The Dobroudja region is ideally situated for the cultivation of corn, sunflower, wheat and sheep-rearing. And yet a bit of Paris has taken hold here. The French Library (section actually), part of the Regional Library of Dobrich, houses a collection of 4000 books, magazines and audio and visual material. "You can find everything about France here," explains librarian Elena Yurchenko. "Works by Voltaire and Dumas, modern novels, books covering wine, cheese and bread; textbooks on law, government, science and technology."

Over the years, the library has accumulated the material through donations by private individuals, schools and libraries in France through Pyrenees Bulgarie, and an association in Pau, a city in south-western France that fosters French-Bulgarian ties and exchanges. It was founded by Bernal LaTude, a onetime resident of Dobrich.

The French Library also serves as an ideal setting for the city's Societe Culturelle Fancophone, or the French Club. Founded in 1997 by businessman Georgi Lambov, it has 20 members and many more "friends". He, like many of them, had studied at the local Geo Mitev Language High School. Though not everyone is Francophonic, all are Francophiles. And only one, Regis Palacios Plat, is the real thing.

Members gather every so often to brush up their French, and discuss matters of literature, film, music or share poetry and short stories they themselves have composed. The society also organises cultural events and social activities such as exhibitions, music and folk dance performances, culinary festivals and demonstrations that contain at least some French elements.

For those interested in studying in France, going on exchange programmes or visiting the country, the club offers contacts, advice or helps organise group tours. Yurchenko says that they have also worked with the French government and NGOs in facilitating special programmes, such as providing equipment and upgrading facilities in orphanages in nearby towns.

Yurchenko currently serves as acting chairperson while the official head, Plamen Hristov, a former teacher at Geo Mitev, is in Brussels doing translation work.

The French curriculum at the high school follows the national guideline for all students enrolled in a foreign-language programme as their main subject. According to Zlatka Popova, a French language teacher there, students begin at the eighth grade (age 15) with intensive studies of 23 hours per week covering the elementary level through upper-intermediate.

In the ninth and 10th grades, they do preparatory lessons for the DELF, an exam that confers fluency in the French language.

Gergana Yordanova, a literature teacher, explains that during the first semester in grade 11, students are taught, in French, the classical works of the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment. These entail the philosophies of Denis Diderot, Montesquieu, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire. Their writings, along with those of John Locke of England, served as the philosophical basis of modern democracy, and the American and French Revolutions.

In the second semester, students read Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas and Stendhal, leaders of the Romantic Movement. Following the French Revolution, these writers sought freedom from the conservative restrictions of the classical style. "Victor Hugo holds a special place here because of his sympathy with the cause and plight of Bulgarians," says Yordanova. They move on to Realism and books by Honore de Balzac and Gustave Flaubert.

"In the 12th grade I teach students about 20th century Existentialism," says Borislava Djambazova. This notion says that individuals must choose their own ways to live and act, accepting full responsibility for themselves in an essentially meaningless world. Prominent in this movement were Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus. The class progresses to mid-century dramas by Jean Giraudoux, then the modern novels of Natalie Sarraute and Michel Butor.

Having gone through all this and more, Plamena Zheleva said the going had been very, very tough. "But it was certainly worth it; I have a much better understanding of human nature and the world around me." She will be attending university this autumn in Lyon on a scholarship.

The main Francophone institution in northeast Bulgaria is the Fourth Language High School, Frederic Joliot-Curie, better known as the "French High School". Established in Varna in 1958, it was named after a Nobel Prize-winning chemist and peace activist (and member of the French Communist Party), and has the distinction of being the first French-oriented school in Bulgaria. Before World War 2, Varna had a French Catholic School, Saint Andre. Currently, it enrols 784 students, taught by 64 teachers, including Claire Roman from Provence.

Those wanting additional French lessons can visit the Francophone Centre in Varna, a union of Alliance Francaise Varna and a branch of the Institut Francais in Sofia. Among the instructors are two from France - Danielle Billy and Cecile Fisteberg. Its director, Roumyana Shtarkova, says that many students come here during the intensive course year, and to prepare for the DELF. "We also have classes for very young learners at our other school," she says.

Some adults take business French, though for the past 20 years, the main lingua franca has been English. Many of these students work at Express Bank, Hotel Evrika in Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) and Club Malibu in Albena, companies that deal extensively with French managers or clients.

And then there are those who take up French as a "hobby", for its aesthetic or cultural aspects. "In addition, we receive children from a few Francophonic Bulgarian families who wish to pass on the tradition," says Shtarkova. Currently, there are about 400 such individuals in Varna, the best example being Ivan Stansyov, the chairman of Alliance Francaise, Varna, which recently celebrated its 100 anniversary. They also teach Bulgarian to French expatriates.

But perhaps the biggest category consists of those preparing to immigrate - not so much to France as to Quebec, Canada. "Bulgarians who want to leave try to get as far away from Europe as possible," Shtarkova says. The Francophone Centre also works closely with French language educators in regional schools, providing training and seminars in teaching methodologies such as computers and interactive media.

To help out, a graduate student in pedagogy from Pau, France, Jean Roumieux, has spent a month in Varna, visiting high schools and exchanging insights with educators and students. He has found that the younger generation is less aware of "traditional French things" and more curious about French football teams and players, cars, films and pop music.

Sofia residents can visit the French Institute, the French counterpart of the British Council and Goethe-Institut. As well as language courses, it contains an extensive library of books and audio and visual material. The institute also participates in many different educational and cultural programmes.

Through the efforts of Ivailo Znepolski, the then-cultural minister, and Zhelyu Zhelev, a Francophone expert, Bulgaria joined the International Francophone Organisation in 1994.

Slav Slavov, 16, says he has visited France, Toulouse, and likes French food and films, especially with Jean Reno. "When I finish school, I would like to attend university in France - but live in Bulgaria."