L'esprit français 🇫🇷
Argue about what the French actually argue about.
A 10-week debate programme, in French, for B2 learners who are past small talk. Politics, colonisation, gender, immigration, the Revolution : the topics that make French culture click.
Format: 10 weeks, 10 live sessions, assignments and tailored feedback
Group: 4–5 people max
Level: B2 and above
Starts: October, 19th 2026
Investment: $597
Your French works in class. Then Sunday lunch happens.
In class, the teacher asks a question. You have a few seconds, you pick your words, you answer. Everyone nods. Your ego feels great.
Then you're at the table with your French mother-in-law's poulet rôti, three people talking over each other about the upcoming 2027 French elections, and the French that worked perfectly in class is nowhere to be found.
It's not that you don't know the words. It's that you've never had to find them fast.
At your level, more vocabulary isn't the answer. Speed is: the word is already there before you look for it, and you stop translating and start reacting in French.
You know the rules. That was never the problem.
"Your French is great," everybody tells you. And it is: you've worked on it the way you work on everything you're good at. You're probably a business owner, an executive, a lawyer or a doctor like so many of my students, so you know what it takes.
Maybe you've been married to a French woman for 25 years and she still talks to you in English. Maybe you have French friends, but after the small talk the conversation slides back into English, or never gets as deep as it does with your own friends.
In your language, you're sharp, funny, persuasive, and people feel it when you walk into a room. In French, you stick to the structures you're sure of, the jokes don't come, and you become a flatter version of yourself. You're the one replaying the dinner on the way home thinking "I should have said that."
More rules won't fix that. Neither will more podcasts or more chatting with a random tutor. What fixes it is training where it actually breaks: fast, under a bit of pressure, on what the French really talk about. That, and finally understanding why they think the way they think.
This isn't a chit-chat class :)
The French debate everything — at school, at work, at the dinner table. (One school debate I still remember: « Peut-on épouser son cousin ? ») If you can't discuss what the French discuss in real life, you're just doing homework.
Put a slightly provocative statement on the table and even the shyest learner can't stay quiet. That's the point: you're pushed just past your comfort zone, and the structures you've studied for years finally come out on their own.
Le conditionnel + le subjonctif :
« Ça pourrait être une option, à condition que… »
La concession :
« Certes, l'État protège. Mais à quel prix ? »
L'hypothèse :
"En supposant que la gauche remporte les élections en 2027..."
What we'll debate
1. Politics: The role of the state, and why everyone has an opinion on it
2. Colonisation: France and a past it still hasn't settled
3. Gender: Le féminisme à la française, and the arguments around it
4. Immigration: National identity, and who gets to define it
5. How you can get used to the French sense of humour and joke with us
& more
Every topic is presented from several sides. You're here to build an argument in French, not to adopt mine.
Inside a session
A bit of pressure. Because real life isn't a classroom :)
1. A statement goes on the table
Deliberately provocative, a notch above your comfort zone — like « L'école française ne fabrique pas des esprits libres. Elle fabrique de bons élèves. »
2. You argue, in French, now
You agree, push back or aren't sure — and you have to work out why, out loud, without switching to English. Speed and reformulation drills keep the pace up.
3. I reformulate, without breaking the flow
I listen for the conditional you dropped, the concession you didn't finish. « Donc, ce que tu veux dire, c'est que… » You hear the right form and keep going. No red pen.
It's for you if: - You're solidly B2 and past small talk - Your French is good in class and freezes in real conversations - You want to argue, reformulate and think in French under a bit of pressure - You're curious about how the French see their own history and society
It's not for you if: - You're still building the basics - the group moves at B2 pace - You're looking for a relaxed conversation café - You'd rather avoid topics people disagree on
What do I get?
1/1,5 hour of conversation per week over 10 weeks
Tailored feedback & assignments
A private group chat with exclusive ressources & tips
Access to my brain 5/7 for 2,5 months
Andrew, Los Angeles
Esteban, New York
David, Mesa
FAQ
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Do I need an advanced level to join?
Yes, a solid B2. The sessions are fast-paced debates, not guided conversation, so everyone needs to be able to follow, react and argue without switching to English. That's why there's a short application: it lets me check the level before anyone commits, so the group works for everyone, including you.
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What do we talk about during the sessions?
The topics the French actually argue about: politics, colonisation, gender and feminism à la française, immigration and national identity, the Revolution, laïcité… and more, depending on where the group takes us. Every topic is presented from several sides. You're here to build your own argument in French, not to adopt mine.
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What if I miss a session? Is it recorded?
Every session is recorded, and you always get the session's material: key figures, cultural context, vocabulary and the debate questions. So you can catch up and still arrive ready for the next one.
Why an application?
Four or five people. Everyone needs to belong in the room.
Because the group is so small, one mismatch in level changes the session for everyone. The short application lets me check it's the right fit before anyone commits — including you.
1. Fill in the applicationA few questions, in French. About 5 minutes.
2. I read it myself and reply within 2 days to tell you if it's a fit.
3. You take your seat. You get the enrolment link and we start on October 19th.
Applications close on October 12th.