About Us
The Cultural Services of the French Embassy are headquartered in the former Payne Whitney residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City and at the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and have regional offices in Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Miami, New Orleans, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
The work of the Cultural Services is variously advisory, conceptual, developmental, promotional and administrative. Under the direction of the French Ambassador to the United States, our mandate is to prompt and sustain a high-spirited cultural exchange between the most promising French and American artists, writers, thinkers, students, and educators, and to continually enhance the number and caliber of opportunities available to them.
The Cultural Services regularly conceive, organize, and support large-scale initiatives to draw attention to exciting developments in French culture. In recent years, these initiatives have included in New York: France Moves, a contemporary dance festival (2001); Sounds French, a contemporary music festival (2003); Act French, a season of new French theater (2005), I Kiffe NY, a French urban cultures festival (2008), Graphic Novels from Europe (2008), Films on the Green (free outdoor screenings every summer since 2008), "IN-I & Jubilations" celebrating Juliette Binoche (2009), The Festival of New French Writing (2009), Eat Your Words: When Writers Speak of Food (2009), and "In the Words of Duras" celebrating Marguerite Duras (2010).
Elsewhere in the U.S., the Cultural Services of the French Embassy have helped organize and support "Playing French", focused on contemporary playwrights, in Chicago (2004); Lyon via Houston (2005), the French Quarter jazz festival (2007), "French Kissin’ in the USA", an art show in Miami (2007), the OohlaLA French Music Festival in Los Angeles (2009), Spatial City: an Architecture of Idealism an exhibit that toured Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee (2010), and Vis-à-Vis: a French-American Literary Festival in Venice, CA, and San Francisco (2010).
The Cultural Services are always interested in new and challenging ideas that will bring French and American people together in creative collaboration. Our programs are offered either directly by the Departments and Offices or in conjunction with our non-profit partner FACE (French American Cultural Exchange). The Cultural Services also coordinate nominations and award ceremonies for French official distinctions given to Americans and U.S. residents in recognition of exceptional artistic and academic accomplishments.
Guide
For more about the mission, activities, and contacts for the French Embassy’s Departments, click on the links on the right or download the guide of the French Cultural Services below.
Non Cultural or Educational Inquiries
Due to the high volume of questions received, we cannot answer all inquiries. For example, we cannot answer questions about travel, visas, passports, marriage, law, geography, taxes, exchange rates, or language translation.
Please check the French Embassy web site for more information:
Their FAQ is especially helpful.
Payne Whitney Mansion Rentals
Situated on Manhattan’s elegant upper eastside, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York now offer different settings for special events. Click here for more information.
Cultural Services of the French Embassy Headquarters Location
Administrative Questions
Please note, the Cultural Services of the French Embassy is exclusively a cultural institution. For all questions concerning TRAVEL, VISAS, LAW, TAXES, GEOGRAPHY, EXCHANGE RATES, LANGUAGE TRANSLATION, or other ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS, please contact your nearest French Consulate. If you live in the tristate area, please contact the French Consulate in New York, F. 212 606 3600.
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Regional Offices
Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Houston
Los Angeles
Miami
New Orleans
San Francisco
Washington, D.C.
Headquarters
Administrative Department
Arts Department
Book Department
Communications and Development Department
Executive Office
Film, TV and New Media Department
French Language Department
Higher Education Department
Office of Non-Governmental Affairs
Primary and Secondary Education
Délégation de l’Alliance Française
The Alliance Francaise’s mission in the United States is to encourage and develop knowledge of the French language and French and Francophone cultures, and to foster cultural, intellectual and artistic exchanges between the USA and France and the French-speaking countries. Each Alliance Française is governed locally and is operated as an independant, non-profit, non-political, non-discriminatory organization.
The Délégation générale de l’Alliance Française is the hub of the American Alliances Françaises, located in Washington, DC, and serving the entire network of Alliances Françaises. In partnership with the cultural services of the French Embassy in the United States, it offers cultural programming, developmental funding, pedagogical support, and other services, while maintaining the liaison between the American Alliances and the Alliance Française fondation.
It is also through the Délégation générale that new Alliances Françaises can be created; a detailed proposal must be submitted to the Délégué général, who preliminarily evaluates the dossier and then transmits it to Paris for approval.
Other Contacts
>> French Cultural Services on Facebook
>> French Cultural Services on Flickr
>> FACE - French American Cultural Exchange
>> La Maison Française of Columbia University
>> France at the United Nations
>> Ministry of Foreign Affairs
>> Ministry of Culture and Communication
>> UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
>> French American Chamber of Commerce in New York
>> Ubifrance - French Agency for International Business Development
