le magazine usa

FEDERATION OF ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES USA Le magazine 1


22SommaireBoard of Directors

Le Mot de la Présidente

Guest Editorial

Annual Meeting 2004

Table ronde

Federation Web site

Le conte de fée d’Audrey Tautou

Chanel

Polly Platt

Le Palais Garnier

One Book, One Federation

Spotlight on Chapters

Community Outreach

The Year of Languages

Le Service Culturel de l’Ambassade de France

Les Alliances Françaises du Canada à l’honneur

Chapter Photos and Captions

Federation of Alliances Française USA

La Recette Le Cordon Bleu

Remerciements

Le magazine is produced and published by Media Information publishing - 16 rue brunel 75017 - Paris, France - Tel: +33 (0) 6 60 86 48 36 - Fax: +33 (0) 1 45 72 12 19 www.media-information.fr - email : [email protected] - Vice President Development and Advertising Mickael Mimouni - [email protected] Editor and communication co-ordinator Bintou Traore - [email protected] - Managing director Samuel Koskas - [email protected] manager Olivier Thomas [email protected] - Group Art Director Valerie Amato - [email protected] - Accountants - Sylviane Bourdereau Joelle Valette - Graphic Design by Jerome Bertho - +33 (0)4 67 63 07 06 - www.darsanha.com - [email protected]

Editor-in-Chief - Mary Emory - Artistic Director - Bintou Traoré & her team - Editorial Advisors - Jane Robert & Rebecca Valette - Contributors - Marty Abbott - Jean-Christian Agid Olivia Arditi - Catherine Bashet - Tom Bishop - André Cointreau - Hedwige Cointreau de Bouteville - Patrice Courtaban - Bernard Duhaime - Charles Cogan - Jean-René Gehan Carole Haley - Thomas E. Horn - Melissa Kling - Alain Landry - Julie Lindquist - Casey Mackenzie - Keith Maillard - Sandra Messier - Alain Charles Perrot - Christopher Pinet Polly Platt - Jane Robert - Philippe Schaller - Brenda Stynes - Jean-Louis Turlin - Elaine Uzan Leary - Rebecca Valette - Claire Van Brunt - Randy Williams - Matthew Wyatt

Le magazine is distributed by MEP DistribooksSpecial Thanks - Our Advertisers - Arnaud Adida for Acte 2 Agency - Nicholas Mengin & MEP Distribooks - Alain Charles Perrot - ArtmediaCover photograph by Friedmann Hauss

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Federation of Alliances Françaises, (USA), Inc.

HONORARY BOARDHis Excellency,Jean-David Levitte,Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-UnisThe Honorable Howard H. Leach,American Ambassador to FranceMr. John H. BryanM. Pierre CardinM. André CointreauMme Hedwige Cointreau de BoutevilleMr. Frank GehryMr. Robert GoeletMrs. Eleanor R. MorseComte de Pusy La FayetteMs. Diana RossMrs. Eleanor Wood PrinceMrs. Odette V. Wurzburger

PRESIDENTJane M. Robert

VICE-PRESIDENT/CORPORATE SECʼYCarole Crosby

VICE-PRESIDENTSMary B. Emory Alan Jones Rebecca M. Valette

TREASURERBernard E. Duhaime

BOARD Olivia Arditi Jane Bernbach Misa Bourdoiseau J. Wesley Green Michèle Imhoff Marie-Pierre KobanAnnik de LacazeKeith MaillardGary W. Marsh Jean-Pierre PiriouLillian PolitellaDiana M. ReganRobert H. RitterMarie-Monique Steckel H. Randolph Williams

National OfficeMelissa Kling, Office Manager E-mail: [email protected]: www.afusa.org A 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization

Board of Directors

Board of Directors


Lastly, back to the beginning: the Federation is once again housed within a local chapter. Directed by Office Manager, Melissa Kling, from the heart of the AF de Milwaukee, our new hub has solutions for you. Milwaukee francophiles expressed their excite-ment at hosting the national headquarters of the Federation during a festive dinner sponsored by the Institute of World Affairs, with keynote speaker Ambassador Jean-David Levitte and attended by Richard Barbeyron, newly-arrived Consul Général de France à Chicago.

To stay connected to the above initiatives and to discover the many other ways your Federation continues to support your chapter, don’t forget to consult our web site regularly at www.afusa.org. For instance, as of spring 2005, the Federation is offering a basic template to help chapters create effective web sites at very low cost. And as before, smaller AF member web sites are hosted free of charge on the Federation server. For this wonderful technological advancement, we thank our volunteer webmaster and Federation Board Member, Olivia Arditi, President, AF de Buffalo.

We remind all of our members that these cooperative solutions are pos-sible because of our shared expertise and resources. There are no limits to what we can accomplish when we combine our American “can do spirit” with our French “savoir faire”. Join in the fun and let your community mem-bers know: the source for French lan-guage learning and francophone cultu-ral expression is at their local Alliance Française.

Jane Robert - [email protected]

Le Mot de la PrésidenteBack to the Future

elving into our colorful past, the Federation has found dormant ideas which will serve as

springboards to our promising future! How so?

We are bringing back our National Speakers’ Bureau, revising our education handbook, and returning to our original structure of an inde-pendent home office within a local AF. These 2005 “retro-initiatives” are conceived to bring state-of-the-art services to your local chapter.

The newly resurrected National Speakers’ Bureau, chaired by Federation Board Member Diana Regan, President, AF de Philadelphie, will be a compilation of speakers and programs that member chapters may consult and contact according to their own schedule and budget. Although the directory will include

some music, theater and exhibit possibili-ties, the vast majority of listings will be lec-turers of the highest quality accepting to vi-sit an AF for a modest honorarium and ex-penses. This new op-portunity offers many AF’s the possibility of

reaching beyond local talent to “custom tailor” programs and lectures. Besides simply responding to invitations, listed presen-ters will be encouraged to contact local AF’s when they plan travel to that area in an effort to reduce travel expenses. Do you know someone who would like to participate? Let us hear from you! Don’t let your local talent be left off the list!

Also, from the depths of our archives, we have dusted off our original education handbook, Guidelines for Setting Up Classes. Created in the early 1990’s by Claudia Hardy, AF de Grand Rapids, MI, and Alain Marquer, Alliance Française de Paris, this publication has now been updated and significantly expanded by Rebecca Valette, President, AF de Boston and Federation Education Chair, in collaboration with Béatrice Hildebrand, President, AF de Sacramento. Great care has been given to assure that this new Federation Guidebook for French Classes will be a useful tool for all AF’s – whether opening a first class or managing an established school. Look for your copy before la rentrée, 2005!

D

Le Mot de la Présidente

Milwaukee, WI - New home of the Federation office


October 27, 28 and 29, 2005

Federation of Alliances Françaises USAAnnual Meeting in San Francisco

Alliance Française de San Francisco1345 Bush StreetSan Francisco, CA 94109Phone: 415-775-7755www.afsf.com

Pour vos reservations, nʼhésitez pas à contacterlʼun de ces deux établissements :

Hotel Carlton - 1075 Sutter StreetSan Francisco, CA 94109Tel: 415-673-0242, 415-292-1182www.carltonhotel.com (à trois minutes à pied de lʼAF)

Hotel Cornell de France - 715 Bush StreetSan Francisco, CA 94108 Tel: 415-421-3154www.cornellhotel.com

Guest Editorial

Chers amis,

C’est avec grand plaisir que l’Alliance Française de San Francisco accueillera les 27, 28 et 29 octobre 2005 le congrès annuel de la Fédération des Alliances Françaises (USA). Y sont invités non seu-lement les présidents mais tous les membres de toutes les Alliances des États-Unis et de Puerto Rico ainsi que les représentants de la France, du Canada et du Mexique.

Fondée en 1889, l’Alliance Française de San Francisco, située dans un bâtiment historique, est la plus ancienne Alliance des Etats-Unis. Nous ferons de notre mieux afin de vous assurer un congrès fructueux et agréable. Sous la direction de Rebecca Valette de la French Library/Alliance Française de Boston et de Mary Emory de l’Alliance Française de Milwaukee, le programme composé d’ate-liers, de conférences et d’interventions sera de très haute qualité et se déroulera dans nos très agréables salles de classe de l’Alliance. L’Assemblée Générale aura lieu dans notre nouvel amphithéâtre.

Pour votre confort, nous avons bloqué des chambres à un prix abordable dans deux hôtels très charmants situés à quelques minutes à pied de l’Alliance.

Depuis la ruée vers l’or, les Français sont très nombreux dans la région de San Francisco. Ceux qui s’y sont installés actuellement ne voudront pas manquer l’occasion de faire votre connais-sance et de vous accueillir à San Francisco. Le Consul Général de France à San Francisco,

Monsieur Frédéric Desagneaux et Madame Desagneaux vous in-viteront à la résidence de France le jeudi soir du congrès. Et puis, le samedi soir après la clôture du congrès, toute la communauté française de la Baie vous invitera à une «soirée française» dans la Green Room du San Francisco War Memorial, monument histori-que de style beaux arts, situé en plein cœur de San Francisco. Une soirée exceptionnelle à ne pas manquer!

Je suis aussi heureux de vous faire savoir que l’Ambassadeur de France aux Etats-Unis, Son Excellence Jean-David Levitte et Ma-dame Levitte ont accepté notre invitation de participer au congrès et viendront à San Francisco se joindre à nos activités. Monsieur Levitte nous adressera la parole lors de son «déjeuner de l’Ambas-sadeur» traditionnel le vendredi à midi. Notre dîner de gala aura lieu dans la célèbre Venetian Room de l’Hôtel Fairmont à Nob Hill le vendredi soir.

Si vous n’êtes pas encore inscrits, faites-le aujourd’hui ! Vous ne le regretterez pas. Vous serez tous les bienvenus à San Francisco !

Thomas E. Horn,Président Alliance Française

de San Francisco

Guest Editorial


Assemblée Générale

Thursday

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Le Congrès de la Fédération des Alliances Françaises USA 2004 sʼest tenu à Washington DC, sous lʼégide de lʼAmbassa-deur de France Monsieur Jean-David Levitte. Tout au long de ces trois jours, ateliers et tables rondes se sont succédés.De magnifiques soirées dans les salons de lʼAmbassade de France et au Ritz Carlton à lʼoccasion de la remise du prix Charbonnier ont ponctué ses sessions de travail.

1 Bintou Traoré, Paris & Mary Emory, Milwaukee 2 Farah Golgolab & Fa-rida Mazhar, Washington D. C., Misa Bourdoiseau & Rosemary Whitney France, Seattle 3 Rebecca Valette & Elaine Uzan Leary, Boston MA 4 Am-bassador & Mme Levitte (wearing her new Federation scarf) with Federation President, Jane Robert, St. Louis MO 5 Guests listening to presentation at reception 6 Thierry Chambon, Sara-sota, FL; Mary Emory & Anne Héris-son-Leplae, Milwaukee WI; Farida Mazhar, Washington, D. C. 7 Olivier Pellenard, Délégué Général Adjoint; Pierre Hudelot, Délégué Général, Washington, D. C.; Alain Marquer, AF de Paris 8 Madame Levitte dons new scarf with Jane Robert 9 Bob & Mar-cella Ritter, Toledo OH 0 Ambassador Levitte shows gift of Paris skyline in-cluding Alliance Française ¡ Ambas-sador Levitte speaks with Gary Marsh, (Kansas City, MO), Federation Board, Chair School Development grants Ô Mme Levitte, Ben Wastler, Ambas-sador Levitte. Georgetown Univer-sity International Relations major Ben Wastler (St. Louis, MO) enjoys benefits of internship with the Federation.

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FEDERATION OF ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES USA Le magazine

Réception à la Résidence de lʼAmbassadeur de France,son Excellence Monsieur Jean-David Levitte.

Washington D.C.

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1 Jean-Louis Turlin, editor France-Amérique & Christine Charbon-nier, San Francisco CA 2 Bernie & Rosemary Duhaime, Omaha NE; Becca Brodarick, Louisville KY; Anne Hérisson-Leplae, Milwaukee WI 3 Table Ronde panel: Tom Bishop, NYU; Christopher Pinet, Montana State U; Jean-Louis Turlin, France-Amérique; Charles Cogan, Harvard, Boston MA; Elaine Uzan Leary, AF de Boston MA 4 Plamen Roussev, Paris & Moune Stieglitz, Washington, D. C. 5 Julie Pederson & Farah Golgolab, Washington, D. C. 6 Ann Whit-lock Swedeen, Indianapolis IN 7 Attendees listen to Table Ronde 8 Moune Stieglitz, Washington, D.C.; Monique Raimond, Paris; Caro-le Crosby, Grosse Point MI 9 Attendees sharing ideas in workshop 0 Tom Bishop, NY & Marci Cannon, Toledo OH ¡ Agnès Ndiaye Toun-kara, Boston MA Ô Béatrice Hildebrand, Sacramento CA; Katharine Branning, NY; Rebecca Valette, Boston MA £ David Lea, Charlottes-ville VA & Solange Brown, Chicago IL ¢ Display of materials offers current slelection of teaching methods for children and adults as they study French as a foreign language ˆ Les Dames aux Foulards.


