It is an opportunity for the general public to celebrate the richness and diversity of a language spoken on five continents and is a testament to the adaptability of our language, which has never ceased to incorporate words from other horizons into its lexicon.
Themed “Tell me ten words...in French.”, this meeting of lovers of the French language is also a privileged moment of presentation of literary and artistic productions made from the ten words chosen by France, Belgium, Quebec, Switzerland and the international organization of la Francophonie. The ten words of this 21e edition are:
chafouin, champagné, dépanneur, dracher, fada, lumerotte,
blowing snow, ristrette, tap-tap, vigousse
In the Nord – Pas-de-Calais Picardie region, 16 partner cities and more than 25 structures and bodies (libraries and media centres, associations, cultural centres) participate in this event punctuated by exhibitions, declamations of poetic texts, creative competitions, shows, rally-readings and literary cafés.
The Françoise Dolto de Billy-Berclau (Pas-de-Calais) cultural centre, with the participation of the local schools, organizes a whole week of festivities, including a meeting with Gaylord Kemp, a French author of detective novels. Writing and creative workshops are held at the Amiens Public Library (Somme), the Camille Claudel Cultural Centre in Fère-en-Tardenois (Aisne) and the Jules Mousseron Library in Fouquières-lez-Lens (Pas-de-Calais) with an exhibition by visual artist Anne-MousseronMarie Vin.
At the Crépy-en-Valois (Oise) media library, words, tales and fariboles are in the spotlight. Various activities are planned at Espace 2000 in Wervicq-Sud (North), such as a word hunt in the city, a storytelling hour, dictations and a graffiti workshop. Anne Leviel, storyteller offers tales, readings, poems and riddles around the ten words at La Maison Municipale de la Culture et des Loisirs de Wingles (Pas-de-Calais).
On the occasion of this emblematic week a conference on the French language with Anne Rochebouet, specialist in language history, Sandrine Gniady, storyteller and David Jonathan Benrubi, in charge of the media library is given to the Médiathèque de Cambrai (North).
Coordinated by the Ministry of Culture and Communication, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Education, the French Language and La Francophonie Week reflects the vitality of the initiatives of stakeholders and partners in the Nord – Pas-de-Calais Picardie region.
Find the regional programme on the Nord DRAC site – Pas-de-Calais Picardie: http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Regions/Drac-Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie