The history of our Cercle as an interest group for francophiles could be compared to 'cernes', the rings of concentric circles showing the growth within a tree.
Our current Belfast French Circle can trace its roots back to the 1980s, and what was then the Cercle français d’Irlande du nord, with its ‘hexagone’ logo connecting the nickname for the shape of France with the six-sided basalt stones of the Giant’s Causeway. In 1989, that Cercle was to the fore in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution – it was a year of the French!
In 1991, in an ambitious move, the Cercle became an official affiliate of the world-wide Alliance française organisation, becoming the Alliance française de Belfast, with headquarters in the Queen's University area, adding a required teaching component to its cultural activities. However, despite great efforts, the teaching, administration and financial burden proved very challenging and after a few years the premises had to be given up, with the organisition going 'à pied', finding premises throughout the Belfast area. There were highs and lows in the coming years as the Alliance française de Belfast continued to provide quality teaching and cultural opportunities for Francophiles in the Belfast area, supported by the local Francophone community.
However, by 2005, it was recognised that the teaching component was unsustainable and a decision was taken to revert to being a circle. Thus, the current Cercle français de Belfast was born and another concentric ring was laid down! It continues to enjoy the support of the Alliance française de Londres and is proud to be connected to it and the many other other circles in its network.
For over 20 years, Le Cercle français de Belfast has been uniting our local community of francophone and francophile members, providing a space for cultural exchange and learning. Our mission is to offer those who have an interest in, or indeed love of, anything French to come and join our association as we take to the road in the coming year to various venues across the Greater Belfast area and beyond. We hope to see you soon at one of our events.
Au prochain cerne !
Here’s to the next ring!