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10 ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES OF USA Le magazine

Ateliers, Déjeuner avec lʼAmbassadeur, et Table Ronde à lʼHotel Hilton.



1 Monique Raimond, Paris; Tom Horn, San Francisco CA; Ambassador Levitte; Caro-le Crosby & Larry Wickes; Grosse Point, MI, Agustin Legoretta, President, Federa-tion of Alliances Françaises de Mexique 2

Frédéric Filiodeau, Chef from Le Cordon Bleu, & Monique Raimond 3 Elaine Uzan Leary, Boston; Plamen Roussev, Paris 4 Moune Stieglitz, Mme et Ambassadeur Le-vitte and Jane Robert congratulate chefs from le Cordon Bleu and Ritz-Carlton 5 Jane Robert, Monique Raimond, Chris-tine Charbonnier, Moune Stieglitz 6 Mo-nique Raimond accepts Prix Charbonnier 7 Christine Charbonnier, San Francisco CA & Anne Hérisson-Leplae, Milwaukee WI 8 Bintou Traoré, Paris; Jane Robert, St. Louis, MO; Mickael Mimouni, Paris 9 John & Mary Emory enjoyed dinner 0 Amb. Levitte, Monique Raimond, Mme Levitte, Jane Robert ¡ One of the Cordon Bleu masterpieces Ô Marie-Christine & Richard Slater, Pasadena CA; Marianne Sprague, Buffalo NY; James Hendrickson, Washington, D. C.; Ann Swedeen, Indiana-polis IN; Annie Boutin-King, Ritz Carlton Director of Catering £ Jean-Paul Valette, Boston MA & Mme Levittte

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Soirée du Prix Charbonnier décerné cette année à Pierre Cardin.Monsieur Cardin était représenté par Monique Raimond.

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here were many highlights, including the record at-tendance, at the annual meeting of the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA. held in Washington, D.C.

from October 21-23, 2004, at the Hilton Washington Embas-sy Row. Certainly one was the luncheon speech of French Ambassador to the United States, Jean-David Levitte, on the history of Franco-American relations and current coopera-tive ventures such as the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, where the French have committed troops and command staff, and the debt relief promised to Iraq during its reconstruction are positive signs for the future of relations between our two great nations.

Of similar interest was the plenary Round Table entitled “Franco-American Relations: The Short Term and the Long View” featuring five speakers who addressed a broad spec-trum of the problems that have threatened relations between the two countries during the past two years. The panel also offered some strategies that the Federation and Francophiles generally might consider in their effort to counter French-bashing.

Panelist Charles G. Cogan, a Senior Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy School of Government and author of the recently published French Negotiating Behavior: Dealing with the “Grande Nation,” offered an assessment of how and why things went wrong between France and the United States over the latterʼs decision to wage war on Iraq in 2003. For Cogan it was a case of France “for the first time since 1917 voluntarily stepping aside from the Big Three Alliance of Western Powers that had existed since that time.” (He excluded the Suez Crisis of 1956 as an aberration).

Coganʼs thesis is that U.S. and French officials misread each other. Cogan asserts that the Americans thought that “in the final analysis, the French would abstain in a second resolu-tion that would have opened the way for an attack on Iraq,” and the French thought that in the absence of any tangible reasons the United States was unlikely to go to war. Once the French realized that the Americans were going to go forward anyway they joined with other U.N. members like Germany and Russia in attempting to deter or postpone the U.S. at-tack.

Cogan goes on to analyze what he considers the weakness of Jacques Chiracʼs position; namely that he did not have all of the European leaders with him. Just as George Bush was thwarted by Chirac in gaining U.N. approval for his inva-sion of Iraq, Tony Blair kept Chirac from getting complete European condemnation. All of this has resulted in the most

Christopher P. Pinet“Editor-in-Chief” French Review

T

Table rondeFranco-American RelationsThe Short Term and the Long View

“ All of this has resulted in the most serious crisis in French-Americanrelations in history .”

Table Ronde


serious crisis in French-American relations in history and has called into question the Western alliance system of the Cold War. This turn of events poses a serious challenge to organizations like the Alliance Française with its long-time goal of promo-ting French and Francophone culture and language. Cogan attributes the current ignorance and prejudice against France to three factors: longstanding Gallic/Anglo incompatibilities, the lack of a significant French immigrant base in the United States, and a relatively weak French presence in American universities and think tanks.

At the same time he points to the continuing attraction of Americans to French language and culture as well as the long history of the Franco-American alliance. (The two countries are the only two major powers of the West never to have gone to war with one another.)

“ The two countries are the only two major powers of the West never to have gone to war with one another .”Christopher P. Pinet, Editor in Chief of the French Review, the official journal of the American Association of Teachers of French, and a professor of French at Montana State Uni-versity, Bozeman, gave a brief history of Franco-American relations and the ambivalence that has characterized them as far back as Thomas Jefferson, who wrote of the French and Europe in a letter from Paris in 1787, “Under the pretence of governing, they have divided their nations into two classes, wolves and sheep. I do not exaggerate. This is a true picture of Europe.” For Jefferson, we Americans offered a “primi-tive and precious model of what is to change the condition of man over the Globe.”

Pinet went on to say that there will always be differences between France and the United States because their national interests are not always the same and because they are moral rivals. Pinet contended that the last two years have seen an unprecedented increase in the politicization of francophobia or French-bashing as evidenced in speeches by government officials, newspaper columnists, and television commenta-tors. This has lead to further negative stereotyping on a grand scale. It is the popularization of these negative stereotypes in the media and particularly television talk-show hosts that have made things worse than ever before. Nonetheless, polls conducted by USA/CNN/Gallup Poll in mid-September 2003 seemed to indicate that the worst was over. He handed out an anti-French “comedy” relationship diagram taken from the website miquelon.org (based in Toronto) to show how comedians and talk-show hosts like Conan OʼBrian, Dennis Miller, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Howard Stern, and Lorne Michaels Lipowitz have used anti-French jokes and slurs to discredit the French and French-Canadians. Miquelon.org tracks these discriminatory remarks as well the history of Franco-American relations and responses from members of the French government, including French Ambassador Jean-David Levitte.

“ French is doing very well in the United States despite the dominance of Spanish.”Pinet quoted other polls that show that a great number of Americans are ill-informed about the French and agreed with Charles Cogan that the lack of a strong lobby of French-Americans in the U.S. has meant that no organized opposition has been formed to coun-ter the French-bashing. Pinet concluded with a discussion of the absurdity of the boycott of French products. He pointed out that France is the second largest investor in the United States with over 2,370 companies on American soil. They do over $170 billion dollars of business yearly and employ over 650,000 Americans. The United States, for its part, is the number one investor in France. During the period when Bill OʼReilly called for a boycott of all French products a number of American companies that have nothing to do with France, such as French s̓ Mustard and the Idaho potato growers had to issue pleas stating that they were not French so that their business would not be hurt. Cities in the Northwest said that they would not change their French names, and French com-panies in the United States had to hire extra security for fear of reprisal and to publicly disassociate themselves from their government s̓ policies. In a poll by Time Magazine conducted in the spring of 2003, 45% of Americans said that they wanted to boycott French products, but only 14% could readily iden-tify a significant number of them.

Table rondeFranco-American RelationsThe Short Term and the Long View

Charles Cogan E. Uzan Leary Jean-Louis Turlin Tom Bishop


Pinet believes that the Alliances should start an advocacy pro-gram like that recently begun by the AATF. Members should respond in writing to slurs or inaccurate statements against the French and unfair statements about any French-speaking peoples. In large cities the Alliance should make contact with French businesses that might present programs about themselves and France in community settings. Information packets might be prepared and distributed based on Richard Shyrockʼs “French: the Most Practical Language,” found at his website at www.fll.vt.edu/french/whyfrench.html.

Tom Bishop, Florence Gould Professor of French Literature and Director of the Center for French Civilization and Cul-ture at New York University, made the important point that professors of French in the United States should not take a defensive stance towards anti-French behavior or adopt the position of victim. French is doing very well in the United States despite the dominance of Spanish. Bishop calls on us to eschew “cultural studies” and the trend toward world literature departments that offer foreign literature in trans-lation. He also deplores multidisciplinary fads and urges us to stand by French culture and the French language. France, a country and people in full evolution, is more worthy of study than ever. Yet the French language cannot be disasso-ciated from culture, which must remain at the heart of our teaching. Bishop believes that if we convey our passion and commitment to administrators and students, we will more than hold our own: our glass is half full if we choose to view it that way.

Jean-Louis Turlin, Editor and Director of France-Amérique and a correspondent for Le Figaro, moderated the panel. He empha-sized the vitally important role of the 120 Alliances in the United States and their two main functions: to organize French language courses and to provide the very best in cultural programming in cooperation with the Délégation de lʼAlliance Française de Paris, which has recently adopted independent status while continuing to work hand-in-hand with the Federation. Indeed, the délégué général, Pierre Hudelot, his adjunct, Olivier Pellenard, and the conseiller pédagogique, Frédéric Brosson, invited members of the Fédération to a presentation of some of the programs that will be traveling across the United States at the French Embassy. For those Alliances that cannot afford the more expensive pro-gramming, there is also a list of local speakers whom they and all Alliances can call on for first-rate presentations. This new initiative by the Federation is a positive development in the current climate, and the list can be found on the website (www.afusa.org). Alain Marquer, the Director of International Rela-tions for the Alliance Française de Paris, made clear the im-portant working relationship that his office maintains with theFederation.

Elaine Uzan Leary, Executive Director of the French Library and Culture Center of Boston and Cambridge, discussed a new series of programs called the Leadership Series headed by Dr. Charles Cogan. Expert speakers have made presen-tations on the war with Iraq, the definition of Judaism in France, conflictive friendship between the United States and France (Michel Rocard). Other topics have included cultural

differences that create misunderstandings between the French and the Americans and a panel on multilateralism in the wake of the U.S. presidential election with representatives from France, Germany, and Great Britain. Leary explained that there had been some disagreement about the mission of the French Library/Alliance Française, which is defined as the promotion of language and culture from France and the Fran-cophone world to the greater Boston community. Some have said that there should not be political discussions; others that the mission should be to defend the French position. The discussion topics listed above have brought some negative reactions, but Leary maintains that an open forum for ideas is necessary if we are to overcome misconceptions and in-crease mutual and world understanding in spite of inevitable differences of opinion between France and the United States. Friendship cannot and should not be defined by agreement alone.

One way to promote understanding is by inviting speakers who are willing to talk about their personal experiences of life and culture, such as anti-Semitism. Danielle Lévi Alva-rès, for example, spoke about her recently published book, La Réparation. She told of how her father was born Jewish in Paris but converted to Protestantism at an early age because of his positive experience in the French Boy Scouts. Later he became a prominent Protestant Minister, married the daughter of Pétainʼs Minister of State, and raised all his five children as Christians, something his own parents apparently accepted. After Danielleʼs father died she spent years trying to mend fences and ultimately converted to Judaism. Her perspective was unique and brought new light to French and American cultural differences in a way that a speech by a dignitary or governmental representative could not have, since it did not involve an official governmental policy or position. Leary quoted Charles DeGaulleʼs famous words “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” Discussion and dialogue are especially important because 2005 has been designated the Year of Languages by the U.S. Senate. As for the AF of Boston and Cambridge, which celebrates its 108th anniversary in 2005, and the French Library, which celebrates its 60th, they will continue to promote French language and culture, language classes to adults and children, and a wide range of cultural events including discussions of important political topics.

“ I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.”

“ Friendship cannot and should not be defined by agreement alone.”

Table Ronde

Tom Bishop, New York University; Chris Pinet, Montana State University, Editor in Chief: French Review; Jean-Louis Turlin, President, France Amé-rique; Charles Cogan, Harvard University; Elaine Uzan Leary, Executive Director, French Library and Cultural Center / Alliance Française of Boston and Cambridge.


