maintaining its cultural and linguistic exception?