On Friday 16 August, the Alliance Française of Melbourne hosted a farewell party for Michel Richard, who had been its director since September 2015. The Alliance Française of Melbourne is the oldest Alliance Française in Australia, founded in 1890 by Berthe Mouchette, the wife of the then Acting Consul of France in Melbourne.

The Alliance is a great institution with the dual purpose of teaching French and organising cultural manifestations.

The cultural program under Michel Richard’s leadership did thrive, indeed! Besides the annual French Film Festival, Michel organised a multitude of arts exhibitions and conferences. He was also instrumental in the 2017 Bastille Day French Festival.

After a few words by Myriam Boisbouvier-Wylie, Honorary Consul General of France in Melbourne, Gilbert Ducasse, the president of the board of the Alliance Française, thanked Michel for his accomplishments before presenting him with an aboriginal painting and with a very funny cartoon by Nicolas Yann Martin. 

The former director is moving to New Caledonia where he will pursue his cultural endeavours with the Ministère de la Culture. We wish him all the best for the future!