French today stands as one of the top 10 spoken languages of the world. It is the 2nd working language of most international organizations and media, 3rd global business language and also the 2nd most learned language around the world.
It was Onésime Reclus, a French geographer, who coined the term ‘Francophonie’ in the year 1880, as a means for classification of people according to the language. Francophonie means French-speaking. This term became to be known during the 20th century ‘Black Pride’ movement, due to its constant usage by the then president of Senegal.
There are around 50+ Francophone countries today, where French is used either as means of public communication, official language used in business and governance, primary language of education or merely as a language used at home. It is interesting to note that 1 out of 3 francophone lives outside of France.
It is noteworthy that French is widely spoken in the Sub-Saharan continent. Also, that education in this language has increased the number of French speakers by 30%. In many of the school boards in India, French emerges as one of two most dominant second languages, the other being German. As for business, there are more than 1050 French companies in India. According to Forbes & an Natixis (investment bank), French is projected to be the most spoken language of the world by the year 2050, even ahead of English and Mandarin.
In such a situation, translation from English to French & vice versa becomes more of a necessity to successfully tap into the target market, as it exhibits your willingness and interest in the same.