Outside of school, there was considerable unrest this past weekend, with demonstrations taking place at Battery Park, JFK International Airport and other areas around New York. The atmosphere inside the LFNY last Friday and Saturday was no less turbulent, though 
in a different way. Young voices could be heard everywhere, elementary, middle and high school students were in movement throughout the Lycée Français, and hundreds of families and friends applauded in our Cultural Center, as we hosted the latest edition of our celebrated Francophone theater festival, Première Scène, which this year brought together 410 students, organized in 36 troupes, hailing from 17 schools, located in three countries: the US, Canada and France.
Two visionaries and a whole community
Please allow me to extend our deepest gratitude to Nathalie Roussel-Colliety and Frédéric Yvelin, both of whom are teachers at the LFNY and co-founded this special event 18 years ago. Bravo and infinite thanks to them for their extraordinary vision, dedication and inspiration. Thank you very much too to everyone involved, from the thespians themselves, to the faculty who accompanied them, to the panels of judges who selected the winners, to the members of the Lycée Français de New York Première Scène team who lent assistance in one way or another for 48 hours non-stop, to the APL who provided nourishment to our guests, to the Fondation Cadahemark which once again underwrote our festival with greatly appreciated generosity. When we say the sky is the limit, we mean it!
The world as it should be
Yet, returning to the wonderful upheaval which only the theater can make possible, the future is bright above all else because of the remarkable young people we have in our care, by which I mean of course the students of our beloved LFNY, but also those of our cherished partner schools. The theme of last weekend’s festival was “Attention!”, with actresses and actors left to interpret that word as they saw fit. Several took it as a window through which to explore some of the most pressing issues of our times, including the subject of refugee children which the School of International Studies in Brooklyn depicted with unforgettable power and poignancy, gripping the audience and bringing tears to many eyes.
All we have to do is give each other a hand, they appeared to say, and our world will be healed. Of course, not everything was as serious, for theater is also a mirror to wit and humor. As this year’s festival came to a close, what remained, for me and I am sure for everyone in attendance, was the ineffable beauty of young people remaking the world as they intend it to be.
About the Author :
Sean Lynch was Head of School at the Lycée Français de New York from 2011 to 2018, after having spent 15 years at another French bilingual school outside of Paris: the Lycée International de St. Germain-en-Laye. Holding both French and American nationalities, educated in France (Sciences Po Paris) and the United States (Yale), and as the proud husband of a French-American spouse and father of two French-American daughters, Sean Lynch has spent his entire professional and personal life at the junction between the languages, cultures and educational systems of France and the United States. In addition to being passionate about education, he loves everything related to the mountains, particularly the Parc National du Mercantour.