By Tirana Times
As the cobblestone streets of Korça echo with French music, scent of Alpine cuisine, and the laughter of children discovering animated French classics, the southeastern Albanian city reaffirms a timeless connection with France—one rooted in history, education, and enduring cultural admiration.
From June 14 to 24, Korça is hosting a special edition of French Cultural Week as part of Albania’s broader International Cultural Weeks initiative. With ballet, digital art, cinema, gastronomy, and traditional performances from the Savoie region, the celebration feels like more than just a festival—it is a revival of a deep, historical friendship between Albania and France.
But behind the joyous programming lies a story that stretches far beyond this week.
A Historical Bond, Even in Isolation
Albania’s relationship with France is among its oldest and most resilient diplomatic ties. Even during the Cold War era—when Albania was politically isolated from much of the Western world—relations with France were preserved to a degree few other Western countries enjoyed.
Nowhere is this legacy more deeply felt than in Korça.
“Korça holds a unique place in the Franco-Albanian relationship,” says Albert Rakipi, Chairman of the Albanian Institute for International Studies. “It was here, in the 1930s, that the French Lycée educated generations of Albanians who would go on to shape the country’s political, intellectual, and artistic elite—be they communists, nationalists, or literary figures.”
That institution—the iconic Lycée Français of Korça—left a mark on Albania’s collective memory as a beacon of education, secularism, and modernity. It is this very legacy that Rakipi has recently proposed reviving in a bold and forward-looking form: transforming the historic Lycée into a modern French University College with a regional campus in Korça.
A European Vision for a Cross-Border Future
According to diplomatic sources, Rakipi’s proposal has already reached the desks of Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama and the French Presidency. Preparations have quietly begun to explore the feasibility of the project.
“This is not just an Albanian initiative,” Rakipi explains. “It is a European project—cross-border in spirit and substance. A French college in Korça, a hundred years after the founding of the original lycée, would serve not only Albania, but also students from Greece, North Macedonia, and across the Balkans. It would bring together minds from all over the region—and why not, from Western Europe as well.”
In many ways, this week’s festival serves as both a tribute to history and a rehearsal for a larger dream. The visual art exhibition Loustal at 120 km/h, digital installations by French artist Damien Traversaz, and culinary masterpieces by Savoie chef Jean-Pierre Chavanon all highlight France’s creative innovation while gently evoking the shared cultural roots that bind the two countries.
The culmination of the week—a European dialogue forum in Tirana on June 23—promises to take the conversation one step further, exploring how territorial cooperation and European integration can shape the region’s future. The event will feature voices from both France and Albania, including Thierry Repentin, Mayor of Chambéry, and Arbjan Mazniku, Albania’s Minister of State for Local Governance.
As the French Cultural Week unfolds in Korça, it becomes increasingly clear that this is more than a celebration. It is a renewal—of memories, of friendships, and perhaps of institutions that once helped shape modern Albania. The past and future meet here, in Korça, where art, diplomacy, and education intertwine once again.
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