Alliance Française was founded on July 21, 1883 in Paris by a group of renowned humanists like Ferdinand de Lesseps, Louis Pasteur, Ernest Renan, Jules Verne, Armand Colin with the objectives of reinforcing friendship and solidarity between people through the promotion of the French language and cultural projects.

Alliance Française has 3 goals:
(1) offer courses in French, in France and in the world, to all sections of society
(2) promote French culture and cultures of French-speaking countries better and in all dimensions
(3) encourage cultural diversity and bring into focus all cultures

In 2007, the Fondation de l’Alliance Française (Alliance Française Foundation) is formed and recognized as a public utility. The Fondation de l’Alliance Française is the moral and legal reference of all the Alliances Françaises in the world. When one Alliance is formed, it asks the Fondation to recognize it, through an approval of its statutes. In 2008, the international network of Alliance Française is composed by 1,071 Alliances Françaises in 136 countries, 8,000 professors and 461,377 students. Nearly 6 million people attend cultural activities organized by the Alliances Françaises each year. Every Alliance Française is operated under local legislation and is managed by a committee made up of prominent personalities in respective countries.