Virtual Discussion
Should Emily Pick Up More French?

Discussion led by Author Elaine Sciolino


Tuesday, December 1, 2020
1pm ET
LIVE on Zoom
In English



Netflix’s breakout hit Emily in Paris has been hotly debated by fans and critics in both the US and France. Having announced its second season, a burning question remains: is learning French critical to enjoy the best of life and culture in Paris?

In response, New York Times bestselling author Elaine Sciolino will lead a lively discussion with French students from both sides of the Atlantic. Students from the Alliance Française of Paris, the Alliance Française of Greenwich, and the French Institute Alliance Française of New York will be part of the conversation.

How long does it take to really know French and go beyond “bonjour”? To order a baguette? Speak up at a meeting? Hold your own at a chic party? Flirt with flair?

45 minutes with Q&A

Elaine Sciolino

Elaine Sciolino is a writer for The New York Times and a former Paris bureau chief, based in France since 2002.

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    • Her new book, The Seine: The River That Made Paris was published in October 2019. She is the author of four previous books, including The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des Martyrs, a New York Times best seller.

      In 2010, she was decorated a chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the highest honor of the French state, and in 2019, she became a member of the Executive Committee of Reporters Without Borders.

      Sciolino began her journalism career as a researcher at Newsweek. She was the Edward R. Murrow Press Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in 1982–1983, the first woman to receive that honor. She joined The New York Times in 1984, where she held multiple posts; United Nations bureau chief, Central Intelligence Agency correspondent, culture correspondent and chief diplomatic correspondent—the first woman to hold that post.

      Her 2000 book, Persian Mirrors: The Elusive Face of Iran, received several awards. She has been awarded several honorary doctorate degrees, most recently from the University of London.

      Learn more at elainesciolino.com