Alliance française[a] (French pronunciation:[aljɑ̃sfʁɑ̃sɛːz]; "French Alliance") or AF is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name Alliance française pour la propagation de la langue nationale dans les colonies et à l'étranger (French alliance for the propagation of the national language in the colonies and abroad), known now simply as L'Alliance française, its primary goal is teaching French as a second language. Headquartered in Paris,[1] the Alliance had 850 centers in 137 countries on every inhabited continent in 2014.[2]
History and role
First publication of the Alliance française in 1884.
The Alliance was created in Paris on 21 July 1883 by a group including the scientist Louis Pasteur, the diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps, the writers Jules Verne and Ernest Renan, and the publisher Armand Colin. The project was directly linked to the colonial aims of the French Third Republic. France believed it could spread civilization to colonies and promote French imperial grandeur by propagating their language internationally.[3]
The organization finances most of its activities from the fees it receives from its courses and from rental of its installations. The French government also provides a subsidy covering approximately five percent of its budget (nearly 665,000 € in 2003)
More than 440,000 students learn French at one of the centres run by the Alliance, whose network of schools includes:
a centre in Paris, Alliance française Paris Île-de-France
locations throughout France for foreign students and
1,016 locations in 135 countries.
The organizations outside Paris are local, independently run franchises. Each has a committee and a president. The Alliance françaisebrand is owned by the Paris centre. In many countries, the Alliance française of Paris is represented by a Délégué général. The French Government also runs 150 separate French Cultural Institutes that exist to promote French language and culture.[4]
The Alliances organize social and cultural events, such as art exhibitions, movie festivals, social gatherings, book clubs.[5][6][7][8][9]
The Alliance française Paris Ile-de-France is a Higher Private Education Institute. It is an association from the law 1901.
Located in the centre of the capital, the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France sees more than 11,000 students from 160 countries arrive every year to learn French. It is also the oldest one since the school has offered courses in Paris since 1894.
Until 2007, the year of creation of the Alliance française Foundation, the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France was called "the Paris Alliance française".
It was divided into three branches: the International Relations (DRI), the School of Paris, and the Department of Human and Financial Resources (DRHF). In 2007, the DRI has become the Alliance française Foundation, while the School and the DRHF became the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France.
Three conventions are now governing the relations between the Foundation and the Alliance française Paris Île-de-France:
a financial agreement: the Alliance française Paris Ile-de-France supports the Foundation financially.
an agreement for the premises: the Paris Alliance française donated its building in Boulevard Raspail to the Foundation at the time of the division in 2007
a teaching agreement: the Alliance française Paris Ile-de-France supports the Alliances françaises worldwide in their projects to professionalize their teaching and administrative staff. More than 40 missions per year are made abroad.
Alliance française Montpellier is a French language school in the south of France, a private higher education institution providing French courses for foreigners (FLE) and a non-profit association, established in accordance with the statutes and objectives of the Alliance française Foundation. This study centre is part of the network of Alliances françaises de France.[10]
Argentina there are 72 partnerships with 16,000 students forming a network is considered one of the largest and oldest in the world. In Rosario, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Campana, Santa Fe, Mendoza.[18]
Bolivia has five Alliances françaises in all the main centers of population: Cochabamba, La Paz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Sucre, Tarija.[20]
Brazil There are 39 Alliance française schools in Brazil, and six partner learning centres. Out of the federation's 26 states, only seven have no schools or learning centres. Alliance française has been in the Brazilian educational scenario for more than 130 years, since 1885.[21]
Colombia has more than 20 Alliances françaises in 16 cities.[23]
Costa Rica has three Alliances françaises, the first in Barrio Amón, in the East side of the capital San José and another two, one in La Sabana (West side of the capital) and also in Heredia, another province of Costa Rica.[24]
Haiti has five Alliances françaises organizations.
Honduras has two Alliances françaises, one located in Tegucigalpa and the other in San Pedro Sula.
Jamaica has one Alliance française Centre in Kingston[33]
Mexico has 38 Alliances françaises organizations throughout the country and twelve affiliated centers. It has one of the first franchise in America, the Alliance Française de México[34]
Nicaragua has three Alliances françaises Centre, in the capital city, Managua and others in León and Granada[35]
China has fifteen Alliances françaises organizations: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao, Jinan, Chengdu, Wuhan, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Xian, and Nanjing.
