 French is the only official—and by far the most common—language in Monaco, a result of the role France has had over the microstate, since the annexation of the County of Nice, which surrounds Monaco, in 1860.Monégasque is the traditional national language of the Monegasque people (who represent only 21.6% of the total population).It is a dialect of Ligurian, and is somewhat similar to Italian.