Home page• Quoi de neuf? News updates and links

Members OnlyThese password-protected pages contain a wealth of useful information for Alliance Française chapters who are members of the Federation.• Federation Board Contact information; activities• AF Chapters Directory of all AFs in the United States and Puerto Rico• National Speakers Bureau Listing of speakers and programs• Education Listing of Education Directors; Survey of teaching materials; Handbook; Templates; Concours questions• Culture Reading guidelines for “One Book – One Federation” selections• Grants Guidelines for application

About Us• History History of the Federation from 1902 to the present• Board of Directors Names, brief bios, committee assignments• FAQ Frequently asked questions

Alliances in the USA• Alliance Locator US map showing all AFs, plus addresses and web links• Chapter Programs Photos and descriptions of successful programs and events

ave you or members of your Alliance ever had questions and were not sure where to find the answers? For example — When and where will

the next Annual Meeting be held? Who are the Federation board members and committee heads, and how can I con-tact them? Where can I get a copy of the Forum Newslet-ter? Is it possible to see sample questions for the National Concours? How does our AF apply for a School Develop-ment Grant? Which Alliances are using which textbooks, and how do I reach their Education Directors? Which Al-liances are test centers for DELF/DALF and other exams recognized in France? Where can I find a reading guide for the current selection of “One Book - One Federation”? Is there a Federation handbook for teaching AFs, and how can I get one?

Wonder no longer! Answers to the above questions and many more are now available at the click of a mouse at the Federation web site: www.afusa.org. Our thanks go to Board Member and Webmaster Olivia Arditi, President of the Alliance Française de Buffalo and Director of the Western New York Regional Information Network at the University at Buffalo, who has spent the past seve-ral months expanding and overseeing the redesign of the Federation web site. Now it is much easier to navigate this site and find just the information you need. And thanks to the generosity of Board Member Wes Green, president of Champs-Elysées, our new server space is large enough to host at no charge small web sites of Federation members.

Here is a brief listing of some of the contents of the web site… but you will actually have to go to www.afusa.org to discover all the helpful information it contains! Happy surfing!

Federation web siteby Rebecca M. Valette

Alliance Française de Boston et de CambridgeVice-President, Federation of Alliances Françaises, USA

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By Rebecca M. Valette, Alliance Française de Boston et de Cambridge, Vice President Federation of Alliances Françaises, USA

Federation Web Site

http://www.afusa.org


Publications• Federation Forum Current and recent newsletters in pdf format

Meetings• Annual Meetings Information on forthcoming meetings; reports of past meetings• Regional Meetings Information on regional meetings and sample programs

Learning French• Language Classes Philosophy and description of AF offerings• Test Centers Descriptions of tests from France; list of test centers• AF National Concours Information; lists of past winners• Community Outreach Photos and descriptions of successful programs• Education Committee Activities of the Education Committee: surveys, publications

French Culture• French American Caucus Description; list of Congressional members• National Speakers Bureau Background information • Reading Groups One Book - One Federation: reading group suggestions• Libraries Description of Project Benjamin

Grants and Awards • School Development Grants Description; list of past recipients• Prize Book Fund Description; list of past recipients• Charbonnier Award History; list of past recipients• Morse Visibility Grants Description and requirements

Federation Boutique• How to order Descriptions and prices: AF scarves, pins, etc.

Membership• Member chapters and Members-at-large How to join• Member services Listing of member benefits

Links• Sponsors and patrons• French Institutions Alliance Française de Paris; Délégation de l’AF aux USA, etc.• Education / Media / Culture / Travel


ne poignée de séduction, une pincée de charme, un soupçon de gentillesse se sont quelques-uns des

ingrédients qui composent la réussite dʼAudrey Tautou. A presque 27 ans, Audrey réussi le tour de force de con-quérir critiques et cinéphiles à chaque nouveau film. Nous retrouvons Audrey Tautou, dans des rôles émou-vants et attachants : femme de chambre turque à qui tous les malheurs arrivent (Dirty pretty things de Stephen Frears), fiancée oubliée par son compagnon (lʼAuberge espagnole de Cédric Klapisch), ou encore dans celle dʼune jeune femme qui se lance à la recherche dʼun Dieu auquel sʼattacher pour ne pas couler (Dieu est Grand, je suis toute petite de Pascale Bailly). Son talent et sa popularité sont tels que le réalisateur Ron Howard lʼa récemment choisie pour incarner Sophie Neveu dans la prochaine adaptation du best seller de Dan Brown le « Da Vinci Code » . Retour sur le parcours atypique et sans faux pas de la nouvelle grande icône du cinéma Français.

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Audrey Tautou

Le Conte de Fée dʼAudrey Tautou

Le conte de fée d’


Audrey Tautou


En 2004, Audrey rejoint Jean-Pierre Jeunet pour le tourna-ge dʼUn long dimanche de Fiançailles dʼaprès lʼœuvre de Sébastien Japrisot. Projet sur lequel Jeunet travaillait de-puis plus de 10 ans. Elle incarne Mathilde qui à la fin de la Première Guerre mondiale part à la recherche de son fiancé quʼelle est la seule à croire encore vivant. Le destin dʼAudrey Tautou semble tout tracé, elle fait aujourdʼhui partie de la liste élaborée par le magazine Peo-ple des 50 personnes les plus belles de la planète. Et cʼest loin dʼêtre fini, car elle court, elle court toujours. Le tournage du Da Vinci Code devrait débuter cet été. A ses côtés nous retrouverons deux grands acteurs du cinéma international : Jean Reno et Tom Hanks. Gageons quʼAudrey Tautou réus-sira là encore à nous étonner, à nous épater même. Affaire à suivre…

Bintou Traoré

“ Elle fait aujourd’hui partie de la liste élaborée par le magazine People des 50 personnes les plus belles de la planète.”

té 1978, Audrey Tautou voit le jour. Elle grandit dans une bourgade du centre de la France : Montlu-çon. Montluçon, cʼest des étendues dʼherbes folles,

autour de châteaux en rénovations et de bois à perte de vue. Le vent qui caresse les visages et met du rose sur les joues des jeunes filles.Cʼest peut-être cela qui donne à Audrey cette fraîcheur et cet air innocent qui ne la quittent pas à lʼécran, qui lui fait garder les pieds sur terre lorsque dʼautres se laisseraient emporter, voire noyer dans le tourbillon médiatique qui attend toute jeune actrice dont un premier grand succès caracole en tête des box offices internationaux. Mais ne nous égarons pas.Après avoir passé son baccalauréat, Audrey monte sur Pa-ris poursuivre des études de Lettres Modernes et en paral-lèle sʼinscrire au Cours Florent : célèbre école dʼart drama-tique qui a vu éclore bon nombre de comédiennes telles que Sophie Marceau, Clotilde Courau ou encore Sylvie Testud. De casting, en casting, Audrey finit par décrocher un grand rôle dans le film de Tonie Marshall “Venus Beauté (institut)”. Sa prestation lui vaudra le César du meilleur espoir féminin. Cʼest le début dʼune longue liste de récompenses.

En effet, à lʼaube de lʼannée 2000, le réalisateur Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Alien la résurrection, Delicatessen) est à la recherche dʼune actrice qui pourra donner vie au personnage de son prochain film : Le fabuleux destin dʼAmélie Poulain. Jeunet découvre Audrey sur une affiche de “Venus Beauté (insti-tut)”. Quelque chose lui laisse penser que ce bout de femme dʼun mètre soixante trois au sourire désarmant pourrait in-carner son héroïne. Audrey est contactée pour une audition et cʼest le coup de foudre via la caméra. Le film à lʼutopie con-tagieuse, entraînera un enthousiasme sans bornes lors de sa sortie, car le talent dʼAudrey sʼexprime à merveille à travers le personnage dʼAmélie. Cʼest lʼascension de la débutante au rang de star. Les récompenses pleuvent : nomination aux Eu-ropean Film Award catégorie meilleure actrice européenne, nomination aux Césars 2002 dans la catégorie meilleure ac-trice. Mais Audrey nʼen reste pas là et continue son petit bon-homme de chemin car les réalisateurs se lʼarrachent. On lʼa retrouvée à lʼécran pour : A la folie …pas du tout de Laetitia Colombani, Lʼauberge espagnole de Cédric Klapish, Dirty Pretty things de Stephen Frears, Pas sur la bouche dʼAlain Resnais et Happy end dʼAmos Kollek.

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Filmographie:

1999Venus Beauté (Institut) de Tonie Marshall

2000Le Libertin de Gabriel AghionLe Battement dʼailes du papillon de Laurent Firode

2001Le Fabuleux destin dʼAmélie Poulain de Jean-Pierre JeunetDieu est Grand je suis toute petite de Pascale Bailly

2002A la folie …pas du tout de Laetitia ColombaniLʼauberge espagnole de Cédric KlapishDirty pretty things de Stephen FrearsPas sur la bouche dʼAlain ResnaisHappy end dʼAmos Kollek

2003 Un long dimanche de fiançailles de Jean-Pierre Jeunet

2004 Les poupées russes de Cédric Klapisch

2005 Da Vinci Code de Ron Howard (En préparation)

Le Conte de Fée dʼAudrey Tautou

Crédit Photo : Friedmann Hauss


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CHANEL

R E D C A R P E T

ShowroomBienvenue sur le « Red Carpet »

Chanel. Un nom synonyme dans le monde entier de luxe et dʼélégance. Lʼélégance discrète de Mademoiselle Coco Chanel sans doute. Pour la collection Printemps/Eté 2005, Karl Lagerfeld revisite pour notre plus grand plaisir, les grandes heures du glamour hollywoodien. Nous nous envolons vers les lumières des projecteurs de la côte Ouest à lʼaide de soies légères et dʼimprimés aux tons beiges. Le raffinement des tailleurs de tweed, des sandales en satin noir rehaussé dʼun solitaire géant, vous habilleront à ravir tout au long de lʼété. Pour un style ten-dance « bohème chic » des jupes en tweed plus légères séduiront plus dʼune de nos lectrices. Les accessoires me direz-vous ? Là encore un hommage à Mademoiselle Chanel, qui fut la première à bouleverser les codes, à travers un savant mélange de bijoux fantaisie et de colliers de perle. Colliers dont les sautoirs sont illuminés par les symboles de la maison.

Il nʼy a pas de doute, le total look Chanel sera une valeur sûre de lʼété 2005.

par Bintou Traoré

22 ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES OF USA Le magazine


Chanel


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1 Collier métal doré 2 Sac en tweede 3 Bracelet résine et crystal 4 Bracelet métal, résine et strass 5 Chaussures agneau et veau vernis 6 Sac de golf tissu, cuir et métal 7 Lunette et collier bijoux 8 Bracelet perle

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Chanel

FEDERATION OF ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES USA Le magazine 25Crédit photos : Frédérique Dumoulin & Emiliano Grassi


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1 Sandales satin et aligator 2 Sac daim et métal blanc 3 Boucles d’oreilles 4 Lunette classique 5 Collier de perles et strass 6 Chaussures agneau 7 Boucles d’oreilles cœur et monogramme 8 Sac panier

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Chanel

FEDERATION OF ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES USA Le magazine 27Crédit photos : Frédérique Dumoulin & Emiliano Grassi


t the breakfast table, around the time of theAmerican invasion of Iraq, my 11-year-old French grandson looked at the morning newspaper with

a worried face and then asked me, “Mima, when are the Americans going to bomb France?”

A few days later, a cartoon in the International Herald Tribune portrayed a CIA agent briefing President Bush. Pointing at the Eiffel Tower, he said, “We think this is a missile aimed at the United States.” Funny, sort of.

Not any more. American degrading and demonizing of the French, online and in the media, has become routine. The two countries, old friends and loyal allies for 200 years, have had spats continually for lots of good cultural reasons which have to do both with similarities -- rivalry -- and dif-ferences. Like an old married couple, they always kissed and made up; the basic tissue of fondness and mutual respect was never really threatened.

Among Americans, if French bashing was rampant, it used to be done behind closed doors with a certain amount of shame and restraint. The bashers, educated adults aware of France s̓ august past of military superiority and crucial contribution to Ameri-ca s̓ War of Independence, as well as a beacon of artistic and scientific innovation, understood the possibility that they them-selves might be the problem -- that perhaps they had a skewed perception of these people who confounded them. These were often business people transferred to France who had had no previous exposure to France or to the French language and were feeling as helpless as babies. They were courteous, what used to be called well brought up, and -- except for Mark Twain -- hesitated to condemn a whole culture on the flimsy basis of their own ignorance and personal feelings. With a little cross-cultural nudging they saw that indeed they had been looking through the wrong end of the telescope. Once you absorbed the French cultural differences, you understood that within their own parameters they made sense. These Americans learned to appreciate the French and recognize their right to their own opinions, strategies and ways of doing things.

All that has changed. It is now open season on the French. Never mind that the French were right about Iraqʼs lack of weapons of mass destruction. Never mind that the aftermath of the invasion turned into the nightmare the French predic-ted and that the French have stoically contained their I-told-you soʼs. Nevertheless, because France did not go along with the invasion, and did what they could to postpone it, they are now condemned to the sewer. There is no discussion, no discourse, no right of appeal.

And not just condemned without a hearing: they are ridiculed, insulted, smeared with slime, defiled with muck.

