Francophonie served as preventive medicine against cultural diffusion

Evidence

In the indeterminate context of the French-speaking com,- munities we lump together as la francophonie, it was, therefore, an apparently simple notion to regard the French language as the a priori bearer ofvalues that could help remedy the anarchistic tendencies of the various cultures that are, completely or partially, a product of its expression. … La fran- cophonie would be less what it claimed to be, an interdependent gathering of cultural convergences, than a sort of pre- ventive medicine against cultural disintegrations and diffusions that were considered unfortunate. — Édouard Glissant, Poetics of Relation, 581

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines what la francophonie actually was: not cultural convergence but a paternalist prophylactic against cultural disintegration.