A wrap on the 2024-2025 academic year !

On Saturday 28 June, we ended on a high note with the Maison Française’s annual Garden Party, which brought together colleagues, friends, and close collaborators for a festive celebration under the Oxford sun. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who contributed to the success of this beautiful event, a perfect way to round off a vibrant year for our community.
A year punctuated by exciting academic events, highly regarded publications, an outstanding HCERES report, and stimulating cultural activities, a programme we can all be proud of.

Many thanks to our governing bodies and committees, to the CNRS, the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the French Embassy in the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford and to our colleagues of the French Embassy department for Science and Technology as well as to the Institut français du Royaume-Uni for their constant support.

As we say goodbye to our departing colleagues, in particular Nathalie Berny, Delphine Mercier, and Perig Pitrou, we’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Pascal Marty, who led the MFO with dedication over the past five years.

As Pascal shared with the audience last Saturday, the Maison Française d’Oxford looks forward to a dynamic future, with ongoing fundraising efforts aimed at supporting new fellowships and scholarships, preserving the MFO’s heritage, and transforming the old Westbury Lodge stable into a vibrant new space for research and exchange. A special thanks to the Fondation CNRS Minh-Hà PHAM and Fondation de France UK, who are supporting us in this endeavour.

With the strength of its vibrant team, we are confident that the MFO will continue to uphold two core values: the enduring friendship between France and the United Kingdom, rooted in shared democratic ideals and rich academic traditions, and a steadfast commitment to truth, knowledge, and critical inquiry.

We wish the entire MFO community a pleasant and restful summer. May this season offer a well-deserved break and renewed inspiration for the year to come.

Clickable photographs by Joshua Mallett