Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

POLITICS

VIDEO: Watch Queen Elizabeth II speaking French on her visits to Paris

As well as her many other talents, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, who has died at the age of 96, was a fluent French speaker who often exercised her talent during visits to France.

Published: 8 September 2022 20:23 CEST
Updated: 10 September 2022 07:43 CEST

VIDEO: Watch Queen Elizabeth II speaking French on her visits to Paris

Princess Elizabeth of England - before her ascension to the throne - delivers a speech in French during a visit to Paris in 1948. Photo by AFP

In the course of her long reign, the British queen met nine French presidents and paid many state visits to France, where she was a very popular figure.

Part of her appeal was undoubtedly her fluent – if quite heavily accented – French, which she was happy to use during visits.

During her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in 2022, French TV channel France Info put together this video package of her visits, and her French speeches.

Her husband Prince Philip, who died in 2021, was also a fluent French speaker and in fact spent part of his childhood in France.

VIDEO: Watch Prince Philip making a speech in French (with a ‘frog’ joke)

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

France's Uyghurs say Xi visit a 'slap' from Macron

Xi is due to make a state visit to France on Monday and Tuesday.

Dilnur Reyhan, the founder of the European Uyghur Institute and a French national, said she and others were “angry” the Chinese leader was visiting.

“For the Uyghur people — and in particular for French Uyghurs — it’s a slap from our president, Emmanuel Macron,” she said, describing the Chinese leader as “the executioner of the Uyghur people”.

Beijing stands accused of incarcerating more than one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in a network of detention facilities across the Xinjiang region.

Campaigners and Uyghurs overseas have said an array of abuses take place inside the facilities, including torture, forced labour, forced sterilisation and political indoctrination.

A UN report last year detailed “credible” evidence of torture, forced medical treatment and sexual or gender-based violence — as well as forced labour — in the region.

But it stopped short of labelling Beijing’s actions a “genocide”, as the United States and some other Western lawmakers have done.

Beijing consistently denies abuses and claims the allegations are part of a deliberate smear campaign to contain its development.

It says it is running vocational training centres in Xinjiang which have helped to combat extremism and enhance development.

Standing beside Reyhan at a press conference in Paris, Gulbahar Haitiwaji, who presented herself as having spent three years in a detention camp, said she was “disappointed”.

“I am asking the president to bring up the issue of the camps with China and to firmly demand they be shut down,” she said.

Human Rights Watch on Friday urged Macron during the visit to “lay out consequences for the Chinese government’s crimes against humanity and deepening repression”.

“Respect for human rights has severely deteriorated under Xi Jinping’s rule,” it said.

“His government has committed crimes against humanity… against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, adopted draconian legislation that has erased Hong Kong’s freedoms, and intensified repression of government critics across the country.”

“President Macron should make it clear to Xi Jinping that Beijing’s crimes against humanity come with consequences for China’s relations with France,” said Maya Wang, acting China director at Human Rights Watch

Url copied to clipboard!