“VERY often there is a misunderstanding about what the French Institute is,” says Pascal Vagogne, French Cultural consul and Director of the Institute. “In France all cultural politics are a part of the ministry of foreign affairs. Here the French Institute - the real name is the Centre of Culture and Co-operation - is a part of the department of the embassy.” But the centre is not concerned only with cultural matters, “it deals with all sorts of co-operations,” says Vagogne, listing linguistics, education, research, audio-visuals, justice and health.
Bulgaria is a member of francophony and the Institute supports French language teaching in Bulgaria in over 50 French schools. The centre in Sofia teaches its own French courses. In the towns, French is taught by the Alliance Francaise - which is a Bulgarian association supported by the French government.
“There are French-speaking departments in many universities, which means that pupils in Bulgaria can start studies in school and finish in university using French. Many students also go to France to study - about 3000,” says Vagogne.
In the field of audio-visual co-operation, “we support French cinema, TV5 and RFI, the French-speaking radio.”
In terms of technical co-operation, “all our objectives are concentrated around the entry to the EU. We try to help the Bulgarians enter in the best conditions and deal with problems of harmonisation (with EU requirements).”
Overall, the Institute has quite a big structure in Bulgaria. About 30 people work in Sofia and there are centres in Plovdiv, Varna and Veliko Turnovo.
The basic role of the Institute is as “an intermediary between France and Bulgaria for all these aspects (cultural, artistic, technological). We try to have an institute that's as open as possible and try to create conditions that are as hospitable as possible, to support proposals and be open to the public.” The Institute is interested in people who are “passionate” about their work, believing that “with a little help you can allow people to express their creativity.”
I ask Vagogne to describe cultural relations between France and Bulgaria at this moment in time. “What I found when I came here was an imbalance between what France means here and the real story. France and the French language were very important here even before independence (from the Ottoman empire) because they were associated with progress and freedom.
“After independence people still spoke French, were interested in French culture, had French schools. And even during communism the French language was taught a lot - it was considered Western in comparison with Russian: an image of freedom, and also perhaps, more supported than the English language for political reasons, as English was associated with imperialism and the US.”
“Now,” he says, “people can use their knowledge for new objectives especially in relationship to entering Europe. We have a new situation where the French language suddenly offers the prospective of professional advantages.”
All of the “mythic” knowledge surrounding France, he says, now has a basis in reality - “it is no longer out of reach.”
However, Vagogne says that “unfortunately Bulgaria is not so well known in France.” He says that they are pleased when Bulgarians come to France and project a good image of the country. “We try to promote Bulgaria in France as it's a pity to have a country of such potential being unknown.”
So, he says, relations between France and Bulgaria have a sentimental nature, but there is also the business side of things. “Ignorance of Bulgaria makes investors reluctant to come here,” but the more direct contact is made, the more prejudices are broken down. Vagogne says that Bulgaria has “a high level of culture and education” and the “possibility to develop exchanges in education, culture- all fields,” between Bulgaria and France exists for the future. Vagogne describes this as a “very interesting period” which is “very rewarding, with real objectives and prospects.”
I ask in which areas of culture ties between the two countries have proved to be the most fruitful, and which needed more development. Vogonge mentions the success of the ballet. “A ballet dancer from Paris came here to take part in the production of Interview, which was very interesting. For the first time the audience was allowed behind the curtain of the stage. I think it was a success.” But he says that “more than developing action in one area we try to support innovating projects. Many Bulgarians live abroad and can see things that are very contemporary, but don't always have the opportunity to see them here. So we try to show contemporary shows.”
A big exhibition of contemporary art is currently being prepared in the National gallery. “We choose very contemporary works - some may be shocking, they will certainly be different,” says Vagogne. The exhibiton will start in Sofia and it is planned to move to Bucharest and Athens from here. There are also plans for a display of the Thracian treasures in Paris. This is part of the centre's efforts to support events in France dedicated to Bulgaria, where there is a “new interest” being shown in the country.
