By Drs. EVA Maria Mennes.
The French Embassy is always very strong in presenting their beautiful country by culture and The Alliance Française has a big part in this. It was founded in 1883 in Paris under the patronage of Paul Cambon and Pierre Foncin, around personalities like Jules Verne Louis Pasteur, Ferdinand de Lessesps, Armand Colin and Jules Renan. Today they represent worldwide the first cultural network, with 1040 branches in 136 countries on five continents. Every year more than 450000 people of all ages learn the French language in the Alliances Françaises and more than 6 million people participate in organized cultural activities. The coordination of the organization is ensured by the Fondation Alliance Française. Here in The Hague the energetic director Martin Beyer presented a charming ‘Jour de la Musique’ in the Museum Beelden aan Zee. Under the sharp eye of the artist Henri Laurens, who has a retrospective exposition throughout the museum, we could listen to agreeable music of a modern band with lady singer. The morning ended with four classical pieces of violin music played in an excellent way by Romy Uijttenboogaart Jullian.
