Translating 'including'

Question

Le français est aussi reconnu comme langue de travail dans de nombreuses organisations internationales, parmi lesquelles les Nations Unies et le Parlement européen.Can I say "y compris" instead of parmi lesquells or dont to translate including?

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Good question, Blaise!
Yes, you could substitute 'y compris' here, and the sentence would remain grammatically correct and perfectly understandable. But there is a subtle difference in effect.
With 'parmi lesquelles', the sentence feels like a natural, descriptive enumeration — you're simply picking out two notable examples from within the broader set of international organisations. It reads smoothly and neutrally.
With 'y compris', there would be a very slight sense of emphasis or even mild surprise — as if to say 'even bodies as prominent as the UN and the European Parliament'. In this particular context, that nuance would be unintended. It might also feel very marginally less elegant stylistically, since 'y compris' followed by a list of prestigious institutions can sound slightly like you're stressing their inclusion against some expectation, which isn't really what the sentence is trying to do.
Hope this helps!