The École française d’Athènes
Under the authority of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Space, the École française d’Athènes (EFA) has the status of a public scientific, cultural and professional institution (EPSCP). It is governed by Statutory Decree No. 2011-164 of 10 February 2011, which applies to all five French Schools Abroad, as amended by Decree No. 2021-146 of 10 February 2021. This decree strengthens the autonomy and governance of each institution, with the Board of Directors performing the role provided for under the new statutes.
Founded in 1846 as the first foreign institute established in Greece, the École française d’Athènes is a research centre for the humanities and social sciences, specialising in the study of Greece and its Balkan and Mediterranean environment throughout all periods of history. The EFA provides a forum for exchange among researchers specialising in these fields. It produces and disseminates knowledge and expertise. Alongside this work, it trains early-career researchers by giving them access to fieldwork and primary sources, thereby supporting their integration into a high-level international professional environment.
The French School of Athens is:
- a research centre supported by a permanent staff of 70 people working across seven departments.
- a research library holding 96,000 documents, including 2,600 journals, and providing access to cutting-edge electronic resources.
- a publishing house that publishes up to 20 volumes a year across 18 series, five internationally renowned academic journals, and a catalogue of more than 600 titles in history, archaeology, epigraphy, numismatics, geography, the social sciences, and other disciplines.
- a unique archive collection of manuscripts, photographs, drawings and plans produced during its expeditions to archaeological sites and museums in Greece and other Mediterranean countries: 10,000 squeezes, 900,000 photographs, 70,000 plans and drawings, and 350 linear metres of manuscript documents.
- a cutting-edge technology infrastructure supporting researchers who develop innovative approaches in archaeology.
- a high-performance digital ecosystem structured around the principles of interoperability and open science.
- an international residential centre: the School’s headquarters in Athens welcomes more than 300 researchers each year. Its seven excavation houses accommodate members of scientific missions during their fieldwork or while conducting research in museum storerooms.
Le Réseau des Écoles françaises à l’étranger
The French School of Athens is part of the network of French Schools Abroad, which brings together five higher education and research institutions governed by Decree No. 2011-164 of 10 February 2011, as amended by Decree No. 2021-146 of 10 February 2021. Established abroad in Greece (French School of Athens, 1846), Italy (French School at Rome, 1875), Egypt (French Institute for Oriental Archaeology, Cairo, 1880), Southeast Asia (French School of Asian Studies, Paris, 1898) and Spain (Casa de Velázquez, Madrid, 1920), these Schools fulfil a threefold mission of training, research and dissemination in the humanities and social sciences. They welcome early-career researchers at doctoral and postdoctoral level, draw on a community of established French and international scholars, and publish around one hundred volumes each year. In their host countries, they develop collaborative and cooperative networks that make them indispensable contributors to French research abroad.
Under the scientific supervision of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, as well as that of the Académie des Beaux-Arts for the artistic section of the Casa and the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques for the French School at Rome, each institution has a Board of Directors and a Scientific Council, together with an Artistic Council in the case of the Casa. By agreement, they established a committee of directors in January 2015, with a rotating chair. This body serves as the network’s forum for reflection and proposals and oversees its joint initiatives.