French in London

french-london

London is the ‘sixth biggest French city’. There are about 300 000 frogs living and working in the capital. The area that immediately comes to mind is South Kensington:  the French embassy, the lycée Charles de Gaulle and the French Institute are all present here. As well as bookshops, boulangeries…

Another densely French populated area is the East End. The French crowd here is younger and generally involved in creative industries. Frogs here (like myself) are somehow the descendants of the huguenots (French protestants) who were offered protection in 17th century when king Louis XIV outlawed protestantism in France.

You can hear about the French East End and about the new francophone area of New Vic in Newham, in this BBC4 radio report.

Between the West’s ‘Frog valley’ and the ‘French East End’, London is a great place to learn French and to connect with francophone culture and cuisine.