Deafness in France
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Deafness in France is a topic that is relevant to individuality, education, and community. France has a long-running history of involvement with DHH (Deaf or Hard of Hearing) individuals, especially during World War II. There were reportedly about 10,000,000 hearing impaired people in France (16.1% of the population) as of 2014, of whom about 360,000 (0.6% of the population) had "very serious or total" functional limitations, meaning unable to hear a conversation with multiple people and identifying as deaf or hard of hearing.[1] While FSL (French Sign Language) is the main signed language in France, ASL (American Sign Language) is studied and used commonly, and French Cued Speech, a mixture of spoken French and FSL, is also not uncommon.[2]