The Institut Français (; French capitalization, Institut français; "French institute") is a French public industrial and commercial organization (EPIC). Started in 1907 by the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

for promoting French,

francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

as well as local cultures around the world, in 2011 it replaced the CulturesFrance project as the umbrella for all French cultural outreach projects, with an expanded scope of work and increased resources (Decree No. 2010-1695 of 30 December 2010, in response to the law relating to the external scope of the State adopted on 12 July 2010). Chaired by interim by its general director Erol Ok, who is assisted by Clément Bodeur-Cremieux, Secretary General, the French Institute works closely with the French cultural network abroad consisting of more than 150 branches and nearly 1000 branches of the Alliance française around the world. The process of incorporating the cultural networks of a dozen diplomatic missions has been conducted from January 2011 to 2014 as an experiment: Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Georgia, Ghana, India, Kuwait, UK, Senegal, Serbia, Singapore and Syria (suspended due to the political situation in Syria.) The government has entrusted the Institut Français with promoting French culture abroad through artistic exchanges: performing arts, visual arts, architecture, the worldwide diffusion of French books, film, technology and ideas. Accordingly, the institute has developed a new scientific program for the dissemination of culture. The Institut Français welcomes foreign cultural missions through the organization of "seasons" or festivals and cooperation with the countries of the south, including ensuring the management of the funds of "Fonds Sud Cinema" in partnership with the National Center of Cinematography and the moving image. It also provides training for newly formed missions and professionalization of staff of the international French cultural network.

History of French cultural institutes and centers

The first French institute, the

Institut français de Florence The Institut français de Florence or French Institute in Florence is an Institut français in Florence, Italy. It is a French public institution attached to the French Foreign Ministry. The promotion of French culture and French language, langu ...

, was established in 1907 in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

by Julien Luchaire, with the help of the Faculty of Arts of Grenoble, followed by others would play an important role in the creation of deep cultural ties between France and other country. Historically the French institutions established in the first half of the 20th century were committed to academic institutions, while the French cultural centers, usually created later in the second half of the 20th century or the beginning of the 21st century, were created by the French government. This difference does not exist anymore and cultural centers are now adopting the name of Institut Français. Some institutions have a bi-national status, governed by a bilateral agreement between the governments, particularly in Guinea (Conakry), Guinea Bissau ( Bissau),

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

( Maputo),

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

( Windhoek) and

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

(

Jean Rouch Jean Rouch (; 31 May 1917 – 18 February 2004) was a French Filmmaking, filmmaker and anthropologist. He is considered one of the founders of cinéma vérité in France. Rouch's practice as a filmmaker, for over 60 years in Africa, was char ...

Franco-Nigerien Cultural Centre of Niamey ). The 143 French institutions and French cultural centers are institutions located outside France under the

and charged with promoting intellectual and cultural audiovisual cooperation between professionals, to present the French,

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

as well as local traditional and contemporary art for all audiences (to begin with, with the young audience), to promote French higher education to foreign students and teachers and offer a complete range of courses and international

examinations An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

for the French language. They usually have, in the embassies of France which they depend on, a financially (but not legally) autonomous status. This also gives its director the status of authorising and being accountable for the budget devoted to the establishment (which is a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from its own resources) and a reserve fund not limited to the year, which enables the creation of multi-year programs. They are funded fully or partially by their own revenues raised by teaching French as official language or as a foreign language (depending on the countries) and sponsorship (for those with a genuine ambition in terms of cultural engineering). Moreover, the French research institutes abroad (IFRE) depend jointly on the

and the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (, , CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 staff, including 11,137 tenured researchers, 13,415 eng ...

. Today, French institutions and French cultural centers (RTCs) are essential levers for the development of cooperation between network professionals culture and education as well as for the promotion of cultural and linguistic diversity. Instituto-frances-madrid-160321

Some international French institutes

Cultural institutes

In Europe

* Institut français d'Allemagne * Institut français d’Ankara * Institut français d'Athènes * Institut français de Barcelone * Institut français de Belgrade * Institut français de Bilbao * Institut français de Bratislava * Institut français de Bucarest * Institut français de Budapest * Institut français du Danemark * Institut français d'Écosse (

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

) * Institut français de Finlande *

* Institut français d’Istanbul * Institut français d'Italie * Institut français de Lettonie * Institut français du Royaume-Uni (

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

) * Institut français de Madrid * Institut français de Naples * Institut français de Milan * Institut français de Norvège * Institut français de Novi Sad * Institut français de Nis * Institut français de Palerme * Institut français de Pologne : Cracovie et Varsovie * Institut français du Portugal * Institut français de Prague * Institut français - Centre Saint-Louis (

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) * Institut français de Roumanie (

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

) * Institut français de Saint-Pétersbourg * Institut français de Saragosse * Institut français de Sarajevo * Institut français de Sofia * Institut français de Slovénie * Institut français de Stockholm * Institut français de Stuttgart * Institut français d'Estonie (

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

) * Institut français des Pays-Bas * Institut français de Grèce ( Thessalonique) * Institut français de Thessalonique * Institut français d'Ukraine (

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

) * Institut français de Valence * Institut français de Vienne * Institut français de Zagreb

Outside Europe

; Africa * Instituts français en Algérie (

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

) at

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

, Constantine,

Annaba Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

and

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

* Instituts français au Maroc (

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

) at

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, Fes,

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

, Meknes,

Oujda Oujda (, ) is a major city in northeast Morocco near the Algeria–Morocco border, border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental (Morocco), Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of 506,224 people (2024 censu ...

