What organization is the official guardian of the French language in France and/or worldwide?

Question

I seem to recall that there is an organization in France that is the worldwide canonical guardian of the French language. Or maybe it's just for France. But I do not remember its name.

In Canada, I believe that this is governed by the Quebec government's Charter of the French Language and that it designates "L’Office québécois de la langue française" as the arbiter of the French language in Quebec. Perhaps it cooperates or defers to its France counterpart; but I don't know that either.

What organization is the official guardian of the French language in France and/or worldwide?

Answer 1

The institution you're thinking of is the Académie française. The linked Wikipedia page has a wealth of information including links to the counterpart in Quebec.

Answer 2

The Organisation you mean as "the worldwide canonical guardian of the French language" is the Organisation internationale de la francophonie. Their website is http://www.francophonie.org/

They have 54 members: 52 French-speaking countries (including Canada) and the Canadian provinces of Québec and New Brunswick.

They also have 3 associated countries (which are not full members) and 23 countries that participate just as observers. http://www.francophonie.org/-80-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html

They are based in Paris. Their address is:

19-21 avenue Bosquet
75007 Paris (France)

Téléphone (33) 1 44 37 33 00

Télécopie (33) 1 45 79 14 98