JERUSALEM, December 19, 2011 (WAFA) - The Consul General of France in Jerusalem Frederic Desagneaux launched Monday the works for the construction of a new French Cultural Center in Gaza, according to a press release.
The press release stated that the new French Cultural Center will be located, in the center of Gaza City on the Charles de Gaulle Avenue, on a plot of 2000 square meters donated by the Palestinian Authority to France in 2006.
It added that the works are expected to be completed after one year, for a total cost of about one million Euros.
It stated that the new Center will consist of a large exhibition gallery, a multipurpose hall designed to show movies and to host concerts and conferences, four classrooms, a large library and a cafeteria, as well as, the offices of the French consular antenna.
The Center in Gaza was established in 1982. It was first located in the premises of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and has been relocated in 1989 in a villa on the Victor Hugo street in the City center of Gaza. It has been inaugurated in 1994 by Alain Juppé, French Minister of Foreign Affairs, and is still located in the same building today.
It added that despite the difficult conditions of work, the Center is the only foreign cultural center still open in the Gaza strip. It is run by a team of seven employees under the supervision of a French expatriate manager.
It said that the Center in Gaza enjoys a very popular image: 500 people are registered every year to study French language and more than 200 in the library.
It stated that together with the French Cultural Centers of Jerusalem, Nablus and Ramallah, it belongs to the French Cultural Centers network of the Consulate General of France, in Jerusalem, and offers various cultural activities along the year; exhibitions, conferences, concerts, particularly the festival of Francophone in March, the music festival, in June, and the “Nuit Blanche”, in October.
The Consul General of France in Jerusalem Frederic Desagneaux said that 'the French Cultural Center in Gaza is a unique place of dialogue and freedom which is open to the civil society. France decided to build a new CCF in Gaza in order to receive a largest public in the best conditions possible'.
He added that 'the Gaza strip is a top priority for the action of France in the Palestinian Territory.'
M.G.
