PETITE HISTOIRE DES RELATIONS ENTRE LA FRANCE ET LA ROUMANIE, ENTRE LA LITTERATURE ROUMAINE ET CELLE FRANÇAISE
A SHORT HISTORY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN FRANCE AND THE ROMANIANS, BETWEEN THE ROMANIAN AND FRENCH LITERATURES

Summary/Abstract: In the XIXth century, a great number of Romanian travellers, especially sons of rich noblemen, came to study in France relating to the French cultural and political life, which they would eventually implement in Romanian upon their return. (It is the third source of diffusion of French ideas in the Romanian space after the contribution of the Phanariotes and the French consulates.) Many of these students played a major role in the world of politics and litarature, among them we can find: Vasile Alecsandri, Alexandru Macedonski, Nicolae Iorga and Ion Ghica. Strong relationships are established between some French and Romanian writers, between Romanian and French literatures such as: the writer and politician Ion-Heliade Rădulescu met Victor Hugo and Alphonse de Lamartine (elected Honorary President of the Association of Romanian Students of France in 1847), Ion Ghica's had long-lasting relationships with Jules Michelet and Edgard Quinet, whose courses were attended by Romanian students, and who supported the Union of Romanian Principalities in 1859. In brief, French literature was highly received in Romania, as France often appeared as a model in the eyes of Romanians fighting for their independence and unity, a fact which explains the very close links between the intellectual and political life, between literature and commitment.

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