General Information

The Institut de France, created in 1795, is a state institution with a great impact on French intellectual life. It groups five academies and manages numerous foundations and museums. It also awards prizes and subsidies. The French Institute is housed in an impressive baroque building designed by Louis Le Vau in 1662 for Académie française.

Additional Information

The French Institute comprises: Académie française (responsible for the French language and founded in 1635); Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (humanities, 1663); Académie des sciences (science, 1666); Académie des beaux-arts (fine arts, 1816); Académie des sciences morales et politiques (moral and political sciences, 1795).

Académie française: Highlights

Established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the Académie française acts as an authority on matters pertaining to the French language and is obliged to publish the official dictionary. The Académie consists of forty members, known as ‘immortals’, who are elected by other members.