On Sunday, March 21, 2010, the French Alliance at 427 Lovett Street hosted a celebration of international French-speaking cultures as part of Francophone month.
French attaché culturel Dominic Chastre delivered a brief keynote address. He acknowledged the participation of French, Canadian Belgian, and Swiss participants represented by their flags, but stated that there should really be 66 other flags on display. He pointed out that a third of the United Nations members use French as a primary or second language, representing 870 million people, of whom 200 million consider French their mother tongue.
This celebration is the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, or International Organization of French-speaking countries. The OIF has three goals: the promotion of human rights, (2) the promotion of sustainable development, and (3) the promotion of French language and cultures. He emphasized the plural “cultures” because the of the many different places where French culture is alive, but distinct, including New Orleans, Louisiana and Tulsa Oklahoma. He mentioned over 100 events in Houston, citing French artists, sculptures, and literary conferences. There are 56 full member nations and 14 observers including provinces such as Quebec and states like Maine with a substantial French-speaking population.
The French Alliance (Alliance Française) offers a number of cultural services including French language classes. Although French citizens represent the largest portion of the French-speaking community in Houston, other French-speaking countries including Belgium and Canada are also present. For this celebration, the fare was a traditional Belgian “Guignette” style barbecue and crepe menu catered by the Broken Spoke Café while a Swiss accordion player provided background music. The word “guignette,” the name of a grey migratory bird (Chevalier Guignette) also names cafés, bars, and a festive menu.
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