In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

47 Francophonie and universality The Evolution of Two Intertwined Notions (1961–2006) Gabrielle Parker depending on the geographical, historical, or political context, “Francophonie” has acquired different meanings.1 For onésime reclus, the geographer who coined the term in the nineteenth century, it referred to the place “where French rules.”2 anticipating the definition that was to be adopted more than a century later, onésime reclus included among Francophones all who were “destined to remain or to become participants in our language.” Modern Francophonie, redefined after 1960, included those who had “the French language in common” (en commun), then those who “shared in it” (en partage).3 toward the end of the twentieth century , Francophonie was defined as a collective identity and a political project meant to unite peoples and countries on the basis of shared values.4 nonetheless, genealogically, Francophonie is related to the colonial movement: the invention of the term in 1880 coincided with the emergence of the French colonial empire, which was also the year in which Jules Ferry, minister of education under the Third republic, declared French to be the only language of instruction and communication across the empire. Henceforth, the French imperium ruled in France and outside of France. Francophonie: a Malleable and evolving Concept since the seventeenth century, the French language had enjoyed the international status as the language of power, culture, and knowledge. louis-Jean Calvet identified a turning point in the nineteenth century, at the moment when the demographical and economical power that supported the territorial, linguistic, and economical French expansion began to weaken.5 noting two other simultaneous symptoms of this loss of influence—the creation of the alliance Française in 1883 and the apparition of a multiplicity of artificial languages destined to a universal usage—Calvet saw them as the indication of an erosion of the influence of the French language. But another explanation could be attributed to the “division of africa” between european powers during the Berlin conference (1884– 1885) and the exportation of linguistic rivalries to this new continent. in the same 562 Francophonie and Universality | 563 year, Jean Jaurès who was then a young professor of literature in toulouse, declared to the local alliance Française that “our colonies” will become French “in intelligence and in heart” only when they understand the French language.6 Jaur ès’s main concern was to compensate the small number of French colonists with (French) schools.7 His speech was a blend of lyricism and realism. in it, he advocated for the instruction of “natives” because, he argued, an educated population would be more apt to serve the interests of France, and also because introducing France and its associated values to them would be a source of gratitude and admiration .8 one year later, on July 28, 1885, Jules Ferry offered a similar proposal. according to tzvetan todorov, Jules Ferry put forth economical, humanitarian, and political arguments to justify colonization.9 it was not enough for France to be free, it also needed to be great, and its greatness could be measured by the degree of influence that it exerted on the destiny of europe and the rest of the world: “France must spread this influence around the world, and everywhere it can, spread its language, its values, its flag, its weapons, its genius.” in other words, both territories and minds were considered sites for conquest, and language was considered the instrument of this conquest. The second part of this argument relied upon the paradigm of a “mission of education and civilization.” according to Patrice deramaix , the colonial project was based on “a two-fold presupposition: that France possessed universal values that legitimated its feeling of superiority and that it had the right, if not the duty, to export them.”10 Western humanitarianism was not just an accomplice of colonization: it was essential to its success. in the name of universal values, this very humanitarianism is today both denounced—by achille Mbembe among others11 —and imposed in normative fashion as a “positive” memory in the teaching of history as seen in decree of February 23, 2005, that outlined the “positive role” of French colonization.12 in the same way that the propagation of the French language was explicitly conceived as a compensatory phenomenon for the penury of French colonists, the expansion of the empire was considered a quantum of solace for the territorial losses of the mainland during the 1870 war. in the chapter entitled “l’Hexagone” in...

Share