French is a Romance language spoken by about 75 million people in France, Algeria, Belgium, Canada, Luxembourg, Morocco, Seychelles, Switzerland, Tunisia and in many countries in Africa and the Caribbean, and on some Pacific islands. The French language is descended from Latin and first appeared in writing in 842 AD when it was used in the Strasbourg Oaths. Before then, Latin was the language used for literature throughout Europe.

During the 10th and 11th centuries, French appeared in a number of documents and religious writings, but French literature didn't start to take off until the late 12th / early 13th century. The first great work of French literature was the 'Chanson de Roland' (Song of Roland), which was published in about 1200.

French is one of the founding languages of the European Parliament, being spoken in Belgium France and Luxembourg. French is also spoken in several other countries that are members of the European Union.