For the love of French

The Embassy of France to the Philippines, led by Ambassador of France Michele Boccoz, and the Alliance Française de Manille (AFM) recently held the much-anticipated celebration of the Francophonie Month.

The word “Francophonie” refers to men and women who share a common language: French. There are an estimated 300 million French speakers across five continents, which is why the Organisation Internationale of la Francophonie (OIF) was established. Since 1970, the institution has been dedicated to promoting the French language, as well as political, educational, economic and cultural cooperation among its 88 member countries.

The Embassies of Morocco, Vietnam, Canada, Egypt, Greece, France, Belgium, Cambodia, Laos, Switzerland, Hungary, and Romania in the country and the Consulates of Lebanon and Monaco came together to launch this cultural festival and to celebrate the richness of the French language and cultures. Their respective head of states, together with AFM leaders, gathered at the official residence of ambassador Boccoz to ensure that everything was set in place.

Among this year’s festival highlights were the video messages of the said ambassadors and consuls, where they each discussed their favorite sites in their local countries included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, as well as cooking-demonstration videos of local dishes from each country.

The other interesting activities of the month-long celebration include several film screenings, an online storytelling, an online French trial class and mystery game, a Francophonie Tongue Twister Contest, and the launch of a Francophonie music video featuring Filipino and French artists.