Alliance Française De Madras
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Alliance Française of Madras ( French: L'Alliance Française de Madras) is a Franco-Indian non-profit association in
Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, that works to promote the cultural relations between India and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in
Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
and also with a mission to teach the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
to the people in the region. It was formed in 1953.


History

The city's relations with France date back to the 18th century. In 1948, a French Group, consisting mostly of Indian citizens, was formed to spread the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...
and
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
. Four years later, on 10 August 1953, the group officially became an Alliance Française, registered under the Indian Societies Act XXI of 1860 against the number 39/1953. In 1991, the Translation Cell of Alliance Française of Madras was founded. In December 2022, a new building named "Espace 24" was opened in the premises to house the centre for cultural research and studies. The building has classrooms and event spaces and hosts art and cultural exhibitions.


Institution

Alliance Française of Madras is part of the network of the 14 Alliances Françaises in India, under the jurisdiction of the Embassy of France in
New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...
and of the larger network of Alliances Françaises in 136 countries around the world, which themselves come under the Fondation Alliance Française in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The Alliance Française of Madras is situated in College Road, Nungambakkam. The premises covers more than and includes a garden, parking spaces and the main building. The building occupies spread over three floors. There are eight classrooms, an exhibition gallery, a library-cum-multimedia centre, an auditorium and a cafeteria (''La Cantine''). The library-cum-multimedia centre situated at the entrance covers 130 sq m and was renovated in 2008. It has four rooms. It is open on all days except Sundays. The Edouard Michelin Auditorium, which can accommodate 180 persons, is used for film projections, plays, lectures and discussions. About 3,000 students enroll at the Alliance Française of Madras every year to learn French. The Alliance française de Madras is only centre in Tamil Nadu to offer DELF and DALF examinations, as well as French language assessment of CCIP (Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de Paris) such as TEF and DFP. The Alliance Française of Madras also has branches outside Chennai, in
Coimbatore Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
and
Trichy Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...
.


Publication

''Prélude'' (Prelude) is a monthly programme published by the Alliance Française of Madras. It provides information about the cultural events and the language courses scheduled for the next two months. The 16-page newsletter in color is made available only to the members of the Alliance, although it is distributed during events at the Alliance or given to occasional visitors.


References


External links

* Homepage o
Alliance Française de Madras
*Homepage o
Alliance Française in India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alliance Francaise de Madras Cultural centres in Chennai Universities and colleges in Chennai Organisations based in Chennai 1953 establishments in Madras State Alliance Française France–India relations Organizations established in 1953