French for Children

French (français) is a Romance language originally spoken in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, and today by about 350 million people around the world as either a native or a second language,with significant populations in 54 countries. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education outside of specific cases and legal contracts; advertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland (along with German, Italian, and Romansh), and French is spoken in the part of Switzerland called Romandie. French is the native language of about 20% of the Swiss population.