It is true that lately both governments have been speaking more softly about and even to each other. And a few days ago, President Bush himself picked up the phone and had a talk with President Chirac of France, something unthinkable even a few weeks ago.

It is also true that the peoples of both countries have cooled off. From the beginning the French have been nonchalant about this present friction. They like Americans and donʼthesitate to say so, making it clear that it is the present Admi-nistration in Washington they have problems with.

Americans have by now forgotten about freedom fries and the urge to dump French products onto the street. Now as before, Americans who have visited France almost always come back bubbling over with the kindness of the French and with the fun of eating wonderful food while discovering treasures of the French countryside and museums.Mark Johnson, a Cornell biology major from Syacuse, NY, on an exchange program in Paris, said he was stunned by the niceness of French people and the trouble they took to listen to his French.

“I thought theyʼd go straight to English when they heard my stumbling use of their language, but they were pleased that I tried , and did all they could to encourage me,” he said. “Itʼs funny that they donʼt smile at strangers on the Métro -- Iʼm not used to that, even though I come from New York, but I

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Open Season on the French

Polly Platt

“ The two countries, old friends and loyal allies for 200 years.”

Polly Platt


figure itʼs just not their way. What is nice is that when they hear your accent and find out that youʼre American, theyʼre curious about everything and ask all sorts of questions.”

Gene Weingarten, the Washington Post humor columnist, went to France on an assignment to search for the typical “arrogant, cold, rude Frenchman.” He couldnʼt find one. The ones he found were all charming to him.

Rosine Evans, a petite blonde, pretty, elegant and smart, the way only the French make them -- pert comes to mind -- who has lived in Seattle for ten years with her English husband and loves it, is impressed by how open Americans are to revising their prejudices.

“Take the American reaction to the new French law banning -- in state schools -- the head scarf worn by Moslem wo-men, she says. “At first they are adamant about its invasion of personal liberty. But they quickly see the point when you explain to them that there are 6 million Moslems in a country of 60 million, threatening to become a state within a state if allowed to follow their own, rather than French laws....and that the law is life-giving to many young Moslem wo-men who long to integrate in France and hate the scarf but are obliged to obey their father or brother, or be subjected to violence and perhaps death.”

Rosine, named for the heroine in the opera “The Barber of Seville”, notices a vast difference in American opinions of the French before and after a trip there.

“When normal American people say bad things about the French, it is always because they havenʼt been there,” she says. “So whenever I hear of friends planning a trip, I or-ganize tea or lunches with my French friends in Paris. The Americans always came back transformed.”

Yes, but open a newspaper in America or tune into a late-night comedian on the television and youʼll be bombarded with the same anti-French sleaze that began making the rounds after the Iraq invasion. Surf the bloggers and itʼs worse. Unprintable, in fact. In between their four-letter words about the French, they repeat over and over how “ungrateful the French are after having been saved by the US in two world

wars.“ Invariably they say that the fact that America helped them out in two world wars gives the US the right to lead them blindly wherever it wants, forever. One, asked by a Frenchman online what he had against the French, said, “Youʼre assholes and you stink.”

Frenchmen like author Antoine Audouard visit New York and are bowled over by American hostility in the media. In a January article in the New York Times with the headline “Behind Enemy Lines,” Audouard describes an ad on a bus shelter for the History Channelʼs current series about the French Revolution: “For Two Hours, It Wonʼt Kill You to Love the French.”

“It has become fashionable -- even commonplace -- in the American media,” he writes, “to associate the French with things cowardly, despicable, unfaithful, ungrateful or foul-smelling...Here in the country of political correctness, where the mainstream press treads on eggshells when talking about race, nation or ethnicity, French-bashing, it would seem, has become politically correct. “

Audrouard finds that while it is one thing to disagree with another countryʼs politics, a “generalized expression of con-tempt or hatred for a society, its history, its culture and its people” is disgraceful.

“Americans themselves,” he writes, “are sometimes con-fronted with this kind of absurd hostility abroad. Of all na-tionalities, they should be the first to stay away from it. After all, diversity and respect for other cultures are among the core values on which America was founded -- and by which Americans thrive.”

“So whenever I hear of friends planning a trip, I organize tea or lunches with my French friends in Paris. The Americans always came back transformed.”

Polly Platt


And now a book has come out -- published by Doubleday! -- called “Our Oldest Enemy.” The authors are a polemicist with the National Review, John J. Miller, and a professor at Seton College, Mark Molesky. The book has provoked disgust among critics. Two eminent professors, scholars of France and authors of books about it, Stanley Hoffman of Harvard, and Robert Paxton of Columbia have condemned it to the trash can. “Readers looking for reasons to hate the French, who tolerate selective and slanted scholarship, will applaud,” wrote Paxton. In Foreign Affairs (Nov-Dec 2004). Hoffman wrote: “That a book as biased and shoddy as this one should be published by a reputable press is eminently regrettable.”

“The two countries will grow together again.”Franceʼs most popular philospher, Bernard-Henri Lévy, re-gretting the bookʼs portrayal of his countrymen as ”corrupt, crafty, insidious, lascivious, stingy and cunning,” calls it a “mad charge against a diabolical nation, the incarnation of evil, bearing in the body and soul of its citizens the stigmata of an ill will the only aim of which throughout the centuries has been the humiliation of America the great.”

Lévy recognizes that one of the causes of friction between the two countries is rivalry: France and the US, he says, ”both literary nations convinced of their special link to the Universal, cannot let this sinister copycatting in which the only stakes are the grand prize for stupidity, continue.”

Edward C. Knox, a prominent Francophile author and pro-fessor of history at Middlebury College, agrees that the spe-cial feelings of exceptionality of France and of the US are a big reason for suspicion of each other.

“Both countries believe they have a mission to tell other countries how to live and behave,” he said in an interview. “But both see the other acting out of its own interests. Neither country is willing to see its interests as solely its interests, rather than a crusade for liberty and democracy, or the reign of reason and civilization, etc. How could there not be ten-sion?”

The list of areas of contention betwen the two countries is dense and endless (see my article “Roots of Franco-Ameri-can Friction,” www.pollyplatt.com) and yet, there is so much in common ... above all, humanitarian goals for mankind and the belief in the rule of law as the basis of democracy.

“The two countries will grow together again,” said Jacques Adriani, former French Ambassador to the US and author of a book about America, “but it will take time, much time.”

Polly Platt


Le Magazine What is ESSEC’s international growth strategy?

Pierre Tapie“This strategy has three main axes: the first is that ESSEC develops a European culture and management. Our aim is to be one of the three leadingbusiness schools in Europe. The second is enhancing our commitment to Asia. A world-class business school mustimperatively integrate an Asian strategy, and that is whatESSEC has done by creating the ESSEC Asian Center inSingapore. The third axis relates to North America, where our strategy is based on partnerships with prestigious firms and business schools such as Kellogg, Chicago and Berkeley.”

And what distinguishes your Integrated MBA from the MBA’s offered by other French, European and American business schools?

“Our MBA pushes the logic of the French ‘Grande Ecole’ to its optimum level. ‘Grandes Ecoles’ are very selective and give future graduates great range of thought, and autonomy. Yet, the ESSEC MBA presents all the advantages of an integrated MBA recognized on an international level. As a matter of fact, the ESSEC MBA is ranked among the Top 100 MBA’s by The Economist. Our integrated MBA model combines solid intellectual skills, three different professional experiences and an enriching alternation between academic and professional life. Our model promotes integration of managerial skills at an early age.”

What is the profile of an average student on ESSEC’s Integrated MBA program?

“Our average student is 25 years of age, has two years of professional experience, five in higher education; he or she has spent long stretches of time abroad and must speak at least three languages. Performance is regularly assessed throughout the program since students must reach a number of milestones. Our program is very interactive and a great accelerator of maturity. Our elite American partners are always impressed by the maturity of our students, often far younger than their peers.”

Do you believe it is possible to truly reconcile the French higher education system with the American one?

“This is a key issue. Ideally you need to take the best from the two. The US system puts people in real-life situations and is very interactive, while

the French is far more about intellectual conception and abstraction. You need to hybridize them to get the best problem solving approach, based on interdisciplinarity. Our Integrated MBA incorporates professional experience into the curriculum.”

In a perfect future where will ESSEC be, and what are its greatest challenges?

“Ideally ESSEC will be one of the three best European players in the academic world, while still managing to consolidate financial equilibrium with affordable education for all bright students. We want the idea of public good in higher education to mean something. I think that our greatest challenge will be globalization. Will we be able to develop an innovative European model? How can this European model be relevant for growing countries such as China or Brazil when they define their own system? I believe that we can have a significant impact in shaping the business leaders of tomorrow.”

Finally, why do you think young American business leaders of tomorrow should choose to do their MBA at ESSEC?

“In Europe we’re lucky to live in such a densely populated region that being multicultural is a natural philosophy. However, as the US is such a vast country, the need to understand other cultures is not so obvious for Americans. Doing their graduate studies abroad will help US students gain great insight. Opening these intellectual frontiers is such an important professional opportunity. I believe that going to a US school is a good opportunity for an EU citizen, but that studying at a prestigious European school is a great opportunity for an American.”

Marie-Noëlle Bauer

France’s ESSEC Business SchoolBroadening International Academic HorizonsFor nearly 100 years ESSEC has remained committed to its core values of innovation, excellence and humanism. Though often the object of criticism - as when it opened its doors to women in 1972, when it created the first doctoral program in management among French Business Schools in 1976, or when it launched apprenticeship in 1994 - the Paris based institution has been at the forefront of academic change, cementing its reputation as one of the foremost business schools of France and Europe.In the face of competition, it has adopted an international strategy with a strong US and Asian focus. Despite being denounced by some for ‘going American’, in 1997 it became the first school outside North America to win AACSB accreditation. Dean Pierre Tapie tells us about ESSEC’s unique international vision and future.

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Le Palais

Le Palais Garnier


Garnier

Le Palais Garnier


En 1860, Paris manquait de salles de spectacles. Pour re-médier à cela l’Empereur Napoléon III décida de construi-re un nouvel édifice. Pour ce faire, il mit en place un con-cours et c’est Charles Garnier, jeune architecte peu connu à l’époque qui le remporta. La construction du Palais Garnier connu un certain nombre de péripéties durant les 15 années de sa construction, dont notamment la découverte d’un lac souterrain, qui inspira Gaston Leroux pour son œuvre le « Fantôme de l’Opéra ».

> Préserver le patrimoine

Le temps était venu d’apporter quelques « petites » retou-ches, à certaines salles dont les ornements ont été fragili-sés par le temps et la pollution. Restaurer le Grand Foyer de l’Opéra Garnier ne signifiait pas seulement nettoyer les toiles, c’était aussi et surtout retrouver l’âme insufflée par Charles Garnier. C’est également cette préservation du pa-

trimoine que Alain-Charles Perrot, architecte en chef des monuments historiques de la ville de Paris, a gardé à l’es-prit tout au long du chantier qu’il a supervisé : « C’est vrai qu’une œuvre qui n’est pas restaurée est plus attachante car elle garde la patine du temps, le côté un peu usé, un peu sale, qui peut être attachant. Mais malheureusement si on laisse les édifices ou les décors s’abîmer avec le temps, ils finis-sent par disparaître. Ruskin au 19ème siècle et Rodin égale-ment ont écrit qu’il ne fallait surtout pas toucher aux œuvres d’art, qu’il fallait les laisser mourir de leur propre mort, carc’est justement cette évolution vers la mort qui était belle et qu’il fallait respecter. Quelque part, ils n’avaient pas tort. Mais si nous les avions écoutés, aujourd hui, nous n’aurions pas la possibilité de visiter les magnifiques palais de Venise. Conserver notre patrimoine est loin d’être une démarche passéiste, bien au contraire, je dirais que c’est avoir foi en l’avenir : on pense à ceux qui vont le voir …demain. »

L’Opéra Garnier se refait une beauté

Où pourrez-vous voir à Paris, réunis en un même endroit : Rameau, Lulli, Gluck ? On vous le donne en mille : à l’Opéra Garnier. Ces statues de marbre ornent l’entrée du palais, elles vous accueilleront lorsque vous vous y rendrez, pour visiter le Grand Foyer nouvellement restauré. En janvier dernier, lors de son colloque annuel, l’Alliance Française de Paris y a d’ailleurs orga-nisé une visite de nuit. A défaut de pouvoir y assister, nous avons souhaité vous faire découvrir le travail de restauration qui a eu lieu au sein de ce monstre architectural du Second Empire.

