This group meets on alternate Fridays of the month between 10.30am and 12noon ONLINE via Zoom.

The focus of the group, as the name implies, is speaking French. The level is probably best described as "A Level-ish"

A committed group of “fidèles”, we enjoy a diet of lively conversation, laughter and bonhomie in the language of Molière. Most weeks begin with an item of current affairs, often with a franco-britannique theme. If anyone has had the temerity to go abroad on holiday, they are allowed to bore us in French with their adventures.

We try to avoid heavy grammar sessions, preferring to refer to French structures en passant as we ramble away in our spoken French. Cultural sorties into the realms of Georges Brassens, Louis Aragon, Jacques Prévert and Jean Ferrat mostly reflect the tastes of our leader, but are borne with good grace by all present. An innovation is the “phrase du jour”, a colloquial phrase that we try to weave into our conversations. A recent example was “N’en parlons pas,” which means, “Let’s not talk about it” – which could have been self-defeating, but was not!

Our group is currently full, but in recent times we have taken to having the occasional meeting in person at the Garden Yard. These meetings are always on Fridays at the same times as given above. If any francophile  U3A member wishes to join us for these more informal meetings, please contact me via e-mail at peter.hutchinson1@ntlworld.com and I will let you know when we next meet in person. Vous serez le/la bienvenu(e) !