Alliance Francaise of Boston & Cambridge

About Us:

The French Library is a non-profit U.S. organization that provides the general public with affordable access to language and cultural education programs.

While French culture is our historic focus, we actively promote the discovery and appreciation of other equally important cultures.

Through our activities, we inspire our diverse community of children, teens, and adults to explore, understand, embrace, and share the richness of their cultures.

Our goal is to unite people in the French spirit of joie de vivre to share ideas, establish mutual respect and make lasting friendships.

History:

In July of 1940, Americans founded France Forever in response to the historic appeal made by General de Gaulle calling upon all Frenchmen and Frenchwomen to unite for the liberation of occupied France.

In its seven years of existence it enrolled over 23,000 people of many nationalities and operated through a National Council and 56 chapters.

One of the most active and successful of these units, the Boston Chapter, was organized in the summer of 1941.

Its local leaders and membership included many persons who were to become founders and board members of the French Library.

Among the many activities of the Boston Chapter of France Forever under the leadership of Belle Rand, an extraordinary figure in French-American cultural relations, was the creation of a small lending library of French books and periodicals.