France is largest country in Europe and also one of the most important. They have long been a major influence on the world stage. As a result French has become a very important language, particularly in Europe. This has become especially true since the formation of the European Union. In order to keep things running smoothly they need to have one common language and that language is French. Anybody who travels to or does business in Europe would do well to learn how to speak French.

The primary important of the French language in Europe is that France was one of the major players in the formation of the European Union and a disproportionately large number of EU institutions are located in France and or use French as their official language or dominant working language. This means that almost anybody who has to do business with European Union is going to have to be able to speak French. The smooth operation of these institutions requires that there be one common language and the decision has been made that it is going to be French.

In addition to being one of the key players in starting the EU, France is also at the center of Europe. It is hard to get more in the middle than France. Most of the smaller countries that surround France also use French as an official language, which is one of the reasons that it was adopted as the working language of the EU. Since almost everything eventually goes through France knowing the language is a useful skill.

France also remains one of the top business countries in Europe, although it has lost some ground recently it is still one of the largest economies on the continent. Since they are quite literally in the middle of Europe a lot of trade goes through France and that makes it important to speak the language. French is widely spoken in the European business world and that makes it a valuable skill to have.

No country in Europe or for that matter the world gets more tourists than France, Paris remains the world's leading tourist destination. Combined with the fact that getting almost anywhere else in Europe by land is going to require going through France, or another country where French is widely spoken, it is one of the most useful languages for anybody who is visiting Europe.

French is widely used as an official language of a whole host of international organizations. From the UN to the IMF to the Red Cross to the Olympics, they all use French as at least one of their official languages. This is mainly because France has historically been a major player on the world stage and has tended to get involved in many international organizations. The result is if you have dealings with any of these institutions being able to speak French is a huge advantage.