CIDEF

Founded in 1947, CIDEF is the centre for French as a foreign language at the UCO - Université catholique de l’Ouest in Angers. It was established within the city’s Palais universitaire. The first students to attend its “French courses for foreigners” were Polish and German. CIDEF began to expand in the mid-1960s, particularly with the arrival of American students spending their gap year in France. Today, CIDEF holds the Qualité FLE certification and welcomes more than 1,200 students each year. It has established partnerships with over 210 universities in numerous countries, including Canada, China, South Korea, the United States and Japan.