Connected to the post is a photo of a young kid holding a wood slate with Arabic composing engraved on it.
The claim likewise appeared on X in English, along with in Arabic on Facebook and on X.
A number of posts likewise made the claim in French, which AFP Truth Examine unmasked in French here.
Previous French nests in West Africa have actually rotated far from France in the last few years, causing impaired diplomatic ties.
Anti-France beliefs have actually increased in nations such as Burkina Faso, Mali and recently Niger (archived here).
Considering that anti-establishment figure Bassirou Diomaye Faye was chosen as Senegal’s brand-new president in March, France has actually been under pressure to enhance ties with the nation.
Faye was chosen on promises of extreme reform and assures to bring back nationwide “sovereignty” over crucial markets (archived here).
Nevertheless, the claim that Senegal has actually dropped French for Arabic as its main language is incorrect.
Still French
To validate the claim, we browsed the keywords “main language Senegal” and “Arabic”, in French and English.
The search engine result revealed that a number of news sites likewise released the claim, such as the Middle East Display group (archived here), which has actually considering that erased its report.
AFP Truth Examine then called a representative for the Senegalese authorities on Might 3, 2024, who validated that “the main language of Senegal has actually not altered”.
Utilized by the Senegalese administration, in education, and for service, French is the main language in the nation. Lots of Senegalese likewise speak Wolof, Pular and Serer.
According to the International Company of La Francophonie (OIF), produced in 1970 and which unites 88 states or federal governments with the objective of promoting the French language worldwide, 26 percent of the Senegalese population was French-speaking since 2022 (archived here).
Senegal’s constitution still identifies French as the West African nation’s main language (archived here).
The constitution’s very first short article states that “The main language of the Republic of Senegal is French. The nationwide languages are Diola, Malinke, Pular, Serer, Soninke, Wolof and any other nationwide language which will be codified” (archived here).
The Arabic language nonetheless plays an essential function in Senegal, where more than 90 percent of the population is Muslim.
