History
The Alliance Française was first established in Paris in 1883 with the aim of promoting French language and culture: "pour promouvoir le rayonnement de la civilisation française à travers sa langue et sa culture."
1902: Founding of the Federation
The Federation of Alliances Françaises in the United States was founded on March 4, 1902, by 19 of then 33 Alliance Française chapters in this country whose representatives gathered in New York City to sign the agreement. The initial mission of the Federation was to serve the member chapters by coordinating lecture tours by eminent French writers and scholars. Three years later, in 1905, there were 150 members.
World War I
In 1915, the Federation was subdivided into five geographic regions, each with a vice-president in charge of encouraging the creation of new Alliances. During World War I, these Alliances joined in the war effort by teaching French to American forces that were scheduled to be sent to France. By 1928, the number of Federation members had risen to 278 (96 Alliances, 156 university French clubs, and 21 associate members), and by 1938 the membership was over 300. In 1939, the Federation acquired legal status as a tax-exempt not-for-profit organization.
World War II
The advent of World War II saw a decline in Federation activity. Financially, the Federation had lost much of its modest endowment during the Depression. Lecture tours were difficult, if not impossible, to organize. Politically, the AFs maintained their independence as local cultural organizations. However, certain chapters adopted a position of neutrality vis-à-vis the Vichy government which, by 1945, was viewed in a negative light. By 1949, Federation membership had dropped to about 100. Ten years later, however, that number had once more doubled, in large part due to the creation of many affiliated university French clubs. Alliances were also encouraged to begin teaching French and by 1960 there were 15 AFs, which were offering French classes. By 1968, Federation membership was again up to its pre-war figure of 278.
1975: Merger with the French Institute Alliance Française
In 1971, the Alliance Française de New York had merged with the French Institute. In 1975, the Federation, which was financially unable to maintain a separate office, signed a merger agreement with the recently created French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF), although in the eyes of many member chapters, this was an unwise decision since the Federation de facto lost its independence. As a result of this new arrangement, the FIAF would provide pedagogical support to member AFs across the country and would organize the traditional lecture tours. Over time, however, both parties realized that this merger was not successful since it placed a financial burden on the FIAF and reduced the effectiveness of the Federation.
1982: Creation of a Délégation Générale in Washington
In December 1981, the Secretary General of the Alliance Française de Paris, Philippe Greffet, came to the United States to propose to the Federation Board of Directors a new arrangement: France would open a délégation générale in Washington, DC, and finance a délégué général as well as several détachés whose mission would be to act as directors for selected AF French schools. At this meeting, the Board consequently resolved to rescind its merger with the FIAF in New York, to reaffirm its existence as an independent American association, and to move to Washington with the délégué général serving as the Executive Director of the Federation. New by-laws to this effect were adopted in 1982.
Over the next twenty years, with the strong encouragement of the Alliance Française de Paris, there was a real increase in the number of teaching Alliances, from 20 in 1980 to 40 in 1990 and to 60 by 1998. Larger AFs were assisted in purchasing buildings of their own (San Francisco, Chicago, Washington, New York, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and Denver). The Délégation organized an annual AF National Concours for Alliance students as well as local secondary and university students and worked with the Federation in subsidizing School Grants to improve instruction in AF schools. Furthermore, member AFs enhanced their local visibility through newsletters, web sites, innovative community outreach programs, numerous local fund-raising events and varied cultural programming.
2003: Renewed Independence
In 2003 the Delegué General stepped down as Executive Director of the Federation.
Today, the Federation is once again a financially independent American association grouping over 110 Alliance Française chapters in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Federation has full responsibility for establishing lines of communication among its membership, including the organization of the annual meeting, the facilitation of regional meetings, the editing and distribution of the newsletter, Federation Forum, the development of its web site, the consolidation of educational support and the dissemination of cultural events . This renaissance of energy was evident at the Annual Conference and Meeting held in St. Louis in October 2006 which attracted over 500 people locally and from Alliances in the US, France, Mexico and Puerto Rico for workshops, presentations, meetings, a luncheon with Ambassador Jean-David Levitte and a gala Charbonnier Award dinner.
2007: Protocole
Like the Federation, the Délégation in Washington now also functions as an independent entity. Its operations are financed by the French government through the Ministère des Affaires étrangères and its personnel report directly to Paris.
The Federation and the Délegation signed a protocole in April 2007 and are now working in close cooperation to further the development of the Alliance Française network in the United States and promote greater cross-cultural understanding.
Further reading: Alain Dubosclard, Histoire de la Fédération des Alliances Françaises aux États-Unis (1902-1997): L'Alliance au Coeur (Paris: L'Harmattan, 1998).