MEDIA CONTENT

During this lecture in October, Rami Sarabi provided an insight on the Tour Montparnasse, located in Paris, and more specifically on its renovation project. The architectural agency “La Nouvelle AOM” won the competition for the renovation of the notorious Tour Montparnasse. You studied the concept and discussed this renovation that will be ready just in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024.

French Chanson is a workshop in which you discover the greatest French singers and their most famous songs.

This day, you studied the lyrics of Les Champs Elysées by Joe Dassin (1969). This song is about a carefree and happy man walking this emblematic Parisian avenue.

This May, you learned about le Quartier Latin. This famous area in Paris is known as the prestigious student quarter but also the heart of the Parisian intellectual life. Located at the South of the Seine and directly in Paris center, it also conceals beautiful monuments such as le Panthéon, la Sorbonne or la Grande Mosquée de Paris. We hope you enjoyed this little virtual visit!

This April, you learned about Paris’ finest restaurants. Restaurants, bistros and cafés are emblematic elements of the Parisian life. Some are famous for their gastronomy, others for their history, others for the celebrities who frequented them... You entered these cafés and were told their stories as if you were really guided in Paris!

This March, you celebrated the Francophonie with us. This year's theme is "the air" and several words have been chosen to explore it: wing, wind, vaporous...

At the Alliance, we decided to focus on the word "buller", which can be translated as “chilling”. “Buller” means being in a bubble, doing nothing, idling... To illustrate this, we looked at a few films that evoke this French carefreeness, such as La Piscine, Those Happy Days, or Summer of 85. We presented these films, watched extracts and discussed them.

This February, you learned about la basilique du Sacré-Cœur. The Sacré-Cœur Basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city and a lovely, must-see place. If it is indeed a religious monument dedicated to Jesus’s sacred heart, it also holds a heavy cultural and historical background. You learned facts about its peculiar architecture and story.

This December, you learned about Emily in Paris from a French perspective. The Netflix Show caused a stir right after its release for it depicted American and French clichés in an overly stereotypical - some may say annoying - way. This time, we discussed our perceptions of these clichés as French and American people. We watched some extracts and commented them together.

This November, you learned about Paris’ mythical places in movies. Paris is the most filmed city in the history of cinema ; not only by French directors who found inspiration while living there but also by the greatest international directors who fell in love with its beauty and secrets. We watched extracts of Ratatouille, Amélie Poulain, Inception and many other movies. You may have spotted some scenes of your favorite ones!

In October, you learned about Saint-Germain-des-Prés. During the XXth century, this parisian quarter was a high places for intellectuals ; in those times, you could have cross the path of Simone de Beauvoir, Marguerite Duras or Juliette Gréco, among many others. You had the opportunity to discover those incredible figures and their favourite cafés and jazz clubs!

If you want to discover a little more about French cultural places, activities and art-de-vivre, this is for you. Each month, and 15 minutes, our new intern Justine will present you one of the finest French specificities.

In September, you learned about Deauville’s American Film Festival. Despite the coronavirus crisis, Deauville’s American Film Festival took place for the 46th time this September. We reviewed the best films screened at the festival and presented the city - a charming and pleasant beach resort.

If you want to discover a little more about French cultural places, activities and art-de-vivre, this is for you. Each month, for 10 minutes, Joséphine will present you one of the finest French specificities.

In April you learned about Frank Gehry’s amazing piece of architecture : The Louis Vuitton Foundation. Why does this museum, emanation of modern art, remains very controversial?

In May, you discovered the past, present and future of the magnifiscent cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris.

In June, L’Opéra Garnier unleashed its many anecdotes and secrets. From the lake under the Opera to the honey produced on its roof, you will know everything about this gorgeous yet mysterious opera house.

In July, come take a tour in a bateau-mouche to discover the most emblematic Bridges of Paris. From the Pont Neuf that dates back to 1578 to the opulent Pont Alexandre III, the 37 bridges spanning the Seine make for an exceptional heritage and are a magnificent sight, by day as by night.

Le gratin dauphinois :
If you missed the cooking class online with Zoom, you can still watch it in replay here!
Learn how to make un gratin dauphinois. This potato-based dish is a classic in France when you want to have yourself a big family-style dinner.

Click on the Youtube video to find the list of ingredients and recipe in the video description.

[NOW CLOSED, SEE WINNING PHOTOGRAPHS BELOW]

We are organizing a Photo contest with 4 different prizes ! Participation is free and open to all.
The theme is “Good Old France”. Send us an original photograph of your favorite place in France.
The contest is open from Thursday, April 16th to Saturday, April 25th.
Entries from any digital cameras, including smartphones are accepted.

Everything you need to know to participate is on this document.

We were really happy to get to see your pictures and to all the artists : THANK YOU !