Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India, said more chapters of Alliance Francaise would be encouraged to meet the demand for learning French in India.
Addressing a national webinar on “French, the language of the future - Anytime, Anywhere” hosted on Wednesday by the Embassy of France/Institut Français in India and the Alliance Française network, in collaboration with Campus France India, Mr. Lenain said India was central to the global scheme mooted by French President Emmanuel Macron in 2018 to develop French as an international language.
“India is a priority in this plan and boasts of the largest network of Alliance Françaises in Asia. We will encourage more Alliances Françaises in the country thanks to a large demand,” he said.
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Alliance Francaise has 14 chapters in India.
The French Ambassador noted that there were an estimated 300 million francophonia (French language speakers) and an even larger francophile segment, especially in the Indian sub-continent thanks to a shared history.
He enunciated the benefits of learning French especially in the context of higher education in France and working for French companies both in India and France.
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“Next year will not be a blank year as we will make sure that (Indian) students go to France to study even if it means a few weeks of online learning in the beginning. I am confident that onsite teaching will resume soon given the improvement in the sanitary situation of France. For now, I advise you to apply and prepare everything so that once the visa services begin, and this will be soon, your visa requests can be expedited,” Mr. Lenain said.
The Ambassador also cited COVID-19 as a factor in the speeding up digitalisation of the network enabling access to students including those far away from city centres.
Samuel Berthet, Director of the Alliance Française in Hyderabad, said the Alliance Françaises are vehicles of technical and scientific cooperation between India and France as well as dissemination of culture besides discovery of both France and India.
David Petit Jean, Academic Coordinator for French Language at the Alliance Française in Mumbai, said teaching of French as a foreign language was one of the fortés of the organisation, which embraced the Common European Framework for language learning, a global standard.
A critical strength during the pandemic included adoption of a digital platform, ‘My Alliance’ which enabled continuity between classroom and individual learning, he said.
Rhéa Cheryl Shivan, Campus France Manager in Chennai, highlighted the significance of the mutual recognition of degrees between India and France as well as an increase in scholarships for Indian students — scholarships worth over ₹10 crore are awarded annually to Indian students to study in France.
Eric Perrotel, Attaché for cooperation in the French language in Chennai, pointed out that 40,000 students were enrolled in French language programmes in Indian universities in addition to 6 lakh learners in schools and others at the Alliance Françaises in India.