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French Flemish (French Flemish: Fransch vlaemsch, Standard Dutch: Frans-Vlaams, French: flamand français) is a West Flemish dialect spoken in the north of contemporary France. Place names attest to Flemish having been spoken since the 8th century in the area that was ceded to France in the 17th century and which became known as French Flanders. Its dialect subgroup, called French Flemish, meanwhile, became a minority dialect that survives mainly in Dunkirk (Duinkerke in Dutch/Duunkerke in West Flemish = dune church), Bourbourg (Broekburg in Dutch), Calais (Kales), Saint-Omer (Sint-Omaars) with an ethnic enclave Haut-Pont (Haute-Ponte) known for its predominantly Flemish community and Bailleul (Belle). French-Flemish has about 20,000 daily users, and twice that number of occasional speakers. The language's status appears to be moribund., but there has been an active movement to retain French Flemish in the region since the 1970s.
Education
French Flemish is taught in a few schools in the French Westhoek. The ANVT-ILRF was given permission to carry out experimental lessons in four public schools (in Esquelbecq, Noordpeene, Volckerinckhove, Wormhout) for the school years of 2007-08 until 2010-11, after which it would be evaluated. Afterwards, all requirements were met but it was only allowed to continue them, but not to expand to other schools or to the collège. On the other hand, the private Catholic education began teaching Dutch in collèges in Gravelines and Hondschoote.