Le Palais Garnier


différent. Et je pense que la restauration d’un lieu comme l’Opéra Garnier, se situe au même niveau, c’est à dire que vous avez une base qui est donnée, qui est historique, qui est précise, l’architecte-restaurateur va chercher à exprimer ce que souhaitait Charles Garnier avec son œil contemporain. D’une manière inconsciente, il va l’interprètrer avec son propre goût, sa sensibilité dans les choix définitifs des tein-tes, à travers l’équilibre des dorures, le niveau de brillance, le choix de l’éclat de la peinture. De plus, on devient compli-ce de l’artiste car on découvre au fur et à mesure du chantier les ajustements qu’il a dû faire. »

Les travaux y ont ajouté une lumière supplémentaire. L’esprit d’ensemble est conservé et le plus bel hommage que vous pouvez rendre à ces artistes, est encore de vous rendre au Grand palais lors de votre prochain voyage à Paris. A n’en pas douter, vous serez émerveillé.

Bintou Traoré

> Les travaux du grand Foyer

Le Grand Foyer est l’un des éléments les plus remarquables du Palais imaginé par Garnier. Il souhaitait en faire « un lieu de communion, de vie où le spectateur devient acteur ». Composé de cinq travées, il est prolongé de chaque côté par un salon octogonal et un petit salon. Vers l’avant foyer, trois grandes baies donnent accès du grand foyer aux circulations qui mènent à la salle. Deux rotondes : celle de la lune et la rotonde du soleil entourent le foyer. De chaque côté de la baie centrale, de grandes glaces de plus de six mètres de haut s’élèvent du sol. Le décor du plafond central, peint par Paul Baudry prend pour thème des allégories de la musique. Les voussures sont une déclinaison de thèmes bibliques et mythologiques. Les panneaux séparant les colonnes représentent différents pays et leurs instruments de musique. Une copie du buste de Char-les Garnier sculpté par Carpeaux se trouve au centre, près de l’une des immenses fenêtres qui courent tout le long du foyer. Celles-ci vous permettent d’ailleurs d’apprécier une vue superbe de la place de l’Opéra. En 2003, après près d’un an d’études et de recherches à tra-vers les archives et les planches en couleur laissées par Gar-nier, les travaux de restauration débutèrent. Plus de 20 corps de métiers participèrent au chantier : des lustriers, des do-reurs, en passant par des parqueteurs, des tisseurs, ou encore des brodeurs pour ne citer qu’eux.

« Nous avons effectué un travail très complet et de grande minutie. Dans un premier temps, nous avons retiré une par-tie du parquet, pour remettre l’électricité aux normes. Nous avons ensuite installé des échafaudages pour retirer la pein-ture marron, et tous les vernis sur les ors afin de retrouver les couleurs d’origines, et les motifs de décoration qui se trouvaient entre les colonnes. Nous avons dégagé l’or blanc, refait les dorures, restauré ou complété celles qui étaient abîmées. Nous avons restitué les tableaux après les avoir préalablement nettoyés, pour atteindre la couche picturale elle-même, afin de voir réapparaître les couleurs d’origines. Et puis nous avons fait retisser les rideaux suivant les modè-les d’origine et complété les sculptures qui avaient perdu un bras, ou une jambe » .Le mobilier du grand Foyer, conservé par l’Opéra, a été restitué. Telles les immenses tentures qui encadraient les fe-nêtres, les fauteuils Louis XIII dont les velours ont été re-tissés ou encore la grande horloge qui a retrouvé sa place au-dessus de la cheminée. Toute restauration demande à ce que l’architecte-restaurateur, maître d’œuvre, en apportant certaines améliorations prenne garde à ne pas dénaturer, l’œuvre de départ. Tout est question d’appréciation comme le souligne Monsieur Perrot :« Le métier de restaurateur en travaillant à l’Opéra je le comprends mieux, c’est à dire qu’en fait, c’est un petit peu comme le métier de chef d’orchestre. Quand un Chef d’or-chestre reçoit la partition d’un compositeur et bien il l’in-terprète. Quand vous écoutez une symphonie de Beethoven, si elle est jouée par un Chef d’orchestre allemand ou italien, c’est toujours du Beethoven mais ça peut être très différent. Parce qu’il y a une manière, un rythme, un éclat qui sera

Les restaurations à venir : • Les marches du parvis de l’Opéra.• La rampe de l’Empereur situe à l’Ouest du Palais Garnier.• Les abords du Palais Garnier : lampadaires, obélisques, colonnes, candelabres.

A terme :• Les façades latérales.• La coupole.

Adresse utile :Palais Garnier - 8 rue Scribe - 75009 ParisSite Internet : www.operadeparis.frInformations : 01 41 10 08 10

Crédit Photo : Jean-Pierre Delagarde


he 27th annual gathering of presidents, officers and directors of Alliances Françaises from around the world took place in Paris on January 27-29, 2005.

In attendance were three hundred participants from 83 dif-ferent countries, including over thirty from the United States making us the most heavily represented foreign country. Tho-se Federation members who arrived a few days early (avoi-ding the Northeast coast blizzard!) got together informally at the Café de Flore the preceding Sunday afternoon with colleagues from Canada, Mexico and Paris.

The keynote speaker at the official opening of the Colloque on Tuesday morning was Monsieur Michel Barnier, Mi-nistre des Affaires étrangères, who was warmly greeted by Jean-Pierre de Launoit, Président de l’Alliance Française, and Jean-Claude Jacq, Secrétaire Général. Throughout the next two and a half days, participants had the opportunity to share ideas and explore such varied topics as Inter-European Cooperation, Cultural Diversity, and Communications (in-cluding the premiere viewing of short video vignettes soon to be broadcast on TV5). The closing session focused on the expansion of the Alliance Française network around the world, with the guest participation of Monsieur Philippe Etienne, Directeur général de la coopération internationale et du développement.

The cultural highlight of this year’s Colloque was a private visit of the Opéra Garnier on Tuesday evening, followed by an elegant champagne buffet in the Grand Foyer prepared and served by the Cordon Bleu. We hope that our brief descrip-tion and the colorful photographs will encourage many more of you to be in Paris during the last week in January 2006 so that you can attend this stimulating annual gathering.

Federation of Alliances Françaises USA

Colloque International de l’Alliance Française

Fresh from the ovens of Le Cordon Bleu, a fabulous re-creation of the traditional Opera Garnier Cake. The chefs should well take pride in their creation – it is a one of a kind with a taste more subtle than a lilt in any voice or the drape of the most agile danseur....

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From San Francisco to Paris, music and dance are the common languages (except le Français, bien sûr!) Tom Horn, President of the AF de San Francisco shares a cultural moment with Gérard Mortier, Directeur de lʼOpéra Garnier.

Le Palais Garnier


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mong the many events taking place at the Washing-ton meeting in October, the Federation’s One Book-One Federation selection for 2005 was announced.

Two members of the selection committee (Jean Leblon, AF Seattle, and Randy Williams, AF Chicago) conducted a work shop in which the novel was analyzed, and methods for discus-sing the book in reading groups with the reading guide prepa-red by the committee were presented. If you have ever been asked by a good friend to recommend a book, you have an idea of the challenge facing the selection committee each year when it makes a One Book-One Federation choice. Instead of just one good friend whose tastes we know, it must choose a book that will appeal to a large number of people it has never met in chapters throughout the country. The goal is for the book selected to be an incentive to chapters to try the book, and from a successful trial to launch new reading groups. All the committee members who read this book were enthused with the selection, because it met so many of the criteria that had been set for an appropriate selection.

Les Âmes grises by Philippe Claudel won the Prix Renaudot in 2003, and was selected by Lire magazine as the best book of the year – accolades well-deserved. The story takes place in a small village in Lorraine during World War I. While the reader is well aware of a war taking place in the distance, the story is told from the perspective of the village constable and first seems to be a straight-forward account of the

investigation of a young girl’s murder. Fascinating characters come into and leave the village, and circle in and out of the investigation. As the narrative progresses, however, the si-tuation becomes more dense. Rather than a traditional roman policier in which the layers of mystery are peeled away, like those of an onion, to reach the solution, the novel seems to reverse the process, so that the motivations and complexity of the characters, and the ambiguity about what actually hap-pened, increases with the reading. The author is said to have been influenced in his own early reading by the work of Si-menon, and that is easy to believe. The psychology of the individual characters, and the sociology of the village are sure to inspire lively discussions in your groups. It is because of this compelling story, and the richness of these characters, that many of the committee readers thought that it would be en-thusiastically accepted by Alliance reading groups.The com-mittee also thought the novel selected ought to take place in France, and have a strong sense of place. Not only does this book give the reader a geographic sense of Lorraine with its distinctive weather patterns and resulting moods, it also con-veys a historic mood of the region in which so many tragic


events of World War I took place.

Perhaps most importantly, the committee felt that the book should be beautifully written, and that its langua-ge should be both readable to the primarily American audience with varying le-vels of experience, but also rewarding to students and aficionados of the French language. Jean Leblon, who has spent a career tea-ching French to Americans, discussed the levels and re-finement of the French used by the author to underscore how well the novel meets these criteria.

The groups who read and discuss this novel will also enjoy getting to know something about a new author with a diverse and interesting background. A member of the editorial board of Editions Stock, Philippe Claudel is a relatively young author with a number of books to his credit, but with a fasci-nating personal life as well. He has left careers as an alpiniste and a teacher of handicapped children to devote himself to writing. His varied experiences and his knowledge of hu-man nature and the psychological needs of individual human beings do indeed enrich his writing.

The selection committee has prepared a reading guide which can be found at the Federation’s website, www.afusa.org. We encourage groups throughout the country to become acquain-ted with and enjoy this magnificent novel, and we ask you to share your experiences with the committee so that we can all continue to encourage the reading and enjoyment of French in the United States.

Randy Williams,Literary Programs Chair,

AF de Chicago

Selection for 2005 AnnouncedLes Âmes grises by Philippe Claudel

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Comité de sélectionOne Book – One Federation 2005

Martine Camblor (AF Indianapolis)Elaine Harris (AF Chicago)Jean Leblon (AF Seattle)Cindy Marrs (AF Saint Louis)Isabelle Martinez (AF Buffalo)Martine Meyer (AF Milwaukee)H. Randolph Williams (AF Chicago)



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When criticized about his translation of a literary work, Vladimir Nabokov is reported to have said, «If you don’t like it, learn Russian.» While reading in its original language is a great experience, a good translation can be as enjoyable. The St. Louis Alliance has recently formed a group to read French works in English translation. This group is an addition to the very successful French reading groups organized and led by Cindy Marrs in St. Louis.

Besides the classics, a number of modern French works have also been translated into English. Last year’s One Book-One Federation selection, Le testament français, for example, has been translated into English as Dreams of My Russian Summers. A reading guide can be found on the Federation

website, which can be used regardless of which language the group is reading in.

Let us know about special activities of your reading groups, so that we can share your ideas with other Alliance chapters.

Randy Williams

A new Saint Louis group reads in English



Alliance Française de Berkeley

he Alliance Française de Berkeley was incorporated in California as a non-profit organization in 1962. From the outset, we established both cultural and

pedagogical functions. The principal cultural activity was a monthly lecture given in French. Classes were conducted in the homes of teachers and later in classrooms rented from various churches.

In November 1989, President Anne Métais and Director Claire Van Brunt organized the first meeting of the Alliances Françaises of California. It expanded to become an annual reunion of all West Coast AFs, each year in a different lo-cation. The sixteenth meeting took place in Seattle on April 16, 2005.

Rental prices rose steeply in the 1990s. We looked for a property to buy and found one in a desirable location. Money from our classes had been saved, and along with a fund-raising drive by mail, the Board was able to put a down payment on our “home” in 1994. The house has changed our Alliance life. We have a library, a médiathèque, rooms for classes and meetings for up to 45 people. There is also a lovely garden, tended by the “club vert”, a group of AFB volunteers, and a large kitchen permitting us to host lunches and dinners.

Popular monthly events are the café/philo, movie night, and conversation pot-lucks. All events include food and beverages. During the year we offer lectures and parties: such as wine-tastings, Beaujolais and Christmas celebrations, and a Bastille Day barbecue.

For the Centennial of the Federation, March 4, 2002, we had a dinner-dance and show, “A hundred years of Parisian music,” by the popular local group Baguette Quartet. Our most recent and very successful fund-raising event was a special holiday concert attended by 50 guests in a beautiful private home. The lovely 16th to 19th century French Christmas choralpieces were followed by a Champagne reception.

