The Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S.

The Cultural Services is a division of the French Embassy in the United States.  The Cultural Services was first imagined in the 1930's by Paul Claudel. In 1945 General de Gaulle appointed Claude Lévi-Strauss as the first Cultural Counselor, with the mission of providing Americans (individuals and organizations)  with access and resources to engage with French culture and promote it in their own communities.

Today, under the leadership of Antonin Baudry, Cultural Counselor of the French Embassy and Permanent Representative of French Universities in the United States, the French Cultural Services provides French and American artists, intellectuals, arts professionals, and the general public a platform and resources for cultural exchange. It is dedicated to creating transatlantic dialogue in the arts and education from French and American perspectives. Based in New York City, Washington D.C., and eight other cities across the US, the French Cultural Services’ principal fields of action are the arts, literature, cinema, French language programs and higher education.

The French Cultural Services is interested in new and challenging ideas that will bring French and American people together in creative collaboration. Programs are offered either directly by the Departments or in conjunction with the Embassy’s non-profit partner FACE (French American Cultural Exchange) and the 972 Fifth Avenue Fund. The French Cultural Services also coordinates nominations and award ceremonies for French honorary distinctions awarded to Americans and others living in the U.S. in recognition of exceptional artistic and academic accomplishments.