In terms of areas requiring more development, the most important next step for the French Institute itself is a change of premises. There have been ongoing bilateral negations over the use of the building of the Alliance Francaise, to which a solution has now been found: the building will remain the property of the Bulgarian government, but it will be leased to France for 99 years. The premises, which has a theatre house, will mean more “impact and visibility” for the institute.
In broader terms, Vagogne says that the areas which need more work are those of technical co-operation and support for civil and administrative tasks to help in preparation for EU accession, as well as issues concerning the Roma, and healthcare. “There is so much to be done that you feel you have not enough possibilities and there is always more to do.”
Vagogne says that there is the need for more investment - multilateral investment, in order to start and support projects, for example in the area of Roma education programmes. “In France,” Vagogne says, “most Roma people travel, but some are settled as they are here. In France, we have found some solutions for the education of Roma children,” so there is scope for France to share its ideas on the problem in exchanges with Bulgaria.
Regarding healthcare there have been successful programmes, such as the development of an operation for children's heart transplantations, which was previously only available abroad, but Vagogne says there is also need for more development in this area.
Tourism is seeing a huge amount of development at present. In 2003 then-ambassador Jean-Loup Kuhn-Delforge said that culture was the key to French tourism in Bulgaria, which was a reason why France was working with Bulgaria on issues of National Cultural Heritage. I ask Vagogne for some examples of these projects and to evaluate how successful they have been.
Vagogne says he doesn't “totally agree” with Kuhn-Delforge's statement. “He is talking about French tourism, and this isn't sufficient to make Bulgaria rich.” We take a “double approach” to tourism in Bulgaria. “Economists say that the future for real profits is mass tourism. The French don't like mass tourism; the things that are promoted such as the sea and the mountains can be found in France, so in order to attract them to Bulgaria they need to be offered something different; a different culture.”
He likens Albena to resorts in other European countries such as Spain and describes it as “totally impersonal”, but notes the importance of such resorts in terms of bringing money into the country. It is here that the Institute is involved in “big projects for training people for the tourism industry.” The New Bulgarian University and The French School of Tourism offer a degree which is recognised across Europe. Graduates are so “appreciated” that tourist societies have asked for the development of the school and the possibility of running continuous training courses “because there is still a lack of training in this field,” says Vagogne.
I ask how they can be sure that the Bulgarians who take advantage of the tourism training won't leave for other countries in Europe. “We live in Europe and we're very open to that. Even if they go to France for a while it's useful as it creates links. For the moment, we don't have these problems. There are many possibilities in Bulgaria. Most of them work on the coast where they are very appreciated and on good salaries.”
Masss tourism provided a good source of income, but Vagogne says “we try to support cultural tourism because we believe in it.”
Projects in this area include the training of mountain guides for the Rila and Rhodope areas. Patrimony is also considered to be very important and the Institute is involved in a big project to restore monuments of culture. A prestigious French university of architecture works with students and professionals on the restoration of a selection of monuments from churches to factories to houses.
Vagogne says that projects such as these are very important despite not having much visibility. Only about 12 restorations are worked on each year because “they are done very professionally.” He compares this to projects such as the Beautiful Bulgaria project, which is “interesting socially” as it uses unemployed people, but “it's done very quickly and is not necessarily a real restoration. What we try to do is have a useful exchange of techniques.”
Vagogne also sees the need for a change in approach to tourism. “What can attract tourism? Very often people here don't understand what is the real attraction of the country.” He says that there is a “syndrome” here about spas. “You don't go to a Bulgarian village to find a jacuzzi (spa),” he says, “it's much more useful to go somewhere that will help you to understand history.”
In regard to the future of Bulgarian and French cultural exchange and the impact of Bulgaria's accession to the EU, Vagogne envisages more “communicating faces”- direct face-to-face contact between actors in both countries. “Things will develop gradually in a more autonomous and spontaneous way. The Institute won't need to give so much support. The fields of technical and university co-operation will diminish gradually. In 10 or 15 years time there will be a convergence between economies.
The role of the Institute will be concentrated more on culture, tourism and teaching. We shall not have all this expectation of the past.”