Front of the house

Spotlight

Information about our current events and classes can be found at the Alliance Française de Berkeley, website :www.afberkeley.org

Claire Van BruntFormer President, Former Director

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Spotlight on Chapter


On Chapters

1 A corner of the garden 2 A corner of the library 3 Nicole Courtet’s morning class 4 Setting the table Anthony & Marie-Noëlle Bliss 5 The dining room 6 Accounts, Richard Galton, Vice-president, Claire Van Brunt 7 Audience 8 Food preparation, Claire Van Brunt, Karin Roos (President), Caterine Burns (hostess) 9 Our hostess, Catherine Burns 0 Anthony Bliss & Joe Evinger serve the Champagne ¡ Sara Evinger, Cheryl Keller (sopranos) Miles Graber salute Ô The pianist, Miles Graber


1 2 3

4 5 6

7 8 9

10 11 12


Alliance Française de Hartford

ounded over 50 years ago, the Alliance Française de Hartford thrives today as never before because of its adaptability and innovations. For many years,

its administrative and volunteer efforts were due in large part to a strong and charismatic leader, Suzi Smith, whose talents in running the School and as unpaid Directrice helped to at-tract many members. In recent times, we hired a part-time di-rector and moved into permanent space located in the heart of downtown Hartford. The newly-restored Art Deco building offers us limited but flexible rooms, the doors of which are decorated with delightful Impressionist paintings. Drawing from the northern and mid sections of Connecticut as well as southern Massachusetts, our membership of more than 300 continues to cherish traditional French activities with family and friends, such events as La Rentrée, la Fête du Beaujolais nouveau, la Fête de Noël, Bastille Day, and even an annual Soirée tennis.

The Alliance Française de Hartford School is our mainstay. With the support of the School Committee members, our volunteer Chef dʼécole combines her pedagogical expertise as a professor with sensitivity to teacher and student needs, providing encoura-gement for all who participate. We are duly proud of our School s̓ high standards for hiring excellent faculty, their talent and con-geniality resulting in strong individual teacher followings. The faculty is diverse in national origin and teaches both «French in Action» and personally designed courses that focus on their own fields of interest. Our curriculum is currently for the adult learner. Many of our students are neither American nor French, which introduces global perspectives and often leads in turn to bonds that extend beyond the classroom. Recent growth in our School enrollments means new challenges for teacher recruit-ment, space, and parking.

Our volunteer Board also comes with diverse experiences and backgrounds. Members have worked diligently to mesh traditional ways and more current interpretations of what it means to be an Alliance Française chapter in the 21st century. Having recently completed a strategic plan, we are working through its implementation, which includes ways to increase a small budget and recruiting active volunteers.

The Alliance Française de Hartford has built an extensive network through collaborations involving a wide variety of cultural events and educational experiences. These efforts have included sharing development efforts (and the spotlight) with the well-known Wadsworth Atheneum and other museums

as well as with theaters and musical, artistic, historic, civic and culturally diverse organizations. We work with Trinity Collegeʼs Cinéstudio for French film festivals and monthly movies and solicit professors as speakers from this and the many other colleges and universities in the region. Café et Conversation within a restaurant setting and our own book group provide our membership with extended speaking and reading opportunities at all levels of French. We are proud to have established with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving the endowed Harpin-Rohinsky Scholarship for high school students of Hartford public schools who wish to con-tinue their studies of French at the college level. The Robert M. McFarland Book Awards program reaches out to area high school students, honoring the most successful in French

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studies. On a broader plain, the four AF s̓ of Connecticut--Hartford, New Haven, Northwest, and Greenwich-- share programs and ideas: regional interaction means finding solutions and offering to the residents of Connecticut a better understanding of the value of being a member of an Alliance Française.

We believe it essential to keep at the forefront our mission of promoting the French language and culture and fostering friendship. We support the 2005 Year of Languages through participation in CTYOL, for we are convinced that learning a language is a road to individual fulfillment and ultimately world understanding. The Alliance Française de Hartford is a long-time participant in the Fédération des Alliances Françaises, knowing that we can be more successful if we embrace the same mission and sing together «Le jour de gloire est arrivée!»

Julie Lindquist President of the Alliance Française de Hartford

House

Mother and ChildPeople in Boat



Deborah Doineau, Réne-Serge Marty, Consul Général de France, Cécile Vignesoult,and Philippe Doineau at the 2004 Smooth Jazz and Beaujolais Festival.

Alliance Française de Nashville

he Alliance Française de Nashville is an active member of the century old Fédération des Alliances Françaises des Etats-Unis. Our members share with

enthusiasm their passion for the French language and culture to make possible a wide variety of enriching events and acti-vities.

The dedicated volunteers maintain an ambitious schedule of programs, events and activities for members. Each Saturday, members of the cercle de conversation discuss in French cur-rent events and other topics while enjoying authentic French pastries from Provence Café. Literary works are read and ana-lyzed in French each month during the cercle de lecture. The ciné-club offers exciting occasions to explore French culture through its rich heritage of filmmaking.

Soirées, which provide a mélange of educational, cultural, so-cial, and culinary opportunities, are held the last Friday of eve-ry month. The Alliance invites historians, artists, distinguished foreign guests, and a variety of other fascinating people to make a presentation and be the invité d’honneur at each event. One month an art historian may intrigue guests with a study of French paintings, while at the next meeting a chef may lead everyone in a hands-on experience.

A growing selection of French courses is offered at the Re-source Center. Students are placed into classes corresponding to one of four levels of study. Classes are taught at the Re-source Center classroom, which is used for Alliance classes and activities almost every day.

Through its Cultural and Educational Fund, the Alliance Fran-çaise de Nashville makes grants to enable certified teachers to study in France. The Fund also provides financial support for special cultural programs. «Nashville has always been one of our ‘Jewels in the Crown’, but fresh ideas keep that jewel shining brightly,” said Jane Ro-bert, President of the Federation of Alliances Françaises.

Matthew Wyatt, President of the Alliance Française de Nashville

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Alliance Française de Buffalo

The Alliance Française de Buffalo (AFB) offers local high schools a merit program consisting of an Excellence in French Studies Certificate and an Excellence in French Studies Award. The combined program is a way for active French teachers to become involved in the AFB’s activities, and for motivated students to practice their newly acquired French skills.

Each Spring for the past 10 years, the AFB has reached out to the 150 public and private high schools in the eight counties of Western New York, requesting that the head French teacher nominate for recognition the best French student at the school. During his/her graduation ceremony, the selected student is awarded an Alliance Française de Buffalo Excellence Certificate, along with a one-year honorary membership to our organization, which entitles him/her to receive our bi-monthly, bilingual news-letter, «Les Nouvelles de l’Alliance.»

Since 2004 the AFB, in collaboration with a local foundation, the Melodia Jones Fund, has added an extra incentive to the program. The student selected by the head French teacher is eligible to participate in the French Study Excellence Award exam. The three highest scoring students share a prize that amounts to a total of $1150. At the end of the school year, the AFB publishes the names and schools of the Excellence Award winners, on our web site and in our newsletter.

After graduation, some of these former high school students remain involved with the AFB, and participate in our weekly conversation groups, thereby further enhancing their ties to French language and culture.

Community Outreach

Nadine Beauharnais, recipient of the Excellence Award, and Olivia Arditi, President.

Dearborn entrance, AF de Chicago

Community Outreach

Alliance Française de ChicagoChez Kids Academy

Welcome to Chez Kids Academy! The Alliance Française de Chicago’s brand new Children’s Education Center.

Our exciting new project features a fun and lively learning environment for children with six colorful and unique spaces aptly named: Le Café, Le Musée, La Cabane, La Classe and Le Théâtre which even includes a puppet theater, which is sure to entertain!

Special classes have already begun with the aim of giving chil-dren a sound appreciation of French culture as well as an op-portunity to discover language, whilst gaining familiarity with basic knowledge, which ultimately will allow them to commu-nicate in French.

Chez Kids Academy is also pleased to reintroduce its successful and inspiring children’s Summer Circus camp in July 2005.

A lot of hard work, dedication and commitment has been put into this project, which we hope will reflect in the success of Chez Kids Academy!


Ambassador Levitte joins 2005: The Year of Languages Initiative

Ambassador Jean-David Levitte has enthusiastically embraced the 2005: The

Year of Languages effort by accepting an invitation from the American Council

on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) to serve on the Honorary

Council of dignitaries supporting this national campaign to raise awareness of

the importance of language learning. Ambassador Levitte was a featured speaker

at the ACTFL annual convention in Chicago and again at the press conference

in December at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. At the ACTFL

convention, Levitte said “Like it or not, you are the only super-power. You

have special responsibilities. And, because of that, you must know the world.

America must listen, understand and dialogue with other peoples, religions,

and cultures. If there is one lesson to be learned from the attacks of 9-11, it is

that you cannot live in fortress America, protected from the outside world. You

must develop a positive dialogue with the people of the world. And engaging

in this positive dialogue first requires learning foreign languages.”

Marty Abbott, American Councilon the Teaching of Foreign Languages

For more information on The Year of Languages, go to www.yearoflanguages.org ORvisit the ACTFL web site at www.actfl.org OR call ACTFL at 703-894-2900.

THE YEAR OFLANGUAGE

The Years of Language


U nder the guidance and stewardship of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages

(ACTFL), 2005 is being celebrated as The Year of Languages in the United States. The goal of The Year of Languages cele-bration is to advance the concept that every American should develop proficiency not only in English, but in other languages as well. Detailed information on the 2005 Year of Languages can be found on the web site: www.yearoflanguages.org.

The Federation of Alliances Françaises USA and its member chapters are happy to join in this initiative by focusing spe-cial attention on the academic, social and economic benefits of studying French and francophone cultures. In conjunction with this initiative, chapters are encouraged to engage in community outreach activities so as to help students and parents appreciate the value of knowing another language – in this instance French.

As part of the national celebration, the Year of Languages Working Committee, co-chaired by Christine Brown and Marty Abbott, has identified an area of focus for each month of the year. The Federation would like to encourage its member chapters to plan events in their communities that reflect each monthly focus.

And, of course, the energy and enthusiasm of the Year of Languages events will not come to an end on December 31. As AF Chapters share their positive experiences with one another in meetings and through the Federation web site (www.afusa.org), the French mission of the Alliance Fran-çaise is certain to receive new impetus in 2006.

By Rebecca M. Valette

Rebecca M. Valette, Professor Emerita of French at

Boston College, is Past President of the American As-

sociation of Teachers of French and a charter member

of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign

Languages. She is currently President of the Alliance

Française de Boston et de Cambridge and Vice Presi-

dent of the Federation of Alliances Françaises USA.

January 2005Language Policy

AF Chapters can work with local and state policy makers to encourage the teaching of French in their communities.

February 2005International Engagement

AF Chapters can highlight the importance of international engagement by wor-king with their local French-American Chamber of Commerce or Délégation du Québec to help students learn about international business opportunities. Sister City activities and study abroad opportunities are to be encouraged.

March 2005Connecting Languages to Other Areas

AF Chapters can demonstrate the inter-relationship between French and other areas such as science, literature, music, cinema, the arts, by co-sponsoring events with local museums, and hosting French music or film festivals.

April 2005Higher Education

AF Chapters can cooperate with their local colleges and universities in encouraging the advanced study of French, and offering students internship opportunities at their AF offices.

May 2005Language Advocacy

AF Chapters can reach out to local media, and publicize French-language events, especially those that involve children and young people, such as an-nouncing the winners of the Alliance Française National Concours or other AF-sponsored contests.

June 2005Adult Learning and Language Use

AF Chapters can publicize their adult language programs, not only structured classes, but also French-language con-versation hours, reading groups and ciné-clubs.

July 2005Languages and Communities

AF Chapters can highlight French lan-guage and culture through Bastille Day

events or other celebrations involving local francophone communities: Hai-tians, Cajuns, Franco-Americans, and francophone African groups. Programs can also reach out to those of Hispanic, Asian and Eastern European origin who have a long tradition of appreciating French language and culture.

August 2005Parents

AF Chapters can focus on the important role that parents play in providing lan-guage opportunities for their children. AF Chapters can publicize their Satur-day classes, their French camps, the French books and videos for children available in their médiathèques, their outreach to Montessori schools, and similar activities.

September 2005Heritage Languages

AF Chapters can help local francophone communities maintain their French language skills by working with pu-blic schools and offering workshops on francophone cultures to local teachers of French.

October 2005Early Language Learning

AF Chapters can plan a Saturday festival at which young French students are invi-ted to present skits, songs and artwork. AF teachers can also bring “After School French” into local elementary schools and even pre-school programs.

November 2005Celebrating Accomplishments and Looking Ahead

Alliance Française teachers can join with local French teachers in celebrating their accomplishments and collaborating in National French Week activities sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French.

December 2005Culture

AF Chapters are encouraged to plan special end-of-year activities which highlight French culture in one or many of its varied aspects, such as, food, wine, fashion, fine arts, theater, music, photo-graphy, and so forth.

The Years of Language



A u numéro 972 de la Cinquième Avenue à New York, la Payne Whitney Mansion abrite le

Service Culturel de l’Ambassade de France. C’est là, une fois, franchie une porte de bronze et après avoir décou-vert le Cupidon de Manhattan, magnifi-que sculpture attribuée à Michel Ange, qu’est installé le Service culturel de l’Ambassade, dont la mission est de fa-voriser les échanges culturels entre la France et les Etats-Unis.

