North America

 What motivates you to be an honorary President of Alliance française in New York ?

I think that cultural, linguistic and social understanding and exchanges between France and the USA are considerable in the life of our two countries. Our nations are close to each other with sunny spells and dull spells. But cultural exchanges remain stable and sought after. French culture is partly exported but it also largely imported, that is what we find in NY.

 What is the infrastructure of your Alliance française ?

The FIAF is set up in the heart of New York. It has a theatre, a conference room, an art gallery. The «Language Center» has 31 very modern class rooms. Our library is one of the biggest in French language in the United States. It is a major cultural centre.

 How have French language and culture influenced your life?

French language and culture have always been part of my life. Born on the American continent of French parents and having travelled and lived all my life in France, I am very attached to it. At the university, I devoured classics (Molière, Balzac, Proust, Mauriac, Baudelaire..). I love the enrichment that contemporary French culture enjoys thanks to the ethnic diversity of immigration. French culture continues to evolve, remains alive, and is not a culture of the past.