As far as I know, there’s no question of formality as such. The futur proche is used, as the name suggests, for events in the immediate future. Examples :
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Je vais aller chez Alice.
I’m going to go to Alice’s place (presumably, right away or very soon). -
Il va boire du café.
He’s going to have some coffee (in the very near future).
The futur simple is for events planned ‘later’ in the future. Examples :
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Je lui en parlerai.
I will speak to him about it (sometime later). -
Nous serons là demain.
We will be there tomorrow. (not immediately)
In general, the futur proche for actions/events that will take place almost immediately:
- Je vais me coucher: I’m going to sleep (right now, in a very short moment)
Whereas the futur simple refers to actions/events that will take place in a determined or undetermined future:
– J’irai au Canada le lundi prochain: I will go to Canada on next Monday (determined future)
– Il ira au Canada: He will go to Canada (undetermined future)
But in most contexts (especially in spoken French), the two tenses are virtually interchangeable:
- Elle va avoir un enfant: She is going to/will have a child
- Elle aura un enfant: She is going to/will have a child
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