La mission, qui fait partie intégrante de l’action d’ensemble conduite sous l’autorité de l’Ambassadeur, est com-plexe dans ce pays politiquement, éco-nomiquement, et culturellement « pres-cripteur », et les projets nombreux et variés. Pour la mener à bien, le Service dispose d’une équipe centrale, répartie sur les sites de New York et Washington, et d’équipes régionales placées auprès des Consulats Généraux aux Etats-Unis (excepté New York et Washington). Si les moyens, qui sont mis en œuvre dans le cadre d’une programmation annuelle, proviennent essentiellement du minis-tère des Affaires Etrangères, la partici-pation active à l’action du Service de très nombreux partenaires américains - et notamment de fondations comme la Florence Gould Foundation ou la fonda-tion FACE (French American Cultural Exchange) - permet d’associer de nom-

breux individus et entreprises. En ter-mes de communication, plusieurs lettres d’information, spécialisées par secteur et/ou par région, ainsi que le site Inter-net, www.frenchculture.org, présentent un tableau d’ensemble de l’action ac-complie ou en cours : plusieurs centai-nes de projets et programmes, du plus ambitieux au plus modeste, qui concou-rent chacun à développer et entretenir les liens entre les Etats-Unis et la France.

Un rôle particulier

En mars 2003, au moment où débute la guerre en Irak, démarre « Sounds French » un grand festival de musique contem-poraine française à New York (préparé par le Service culturel, l’AFAA, et leurs partenaires américains et français bien avant les menaces de conflit au Moyen-orient et les tensions diplomatiques). A cette époque, l’Amérique comprend mal la position française et les actes de French bashing se multiplient. Une partie des médias se fait l’écho de cette incompréhension et dénigre la France. Tout au long de ce mois de mars pour-tant, pas une ligne anti-française ne sera publiée dans les journaux améri-

Le Service culturelde l’Ambassade de France aux

Etats-UnisPar Jean-Christian Agid

Responsable de la CommunicationService culturel de l’Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis

cains pour dénoncer le festival « Sounds French », au titre devenu alors presque provocateur… Au contraire, les articles élogieux se multiplient, les uns pour sa-luer une performance exceptionnelle de Pierre Boulez à Carnegie Hall, d’autres pour analyser l’événement dans son en-semble. Mais pas un titre ne viendra dis-suader les mélomanes de se rendre dans les salles.

Ce qui fut vrai de « Sounds French » le fut également en 2003 pour le ciné-ma, les livres, les arts visuels, la danse, l’éducation, les échanges intellectuels, ou le théâtre. Cette sanctuarisation de la culture dans un contexte de différend franco-américain témoigne du rôle parti-culier que joue la coopération culturelle dans les échanges entre nos pays. Fort de ce constat, le Service culturel pré-pare d’ailleurs pour la mi-2005 avec ses partenaires américains et français une grande saison de théâtre contemporain à New York, « Act French ».

Le Service Culturel


« Les membres du Service culturel sont le plus souvent des professionnels dans leur secteur de spécialité. »

Contacts :

Service culturel de l’Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis972 Fifth Avenue - New York, New York 10021Tel. 1 212. 439 1400 - www.frenchculture.orgConseiller Culturel, Service Artistique, Service Audiovisuel, Service du Livre, Presse et Rela-tions publiques

Service culturel de l’Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis4101 Reservoir Road NW - Washington DC 20007 - Tel . 1 202 944 6000Service des Etablissements Français, Service Educa-tif, Service Universitaire, Coopération Non-Gouver-nementale

Une scène originale

our le Service culturel, dans chacun des nombreux domai-nes où s’étend son action, la

méthode consiste, en l’absence d’un réseau «en dur» de centres ou d’insti-tuts Français (à l’exception de la Mai-son Française de Washington), à agir avec des partenaires américains recon-nus. L’action du Service culturel est donc complexe et se manifeste à des niveaux très divers. Elle peut concerner aussi bien la conception et la coordina-tion d’événements spéciaux (festivals « France Moves », « Playing French », « Sounds French », « Act French ») et la création de programmes structurants franco-américains (fonds franco-amé-ricains pour la création contemporaine, pour la coopération universitaire) que l’offre de programmes à destination de la France (programme d’assistants, pro-gramme de stages, bourses pour docto-rants) et le développement de réseaux (Centres Pluridisciplinaires dans 16 universités, Fondations universitaires, Centres de ressources pour l’enseigne-ment du français), ou encore l’appui et le conseil à des projets plus ponctuels. Créer un contact, apporter un conseil ou financer l’envoi d’un film, organiser une rencontre avec la presse, rechercher des financements pour une exposition im-portante ou pour un spectacle, mettre en place et suivre la diffusion de festivals de films français dans les université, or-ganiser l’accueil de personnalités artis-tiques et intellectuelles, monter des pro-grammes d’échanges structurants avec des partenaires privés américains… tous les modes d’action coexistent, et s’adap-tent à la demande.

blissements français, le service éducatif, et le service universitaire, ainsi qu’un chargé de mission pour la coopération non-gouvernementale. Les membres du Service culturel sont le plus souvent des professionnels dans leur secteur de spécialité. Une partie est recrutée à Paris pour exercer aux Etats-Unis sur la base d’une affectation de trois ans ou d’un contrat de quatre ans, d’autres, améri-cains, français, ou étrangers tiers, sont recrutés localement.

Un site Internet www.frenchculture.org offre aux internautes anglophones la possibilité d’être informé, région par région, sur les projets et programmes en cours aux Etats-Unis, ainsi que sur de très nombreux événements liés à la France : expositions, pièces de théâtres, concerts, films de cinéma, programmes français à la télévision, auteurs, con-férences, spectacles de danse. Le site www.frenchculture.org et le site de l’Ambassade offrent également des in-formations précieuses aux élèves et étu-diants intéressés par la France.

Dans le seul domaine du cinéma par exemple, le rôle des Services Culturels peut consister non seulement à soutenir près de 40 festivals de films français partout aux Etats-Unis, mais aussi à appuyer la sortie commerciale de films spécifiques, à diffuser un programme de mini-festivals de cinéma français dans les universités américaines (« Tournées »), ou à participer à l’organisation de leçons de cinéma délivrées par les plus grands réalisateurs français dans les meilleures écoles américaines (opération « On Set with French Cinema »). Dans le domai-ne artistique et universitaire, les modes d’actions adoptent également une gran-de diversité de formats, avec plusieurs fonds de soutien à la création artistique (pour les arts visuels, les arts de la scène, la musique contemporaine) ou, tout ré-cemment, la création d’un fonds de sou-tien pour les partenariats universitaires franco-américains mis en place avec la fondation FACE.

Des acteurs venus de partout

Une centaine de personnes, dont de nombreux américains, travaillent pour le Service culturel dans dix régions des Etats-Unis. Si la majorité de l’effectif est concentré à New York et Washing-ton, des Attachés culturels, et parfois des Attachés audiovisuels spécialisés (à Los Angeles et La Nouvelle Orléans), assu-rent au niveau régional un suivi et un développement essentiels pour mener à bien une action très riche et variée.

Le Conseiller culturel et son adjoint sont installés à New York, ainsi que les services artistique, audiovisuel, livre, et relations publiques / développement. Washington accueille le service des éta-

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Le Service Culturel


Les Alliances Françaisesdu Canada à l’honneur

A quelques heures des Etats-Unis, le Canada est le domaine des ballades en motoneiges dans la forêt, de la pêche, des paysages ver-doyants et du sirop dʼérable. Cʼest également lʼun des plus grands pays du monde de par sa superficie de 10 millions de km et une population composée de plus de 31 millions dʻ habitants dont la majorité a pour ancêtres des européens. Les deux langues officielles sont le français et lʼanglais. Alain Landry, Président de lʼAF dʼOttawa et de la Déléga-tion du Canada et membre du Conseil dʼadministration de lʼAlliance Française de Paris, nous en a présenté les éléments essentiels dans le cadre du discours de clôture du colloque des Alliances Françaises de Paris. Nous vous présentons ici quelques-uns des thèmes abordés.

Les Alliances Françaises


En 2001, près de 13% de la population canadienne pouvait soutenir une conversation en français, 68% en anglais et 18% dans les deux langues. Même

sʼil est encore nécessaire de motiver la population en ce qui concerne son utilisation, le français remporte un franc succès auprès des étudiants et des nouveaux arrivants. En effet, les nombreux immigrants asiatiques par exemple qui arrivent chaque année comptent pour une bonne part des nouvelles inscriptions dans les AF.

Les Alliances Françaises Canadiennes qui sont au nombre de onze sont présentes dans presque toute les régions à : Vic-toria, Vancouver (centenaire en 2003), Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg (centenaire en 2003), Toronto (centenaire en 2002), Ottawa (centenaire en 2005), Moncton (la cadette) et Halifax (centenaire en 2003). Deux nouvelles structures devraient par ailleurs sʼétablir à Saint John et à Iqaluit. Comme le souligne judicieusement Monsieur Landry “ce sera probablement la première Alliance à voir le jour si près du Pôle Nord! ”.

“ Deux nouvelles structures devraient voir le jour a Saint John et à Iqaluit.”Les objectifs pour lʼannée 2005 des AF sont de plusieurs ordres. Tout dʼabord, soutenir lʼapprentissage du français auprès des organismes canadiens.« Dans plusieurs villes canadiennes, les Alliances françaises sont un appui aux politiques de promotion des langues offi-cielles, de la dualité linguistique, du bilinguisme canadien. Les Alliances françaises deviennent ainsi des partenaires privilégiés des associations de communautés francophones du pays, des universités, des théâtres, des galeries dʼart, des ministères, des municipalités, qui sʼintéressent à la langue et à la culture françaises. ». De ce fait, elles motivent leurs collaborateurs pour que ceux-ci sʼintéressent à la langue française et puissent sʼexprimer correctement aussi bien en français quʼen anglais.Les événements culturels de taille organisés par les AF sont des éléments non négligeables dans le cadre de la sensibi-lisation de la population. Comme le souligne Alain Landry, « nous avons prévu un certain nombre dʼexpositions et de projections de films. Ainsi pour le centenaire de la naissance de Jean Paul Sartre, nous avons invité Madeleine Gobeil, pour une série de conférences et la projection de son film « Portrait croisé Sartre-Beauvoir ». Le dynamisme et lʼoriginalité des activités proposées par les AF canadiennes nʼest plus à démontrer et se définit dans ces derniers mots : « Dans le domaine de lʼenseignement de la langue française au Canada, les Alliances françaises sont en compétition avec dʼautres écoles dʼenseignement du français mais seules les Alliances françaises offrent un volet dʼactivi-tés culturelles françaises et francophones. Voilà un des traits distinctifs des Alliances françaises ».

B.T.

Adresse utile :Délégation Générale et Alliance Française de la région de la capitale Nationale352 rue Maclaren, Ottawa, ON, K2P, OM6 Tél : (613) 234 9470

E

Les Alliances Françaises


Chapter photos & Captions

Le Trivia, Le Succès !The Cincinnati chapter of the Alliance Française recently celebrated its most successful event ever with the 4th an-nual “Le Trivia” party on Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Nearly 200 Al-liance members and friends enjoyed a fun and high-spirited game-show like evening of cross-cultural competition that lasted three hours at downtown Cincinnati’s historic Phoenix Restau-rant.Guests were seated at tables of eight for cocktails and a three-course din-ner during the multimedia “Le Trivia” game. Composition of these “team ta-bles” is critical to success as players must successfully field 50 questions on subjects such as art, sports, geography, history, movies, and literature from both French and American culture. (A mix of nationalities is traditionally es-sential to winning--2003’s first place team was the French American Cham-ber of Commerce.) A popular feature this year was the wine and cheese iden-tification with a nod to American sodas and flavors. A committee of 6 French and American Alliance members do-nated 300 hours to producing “Le Tri-via 2004”--an entertaining soirée that included audio and video projections, live results, team ranking and prizes. Among the many company-sponsored gifts and certificates awarded, the 2nd place team received a Mediterranean-inspired handmade mosaic crafted by a dedicated group of “Le Trivia” friends. Tickets were $30 for Alliance Française members, $40 for non-members and $450 for corporate tables. Profit for the evening was $2500.

