Linguistic framework

The language spoken in the archipelago is French. As its history shows (see section 7.3), the archipelago has been part of France since 1815. Despite the French nature of the Saint-Pierre and Miquelon archipelago, a large number of the inhabitants can speak English, when dealing with Canada or the United States, or with tourists and business people coming to the archipelago.

Francoforum

The Francoforum is a training institute funded by the Conseil territorial; its main activities include language instruction and other training workshops as well as preparation for professional examinations. The learning method is adapted to the client's needs. The Francoforum mostly caters to Canadians. For example, an agreement exists with Memorial University of Newfoundland to welcome their students. In 2007, the Francoforum received 1,350 registrations and offered more than 8,500 training days, of which approximately 5,000 were granted to Memorial University students. The Francoforum is accredited by the Canada Public Service Agency, which enables it to provide training to officials from departments such as the Canada Revenue Agency, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.