Hong Kong has three Alliances françaises centres, one in Wanchai, one in Jordan and another one in Shatin. Alliance française de Hong Kong was created in 1953.
New Zealand has seven Alliances françaises organizations. Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Wellington are the North Island branches, and Nelson, Christchurch, and Dunedin are the South Island branches. The Alliance française d'Auckland has 900 members.
Albania has five Alliance française organization located in Durrës, Elbasan, Korça, Shkodra and Tirana.[48]
Armenia has one Alliance française organization located in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.[49]
Belgium has one Alliance française organization located in the capital Brussels.[50]
Croatia has five Alliances françaises organizations located in Dubrovnik, Osijek, Rijeka, Split, and Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.[51]
Hungary has five Alliances françaises organizations located in Debrecen, Győr, Miskolc, Pécs and Szeged.[52]
Iceland has one Alliance française organization located in Reykjavik.[53]
Ireland has six Alliances françaises organizations. Dublin, the capital of Ireland, is home to the third largest Alliance in Europe.[54] There is also a location in Cork, Ireland's second city.[55] Other locations in Ireland include Galway,[56] Kilkenny,[57] Limerick,[58] and Waterford, which also has a branch in Wexford.[59] Alliance française de Cork also organises the Cork French Film Festival.[60]
Italy has thirty-seven Alliances françaises organizations located throughout the country.[61]
Malta has one Alliance francaise organization located in Floriana.[62]
Moldova has one Alliance française organization located in Chişinău, the capital of Moldova.[63]
Monaco has one Alliance française organization located in the Principality, at the Embassy of France in Monaco.[64]
Romania has four Alliances françaises organizations located in Braşov, Constanţa, Piteşti and Ploieşti.[65]
Spain has twenty Alliances françaises organizations located all over the country, promoted by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in Spain.[67]
The United Kingdom has eleven Alliances françaises organizations. The first Alliance française organization in the UK was located in London, which traces its roots back to 1884.[70] Other locations in the British Isles include Bristol-Bath, Cambridge, Exeter, Glasgow, Jersey, Manchester,[71] Milton Keynes, Newcastle-upon-tyne, Oxford and York. During WWII, the London location served as the international headquarters of Alliance française when the Paris location was closed.[72]
The Netherlands counts 32 Alliances Françaises, the main one being located in The Hague, followed by 3 major other one in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht. This network is very dynamic and powerful.
^"UNKNOWN". Alliance Française – Quito (in Spanish). Alliance Française in Quito was founded in 1953 and is the oldest of the five Alliances in Ecuador
^"UNKNOWN". La France en Équateur (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 11 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
^"UNKNOWN". Alliance Française de San Salvador (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015. … es una asociación de carácter cultural sin fines de lucro que ofrece cursos de francés, dedicada a una enseñanza de calidad [… is a non-profit cultural association that offers French courses, dedicated to quality teaching]
^"Inicio" [Start]. Alliance Française Guatemala (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2017.
^"Home". Alliance Française de la Jamaïque. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015.
^"Sedes". Alliance Française Mexique (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Home". Alianza Francesa Managua (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Home". Alianza Francesa de Asunción (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 September 2018.
^"Home". Alliance Française de Malé. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015. We are a non-profit organization aiming to teach French language, promote & share French speaking countries culture, and to encourage cultural diversity
^"Home". Alliance Française Kilkenny. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Home". Alliance Française Limerick. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Home". Alliance Française Waterford & Wexford. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Home". Cork French Film Festival. —— "Home". 26th Cork French Film Festival 1 – 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
^"Ou Sommes Nous". Alliance Française Fondazione d' Italia. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
^"Homepage". Alliance Française de Malte. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
^"Accueil". Alliance Française Chisinau – Moldavie (in French). Retrieved 11 August 2015.
Ürményházi, Attila J.(author) Un Centenaire de Rayonnement de la Culture Française (the abridged version of the AF's history to include Une Célébration de l'Alliance Française en Tasmanie), 2004. National Library of Australia, Canberra (Australian Collection) Np 943.9052 U77.
