About the Alliance Française de Londres

The Alliance Française de Londres is an educational charity dedicated to teaching the French language. Our native French teachers are fully qualified and commited to providing a high standard of tuition that takes you through a structured syllabus from beginner to fluent. In 1987 the Alliance moved to its permanent home at 1 Dorset Square, NW1, where we have air-conditioned classrooms and a library, all equipped with interactive white boards

The Alliance Française de Londres gives you a truly authentic French experience, the next best thing to actually going to a French-speaking country. We are all here because we want to be. We believe in the Alliance française. We love teaching and we love London and the great variety of people living or working here or just passing through. We are committed and enthusiastic sharers of French language and culture and we welcome everyone.As an apolitical and non-denominational organisation the Alliance was a pioneer in multicultural teaching. We are truly broad-based and inclusive.

Founded in Paris in 1883, the Alliance Française was the first organisation to teach French around the world. Initial board members included the renowned scientist Louis Pasteur and the writer Jules Verne. Today, it is the world's largest collection of French teaching associations, all non-profit-making organisations.

The Alliance Française de Londres has a long and distinguished history. Our roots go back to 1884 and the London Alliance Française took over rallying the network during the second World War when the Paris Alliance was closed down. For a glimpse of our history retrouvée see AFL au fil des ans.

There is no better summary of the Alliance Française mission than

« Nous avons, une fois pour toutes, tiré cette conclusion que c’est par de libres rapports spirituels et moraux, établis entre nous-mêmes et les autres, que notre influence culturelle peut s’étendre à l’avantage de tous et qu’inversement peut s’accroître ce que nous valons. Organiser ces rapports, telle fut la raison de naître, telle est la raison de vivre, telle sera la raison de poursuivre de l’Alliance française. »

Charles de Gaulle 
(from his speech in Algiers on 30th October 1943 for the 60th anniversary of the Alliance Française movement)