RIYADH: Le Café en français, the Embassy of France in Saudi Arabia and the Alliance Française de Riyadh organized on March 29 as part of the activities of the Festival de la Francophonie Suhour gouFrancophone styles and colors in a friendly and convivial atmosphere.

During his speech, the French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Mr. Ludovic Pouille, expressed his great pleasure to be part of this traditional festival Suhour which has now been held for four years and which is a great opportunity to conclude the Mois de la francophonie.

The French Ambassador also said that all French speakers in the main cities of the Kingdom, namely Riyadh, Jeddah, Khobar, AlUla and even Medina, experienced exceptional moments during the month of March. He also warmly thanked all the partners who have fully invested in the organization of the activities of the Festival de la francophonie.

Le Café en français took place for the first time on January 2nd, 2019 and now has almost 200 members who meet every Wednesday at 19:30 in small groups to debate and discuss in French on social, socio-economic and economic issues , culture and education, such as: Can we live without lying? EAre you for or against teleworking? Do you think 18 is the right age to be of legal majority? and many other equally interesting and exciting questions.

Le Café en français is not only rich in the diversity of the countries of origin of its members – There Syria, Tunisia, Mali, Sudan, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Eritrea, Egypt, Canada, Belgium, Yemen and Saudi Arabia all have a strong presence there – but also of the various professions of its members, including doctors, midwives, lawyers, professors, financiers, diplomats…

Much appreciated and respected in the French-speaking community, Alejandro was in 2018 the first part of a Spanish group made up of a few people who met every Tuesday and Saturday. “There I met remarkable, humble and cultured Saudis who speak perfect Spanish,” he told Arab News in French.

“The idea of ​​creating a French-speaking group came to me after spending several months with the Spanish group; I was sure that I could unite more people around the French language. Today we have 200 active members and I consider the group meetings as a meeting ofEcondition,” he explains.

Communication, dialogue and exchange do not stop during the week; In fact, the Café en français is present on social media platforms such as WhatsApp and LinkedIn to facilitate exchanges, sharing and planning of meetings between the 200 members.

During the Suhour, members of the group take the floor and report in particular on their encounter with the French language. Al-Baraa, a young Sudanese, was born and lived in Saudi Arabia. He studied engineering in Malaysia and during these years decided to learn French again with the help of Mauritian friends. AT After returning to Riyadh, he joined the group, thanks to which, on the one hand, he practiced French and, on the other hand, made friends.

Wafed, a young Yemeni, studied French at the Alliance Française for three years in a row and, with great perseverance, achieved level C1.7. Wafed sincerely expressed his gratitude and respect to his teachers at Allianz, pointing out that the café en français has helped him tremendously to overcome his shyness and fears and that he hopes to find a job that will allow him to practice French.

Other members presented an amusing sketch in which they approached the pronunciation of the letters C and H together with a lot of humor, others simply entertained the audience by reading Jean de Fountain’s fable the fox and the crow, followed by his reading in Arabic.

Café en français is one of the best ways to build bridges between Saudi culture and French-speaking cultures through the French language. This type of initiative certainly promotes the French language and culture in a friendly, fraternal and convivial atmosphere.

The Festival de la Francophonie ended this Wednesday, but it’s just a farewell! We will find what we are looking for next year with other equally attractive activities and in the meantime we will tirelessly continue to sow love and peace into the world.