FSLG Annual Review - Senate House Libraries - University of London

London the Institut was spared. However they did affect the director Denis Saurat’s
house, which was ultimately destroyed. The man himself is reported to have
remained buried beneath the rubble for many hours before being rescued.
The Post-war era
In 1945, the Institut took a new turning point, coming under the management of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 1963, the Lycée Français and the Institut went their
separate ways to form two independent bodies. The Institut français thus presided
over two domains: the teaching of French; and cultural activities and events
(lectures, exhibitions, cinema, theatre, opera, library).
During these years, the expansion of the library brought into focus a need for further
reorganisation. So in 1950, the former ball room was converted into the main
reading room by Jean-Charles Moreux.
The Institut français du Royaume-Uni continued to promote Franco-British
exchanges and the British public continued to show great support for French culture.
In conjunction, the Lycée cultivated an ever-increasing student base who received a
bilingual education firmly rooted in French culture.
Today
In 1995, the building was modernised by the architect Jean-François Darin, under the
direction of Olivier Poivre d’Arvor. The library became a médiathèque with open
access collections. The “Théâtre Artaud” was transformed into the “Ciné Lumière”,
opened by Catherine Deneuve. It became a reference point for London-based
cinephiles. During this decade, a number of personalities from the ‘septième art’
visited, representing French cinema: amongst them Patrice Chéreau, Jean-Pierre
Bacri, Romain Duris, Agnès Jaoui and Sophie Marceau. Literary activities continued
to flourish and all the great French contemporary authors came to present their
work.
In 2008, in the run up to its centenary, a new wave of renovation work was launched
under the impetus of Laurence Auer, the newly appointed director. The cinema was
completely refurbished and equipped with a digital projector and disabled access
was improved. The following year, the hall in turn was renovated with the aim of
rediscovering its original features. The modernisation process culminated in the
creation of Culturethèque, the digital platform of the Institut français. The overall
premises were equipped with new IT; and the opening of a new language laboratory
is anticipated in September 2010.
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