Alliance Française of Madras gets a new building
The Hindu
Learning French and embracing culture go hand-in-hand, says French Ambassador recalling that the France and Chennai’s relations date back to 18th century
Gobally, the number of French speakers has never been so high in history and statistics indicate that there are roughly 320 million of them, said Emmanuel Lenain, Ambassador of France to India.
He was speaking at the inauguration of a new building on the Alliance Française of Madras premises on Monday. A city landmark, the Alliance Française has been functioning on College Road since 1953 and the newly inaugurated space at “Espace 24” has been envisioned as a centre for cultural research and studies.
“With the number of speakers growing, it is important that we continue to support the Alliance Française and the work they do. Festivals such as the French Rendez-Vous, which the Alliance Française helped organise, are important as learning French and embracing culture go hand-in-hand,” he said.
The Ambassador said that Chennai and France’s relations date back to the 18th century and that they were keen on continuing to build more bridges with India.
Lise Talbot Barré, Consul-General of France in Pondicherry and Chennai, said the new building would give them the opportunity to welcome more students.
“We hope to see the French language bloom even more. I thank the government of Tamil Nadu for all their support for our cultural activities,” she said.
Pravin Kannanur, President, Alliance Française of Madras, was awarded the ‘Chevalier des Arts Et Lettres’ decoration on behalf of the French Minister of Culture Rima Abdul Malik.
The Opposition Congress demanded that the government open the Gandhi Vatika Museum, depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and freedom struggle, built at a cost of ₹85 crore in Jaipur’s Central Park last year, during the Congress-led regime in Rajasthan. The museum has not been opened to the public, reportedly because of the administration’s engagements with the State Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
Almaya Munnettam (Lay People to the Fore), group in the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church opposed to the synod-recommended Mass, rejected a circular issued by Major Archbishop Raphael Thattil and apostolic administrator Bosco Puthur on June 9 to implement the unified Mass in the archdiocese from July 3.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.