, Rabat-Salé and

Tangier Tangier ( ; , , ) is a city in northwestern Morocco, on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The city is the capital city, capital of the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, as well as the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture of Moroc ...

* Institut français en Mauritanie (

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

) at

Nouakchott Nouakchott ( ) is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. Located in the southwestern part of the country, it is one of the largest cities in the Sahara. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania. Once a ...

* Institut français à Maurice (

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

) at Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill * Institut français Léopold Sédar Senghor (

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

) at

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

* Institut français au Bénin at

Cotonou Cotonou (; ) is the largest city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The city lies ...

* Institut français en Côte d'Ivoire at

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

* Institut français au Gabon at

Libreville Libreville (; ) is the capital and largest city of Gabon, located on the Gabon Estuary. Libreville occupies of the northwestern province of Estuaire Province, Estuaire. Libreville is also a port on the Gabon Estuary, near the Gulf of Guinea. A ...

* Institut français au Ghana at

Accra Accra (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , had a population of ...

* Institut français au Soudan at

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

* Institut français au Togo at

Lomé Lomé ( , ) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in Togo, largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

* Institut français en Libye at Tripoli and

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

* Institut français en Tunisie at

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

* Institut français en Égypte at

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, and Heliopolis * Institut français au Cap-Vert * Institut français en République démocratique du Congo at

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

* Institut français au Congo at

Brazzaville Brazzaville () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Republic of the Congo. Administratively, it is a Departments of the Republic of the Congo, department and a Communes of the Republic of the Congo, commune. Constituting t ...

* Institut français en Guinée équatoriale * Institut français du Nigeria ; America * Institut franco-chilien - ''Instituto chileno-francés'' at

Providencia, Chile Providencia (, Spanish: "providence") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago City. It is bordered by the communes of Santiago to the west, Recoleta to the northwest, Las Condes and Vitacura to the northeast, La Reina to the east, and ...

* Institut français d'Amérique latine at

México Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

* Institut français au Canada * Institut français aux États-Unis / French Institute Alliance Francaise * Institut français en Haïti at

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

; Asia * Institut français de Singapour at

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

* Institut français au Cambodge (

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

) at

Battambang Battambang (, Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is the capital of Battambang province and the List of cities and towns in Cambodia, third largest city in Cambodia. The city is situated on the Sangkae River, which winds its way through t ...

Phnom Penh Phnom Penh is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Cambodia, most populous city of Cambodia. It has been the national capital since 1865 and has grown to become the nation's primate city and its political, economic, industr ...

and Siem Reap * Institut français en Chine (China) at Beijing (''Pékin'') * Institut français en Birmanie (Myanmar) at Rangoon * Institut français en Inde (India) at Institut français de New Delhi, New Delhi ** antenna at French Institute of Pondicherry, Pondichéry * Institut Français d'Indonésie (Indonesia) at Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, and Jogjakarta * Institut français de Tel-Aviv (Israel) at Tel Aviv * Institut français de Jérusalem, Institut français de Jérusalem - Romain Gary, Jérusalem * Institut franco-japonais (Japan) ** Institut franco-japonais de Tokyo, Institut franco-japonais de Tokyo et Yokohama ** Institut franco-japonais du Kansai at Kyoto ** Institut franco-japonais du Kyushu at Fukuoka * Mission culturelle française au Liban (Lebanon) at Beirut (''Beyrouth''), Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli, Sidon (''Saïda''), Deir al-Qamar, Zahlé, Jounieh, Nabatieh, Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre (''Tyr'') and Baalbek (''Balbecq'') * Institut français en Irak at Baghdad and Erbil * Institut français aux Émirats arabes unis at Abu Dhabi * Institut français en Corée du Sud at Seoul * Institut français au Vietnam ** at ''L'Espace'', Hoan Kiem District, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi ** at Hà Đông District, Ha Dong, Hanoi ** at Huế ** at Da Nang ** at Ho Chi Minh City

Research institutes IFRE

*Centre de recherche français à Jérusalem (CRFJ) - Israël *Centre français de recherche en sciences sociales (CEFRES) - Prague *Institut de recherche sur le Maghreb contemporain (IRMC) - Tunis *Institut de recherche sur l’Asie du Sud-Est contemporaine (IRASEC) - Bangkok *Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale, Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO) - Le Caire (rattaché au MESR et non au MAEE) *Institut français de Pondichéry (IFP) - Pondichéry *Institut français de recherche en Afrique IFRA-Nigeria et IFRA-Nairobi *Institut Français de Recherche en Iran (IFRI) - Téhéran *Institut français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) - Damas – Beyrouth – Amman *Institut français d'Afrique du Sud (IFAS) - Johannesburg *Institut français d'études anatoliennes, Institut français d'études anatoliennes Georges Dumézil (IFEA) - Istanbul *Institut français d’études andines (IFEA) - Lima *Institut français d’études sur l’Asie centrale (IFEAC) - Tachkent *Maison Française d'Oxford (MFO) - Grande-Bretagne

Incidents

In November 2023, the Institut francais in Gaza was hit by an Israeli air strike amid the Gaza war, but no injuries were reported among staff at the site.Dominique Vidalon (3 November 2023)
French Institute in Gaza and AFP office hit by Israeli air strike
�''Reuters''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Institut francais International organizations based in France Organizations established in 2011 Cultural promotion organizations Francophonie Institut Français, International cultural organizations Language advocacy organizations Language education organizations