Executive Director of the AF de Santo Domingo, M. Christophe Cha-vagneux, welcomed Federation Presi-dent Jane Robert to the very dynamic island chapter. A three-story building with a library, café, meeting and classrooms is an attraction for many in the area. A unique feature for the AF de Santo Domingo is the radio station created by Christophe and his team, one of whom Geneviève is pictured in the studio. Look them up on the net to learn more: www.afsd.net

In a meeting at the Agence Interna-tionale de la Francophonie in Paris in January, arranged by M. Abdou Diouf, Secrétaire Général de l’Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, Keith Maillard, Vice President, AF de San Francisco and Federation Board member makes plans for l’Année Sen-ghor and other projects with Sénégal.The year 2006 will be the 100th an-niversary of the birth of the great Sé-négalese poète and creator of the now familiar and respected: négritude.Keith Maillard (see above)Mme Francine Moock, Attachée de Cabinet, AIFM. Roger Dehaybe, Administrateur Général, AIF; Responsible pour l’An-née Senghor

Wednesday Casse-Croûte group welcomes Jane Robert, who visi-ted the new home of the Federation office at the Alliance Française de Milwaukee in December 2004.Standing: Peg Arfman, President, Mary Chemotti, Suki Keita, Lucie Plouffe, Ruth Pike Seated: Jane Robert, Mary Emory, Gwen Plunkett, Lydia Chicoine, Susanne Krasovich, Wil Brazeau, Me-lissa Kling, Office Manager of the Fede-ration, Michelle Sment, Marilyn Squire, Martine Meyer, Takouhie Hussussian.

La Classe Avancée where they read a roman and work on difficult words. Four of the students have been taking the class for 16 years! John Roche, Bill Mandel, Diane Cusumano (teacher sitting) , Edythe Patterson, Rosa Abuzzese, Anne Shultes

Agence Internationalede la Francophonie

Cincinnati

Doylestown PA

Santo Domingo

Milwaukee

Chapter Photos & Captions


AATF

AATF Executive Council 2004 Meets in Atlanta prior to the joint conference of AATF and the World Congress of French Teachers.1st row: Myrna Delson-Karan, Jayne Abrate, Margot Steinhart, Helen Lo-renz, Eliane Kurbegov, Diana Regan2nd row: Danielle Raquidel, April Walsh, Brenda Benzin, Ann Sunder-land, Jane Black Goepper3rd row: Jean-Pierre Piriou, Chris Pinet, Sharon Shelly, Jean-Pierre Be-rwald, Robert (Tennessee Bob) Pec-kham, Suzanne Hendrickson, David Graham, Sidney Teitelbaum, Valerie Lastinger (absent).

Monterey Peninsula

On the Monterey Peninsula, the Al-liance Française members can enjoy great outings with the Pacific Ocean as background. On a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon in December, eight of our members took a hike on Pebble Beach. From left to right, Pauline, Daniel, Danièle, Daniel, Danièle, Gisèle, Gi-sèle and Alan are taking a deserved rest after their efforts.

Philadelphie

From left to right: Diana Regan, Chair-person and President of Alliance Fran-caise de Philadelphie, Mark Squires, former President of AF de Philadelphie, Mme Anne d’Harnoncourt, The George D. Widener Director and Chief Execu-tive Officer, Philadelphia Art Museum and Joseph J. Rishel, Senior Curator of European Painting before 1900 and Senior Curator of the Rodin Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art.The event was held on July 14 at the Independence Seaport Museum, Penn’s Landing, Philadelphia.A concert featuring Eric Vincent was a collaborative sponsorship of the Al-liance Francaise de Philadelphie, the American Association of Teachers of French, Rosemont College, Immacula-ta University, Cabrini College, Chestnut Hill College and La Salle University. The concert took place on November 7, 2004 and it was the official start of Na-tional French Week in Philadelphia.

Omaha

First Class at Alliance Francaise d’Omaha.Left to Right: Rosemary Duhaime, Nancy Lewis, Cat Kennedy, Kay Kelly, Ann Burdette, Jil Barton, Justin Shanahan, French instructor Anne Lo-ring, and President Bernard Duhaime

Saint Louis

During his tour of the United States, famous French journalist and political analyst Claude Imbert was welcomed to St. Louis by the Alliance Française. Pictured here on Saturday, October 9 after attending a performance by the St. Louis Symphony at Powell Hall, Mr. Imbert (2nd on the left) is sur-rounded by (left to right) Ms. Ruth Bryant (President, Alliance Française de St. Louis), Mr. David Halen (Con-certmaster and soloist), Prof. Leila Sadat (Washington University School of Law and AF Board Member) and Mr. Paul Azzara (Executive Director, Alliance Française de St. Louis). On the following Monday, October 11, Mr. Imbert gave an engaging lecture regarding the “French Exception” at Washington University’s Whitaker Hall.

San Antonio

Bastille Days celebration at a luncheon at “La Normandie” Restaurant by mem-bers including Jacqueline Harbin, Annick Huston and Francine Rowden.

Chapter Photos & Captions


Federation of Alliances Françaises USAMembers 2004-2005

Aiken (SC) Albuquerque (NM)Annapolis (MD)Austin (TX)Baltimore (MD)Bergen County (NJ)Berkeley (CA)Boise (ID) Bonita Springs (FL)Boston et Cambridge (MA)Buffalo (NY) Central Iowa (IA) Cercle de ConférencesCercle Français de Morgan State University (MD)Chapitre de Grasse, Hampton Roads (VA)Chapitre de Rochambeau, Chester (VA) Charleston (SC)Charlotte (NC) Charlottesville (VA)Chicago (IL)Cincinnati (OH)Clarion (PA)Columbia (SC)Columbus (GA)Connecticut (CT)Detroit (MI)Doylestown (PA) Dupage (IL)El Paso (TX)Fairmont State College (WV)Fayette & Westmoreland (PA) Frederick (MD) French Club of Cottey College (MO)French Institute Alliance Française (NY)French Institute of Michigan (MI)Fresno (CA)Grand Rapids (MI) Greater Orlando (FL)Greater Phoenix (AZ) Greenwich (CT)Grosse Pointe (MI) Hartford (CT)Hawaii (HI)Housatonic French Club (CT)Indianapolis (IN)Jackson (MS)Jacksonville (FL)Kalamazoo (MI) Kansas City (MO)Kent (OH) Knoxville (TN)La Nouvelle Orleans (LA)La Riviera Californienne (CA) La Vallee du Rio Grande (TX)Lake Champlain (VT)Lexington [UK] (KY)

Los Angeles (CA)Louisville (KY)Lubbock (TX)Lynchburg (VA) Maison Française de Cleveland (OH)Maison Française de Columbia University (NY)Manchester (NH)Marin County (CA)Menphis (TN)Milwaukee (WI) Minneapolis-St.Paul (MN)Missoula (MT) Monmouth County (NJ) Montclair (NJ) Monterey Peninsula (CA)Napa (CA)Nashville (TN)New Haven (CT)Newport (RI)North Shore (IL)North Texas (TX)NorthwesternOmaha (NB)Pasadena (CA) Philadelphia (PA) Piedmont (SC)Pinellas County (FL)Pittsburgh (PA)Portland (OR)Providence (RI)Puerto Rico (PR)Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill (NC)Riverside et San Bernardino (CA)Rochester (NY)Sacramento (CA) Saint Joseph à Missouri Western State College (MO)Saint Louis (MO)Salt Lake City (UT) Sam Houston State University (TX)San Antonio (TX) San Diego (CA)San Francisco (CA)Santa Clara Valley (CA)Santa Cruz County (CA)Santa Rosa (CA) Sarasota (FL)Seattle (WA)Southern Nevada (NV)State College (PA)Tampa (FL)Toledo (OH)Tucson (AZ)Tulsa (OK)Washburn University (KS)Westchester (NY)Wilmington (DE)

Federation Of Alliances Françaises

FEDERATION OF ALLIANCES FRANÇAISES USA Le magazine58


FILETS DE ROUGETS POÊLÉS SUR CRÈME DE CAROTTES SAUCE AU VIN ROUGE ET SA SALADE D’HERBES FRAÎCHES

La RecetteLe Cordon Bleu Lever les filets du rouget et les réserver au frais.

Crème de carottes : cuire les carottes émincées à lʼanglaise*. Passer au mixeur avec le beurre et la crème pour obtenir une purée très fine. Vérifierlʼassaisonnement.

Sauce au vin rouge : suer les échalotes ciselées au beurre. Déglacer au vin rouge et faire réduire de trois-quarts. Ajouter le fond de veau et réduire à moitié. Vérifier lʼassaisonnement. Passer au chinois et garder au chaud.

Préparer les herbes pour la salade. Préparer une vinaigrette avec le jus de citron, le sel et le poivre du moulin et lʼhuile dʼolive vierge extra.

Poêler rapidement les filets côté peau au beurre et à lʼhuile.

Dressage : crème de carottes en fond dʼassiette. Cordon de sauce vin rouge autour. Disposer un ou deux filets de rougets sur la crème. Salade dʼherbes dressée de vinaigrette en bouquet dessus.

à lʼanglaise* Terme utilisé pour une cuisson à lʼeau bouillante salée.

Fillet the red mullets, remove all pin bones. Refri-gerate until required.

Carrot purée: Cook carrots à lʼanglaise *. Drain, place in food processor and purée with the butter and cream to obtain a fine smooth purée. Correct seaso-ning.

Red wine sauce : Sweat finely chopped shallots in butter until soft. Add red wine and reduce by two thirds. Add veal stock and continue to reduce by half. Correct seasoning. Strain through a china cap sieve and keep warm.

Prepare the herb salad. Make the vinaigrette with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Quickly pan-fry the red mullet fillets skin side down, in hot butter and oil.

To serve : Place carrot purée in center of plates. Pour a ring of red wine sauce around the purée. øArrange one or two red mullet fillets on the carrot purée and top with a bouquet of salad herbs tossed in vinaigrette.

à lʼanglaise* To cook in boiling salted water.


PAN-FRIED RED MULLET FILLETS WITH A CARROT PURÉE, RED WINE SAUCE AND HERB SALAD

4 Personnes Serves 4

Principal ingredients

4 x 180 g red mulletbutter, oil

Carrot purée600 g carrots, sliced1 pinch salt40 g butter100 ml whipping creamfreshly ground pepper

Red wine sauce60 g shallots, finely chopped30 g butter200 ml red wine300 ml veal stocksalt, freshly ground pepper

Herb saladbunch chervilbunch chivesbunch flat-leaf parsley

Vinaigrette10 ml lemon juicesalt, freshly ground pepper30 ml extra virgin olive oil

La Recette Le Cordon Bleu

La RecetteLe Cordon Bleu Lever les filets du rouget et les réserver au frais.

Crème de carottes : cuire les carottes émincées à lʼanglaise*. Passer au mixeur avec le beurre et la crème pour obtenir une purée très fine. Vérifierlʼassaisonnement.

Sauce au vin rouge : suer les échalotes ciselées au beurre. Déglacer au vin rouge et faire réduire de trois-quarts. Ajouter le fond de veau et réduire à moitié. Vérifier lʼassaisonnement. Passer au chinois et garder au chaud.

Préparer les herbes pour la salade. Préparer une vinaigrette avec le jus de citron, le sel et le poivre du moulin et lʼhuile dʼolive vierge extra.

Poêler rapidement les filets côté peau au beurre et à lʼhuile.

Dressage : crème de carottes en fond dʼassiette. Cordon de sauce vin rouge autour. Disposer un ou deux filets de rougets sur la crème. Salade dʼherbes dressée de vinaigrette en bouquet dessus.

à lʼanglaise* Terme utilisé pour une cuisson à lʼeau bouillante salée.

Fillet the red mullets, remove all pin bones. Refri-gerate until required.

Carrot purée: Cook carrots à lʼanglaise *. Drain, place in food processor and purée with the butter and cream to obtain a fine smooth purée. Correct seaso-ning.

Red wine sauce : Sweat finely chopped shallots in butter until soft. Add red wine and reduce by two thirds. Add veal stock and continue to reduce by half. Correct seasoning. Strain through a china cap sieve and keep warm.

Prepare the herb salad. Make the vinaigrette with lemon juice, salt and freshly ground pepper and extra virgin olive oil.

Quickly pan-fry the red mullet fillets skin side down, in hot butter and oil.

To serve : Place carrot purée in center of plates. Pour a ring of red wine sauce around the purée. øArrange one or two red mullet fillets on the carrot purée and top with a bouquet of salad herbs tossed in vinaigrette.

à lʼanglaise* To cook in boiling salted water.

Ingrédients principaux

4 rougets- barbets de 180 g chacunbeurre, huile

Crème de carottes600 g de carottes émincées1 pincée de sel40 g de beurre100 ml de crème liquidepoivre du moulin

Sauce au vin rouge60 g dʼéchalotes ciselées30 g de beurre200 ml de vin rouge300 ml de fond de veau sel, poivre du moulin

Salade dʼherbesbotte de cerfeuilbotte de ciboulettebotte de persil

Vinaigrette10 ml de jus de citronsel, poivre du moulin30 ml dʼhuile dʼolive vierge extra


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