The Cité internationale de la langue française

Open to the world and anchored in its territory, the Cité internationale de la langue française, whose tour will open soon, will be a cultural and living place entirely dedicated to the French language. It will link the past, present and future of the French language and the French-speaking world, around three pillars: culture & creation, education & training, research & innovation .

A multidisciplinary space accessible to the greatest number of people, it will articulate varied and complementary activities: tours, temporary exhibitions, shows, residency workshops for artists, researchers and entrepreneurs, educational activities, learning and training in the French language...

The Cité's ambition is to reveal the French language as a source of creativity and exchange, of intellectual and aesthetic development, of pleasure and as a lever for social, economic and civic integration.

In view of the many issues raised by the French language (cultural, social, political) in its relationship to the world, the Cité will combine a variety of activities with a creative, sensitive, participatory and open approach to the language.

The Cité in figures :

• 1600 m² of permanent and temporary exhibitions
• 250 seats in the auditorium
• 12 residency workshops for artists, researchers and entrepreneurs
• 2 local shops: a bookstore-boutique and a café-tea room
• A varied program of shows, events, conferences and exhibitions
• Educational activities, training and language learning
• A research and innovation laboratory on linguistic issues

The Centre des monuments nationaux works with nearly 80 public and private partners, from local to international, from the cultural, artistic, educational and training fields, social and associative organizations, etc., to build the cultural, artistic and institutional program of the Cité.

We'll show you around?

The first room, "A castle, a territory", will reveal the history of the monument, from its construction to its recent restoration, its environment, its architecture and the great figures who are attached to Villers-Cotterêts and its territory, such as Alexandre Dumas. Visitors will access it via the King's Staircase, which will give voice to the era of the court of François I. This room will be accessible free of charge to all visitors of the Cité.

The tour will continue in the four wings of the castle; the visitor will discover the language in all its diversity on the scale of the French-speaking world, in its creativity, its particularities and its history. He will cross contemplative, immersive, playful or interactive spaces. It will not be a matter of explaining the French language in a scholastic way, but rather of giving it to be seen, heard and loved.

The first permanent exhibition entirely dedicated to the French language, the permanent tour is designed under the scientific curatorship of Xavier North, Barbara Cassin, Zeev Gourarier and Hassane Kassi Kouyaté.

It will be based on some sixty innovative mediation devices and precious objects, documents and works lent by some twenty national and international partner institutions(Académie française, Centre national des arts plastiques, Comédie française, Musée du Louvre, Musée de l'Armée, Mucem, Musée national de l'Éducation, Musée national des Arts asiatiques - Guimet, Musée des beaux-arts de Tours, Musée de la Civilisation du Québec...).

The tour will also be punctuated by contemporary artistic creations.

A continuous invention

Visitors will discover that French is a composite language, in movement, which has evolved over the centuries phonetically but also through its borrowings from other languages. It will be a reminder that we are all actors in the evolution of the language in the choice of words, new or old, French or foreign, that we use every day to describe what we live. This sequence will allow us to have fun with the French language by discovering sounds and words from around the world.

A varied and accessible cultural offer

The Cité internationale de la langue française's programming will be multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary and will promote the diversity of French-speaking cultures in all their forms of expression: literature, performing arts, visual arts, and digital arts will all have their place. Exhibitions, shows, concerts, festivals, events, meetings, readings, performances, all forms will be called upon...

This program will be built in collaboration with the cultural actors of the territory and with the national and international operators working in this field, to welcome a large audience. It will be deployed in the various spaces (touring, temporary exhibitions, educational and training activities, residencies for artistic creation and research, etc.).

The Jeu de Paume building will be transformed into a modular auditorium with 250 seats for shows, conferences, seminars, etc. The objective will also be to make Villers-Cotterêts the point of meetings, collaborations and exchanges between the various professional networks linked to the French language (academic, cultural, international cooperation, social field, etc.).

Artists, researchers, entrepreneurs: the Cité welcomes you

What about language professionals?

On the second floor of the Cité, twelve workshops ranging from 15 to 110 m2 will be set up to host artists of all disciplines, writers, researchers, entrepreneurs and educators in residence who are conducting a reflection or project related to the French language or languages in general. The residents will be invited to present their creations in the Cité's exhibition spaces (temporary exhibitions, auditorium...).

The Cité's team will encourage exchanges between residents, accompany them in their project and invite them to meet the territory.

Some examples of residencies that will be proposed? A typographic creation residency, a residency on comics in the French-speaking world and an international cross-residency involving French and Quebec partners.
 

A laboratory for pedagogical innovation on the future challenges of language

Conceived as a "laboratory for the French-speaking world", the Cité aims to be at the forefront of future issues related to the French language: the fight against illiteracy, new language learning solutions, etc. It intends to bring together researchers, businesses and the public to develop new applications related to languages and language learning. Any innovative project in these fields will be invited to test it in the Cité's spaces, drawing on the cultural and scientific resources of the site and interacting with visitors.

This "laboratory" will thus be a space for meetings, debates and reflections between professionals on the future of the French language and, more broadly, of languages and their learning.