This thesis studies the rise and role of representations and hetero-stereotypes in the learning of french as a foreign language in a French-speaking university environment. The work of analysis and synthesis is based on answers to questionnaires submitted to foreign students and to teachers of French as a foreign language, native and non-native.

Sluggish foreign demand and the impact of the appreciation of the euro contributed to the initial fall in euro area export volumes, while the strong pick-up in foreign demand in the third quarter of 2003 seems to have been the key explanatory factor behind their recovery.