Berlin cited financial and geopolitical reasons on Friday for its decision to close several branches of the Goethe Cultural Institutes, including three locations in France, a country where this announcement caused a strong emotion, reports the France Presse and Agerpres agencies.
Goethe InstitutePhoto: Sascha Steinach / DPA / Profimedia
“It is about ‘necessary reforms’ considering the ‘evolution of geopolitical and financial conditions'”, explained a spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during a regular press conference.
In France, the Goethe Institutes in Lille and Bordeaux will close, as will the liaison office in Strasbourg.
Seven other branches in the worldwide network of 158 will cease to operate, including those in Turin, Genoa and Trieste (Italy), Rotterdam (Netherlands) and Washington (USA).
A pillar of German cultural and linguistic diplomacy, the network must adapt “to the changing times,” spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said.
The announcement of these closures caused strong protests in the affected French regions. He intervenes at a time when Franco-German relations are going through a difficult period, being affected by a series of controversial political topics.
The signal sent “is not a very happy one at this time,” the Élysée Palace acknowledged.
In France and Germany, the number of students learning the language of the neighboring country is constantly decreasing
For Strasbourg (east), it is “a new blow to bilingualism, ignoring the history of (the region of) Alsace, ignoring the history of our two countries”, lamented Frederic Bierry, president of the Collectivite europeenne d’Alsace.
In the region where the city of Bordeaux is located (south-west), the local authorities mourned the loss of an “irreplaceable” place that “embodies on the ground the principles of Franco-German friendship and of the Élysée Treaty, whose 60th anniversary we celebrate in This year”.
The Goethe Institute in Lille, opened in 1957, was “the first in France”, said the metropolis in the north of France.
The elected officials appeal to the German government, in the context in which President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, together with the ministers from the two countries, meet on Monday and Tuesday in Hamburg for two working days.
In France and Germany, the number of students learning the language of the neighboring country is constantly decreasing.
As part of the announced reform, the Goethe Institute intends to intensify its involvement in Central and Eastern Europe, in the Caucasus, in the South Pacific and in the central area of the United States. The reductions also take into account a budget allocation announced as decreasing by 3.3% next year.
In France, the Goethe Institutes in Paris, Lyon (with a branch in Marseille) and Nancy were maintained, as well as the branch in Toulouse, which no longer offers language courses.
