Les Francophonies - Zébrures

Les Francophonies - Zébrures: Forty Years of Francophone Creation

Created in 1984 by Pierre Debauche, then director of the Centre Dramatique National du Limousin, and Monique Blin, the Festival des Francophonies en Limousin was born from an ambitious goal: to make Limoges the capital of francophone arts. For over forty years, this unique festival has brought together artists, authors, and creators from across the entire francophone space—Africa, the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, the Near East, the Maghreb, North America, and Europe—for borderless artistic dialogue.

A Constantly Evolving Festival

Under the successive direction of Pierre Debauche (1984-1990), Monique Blin (1990-2006), Marie-Agnès Sevestre (2006-2018), and Hassane Kassi Kouyaté since 2019, the festival has continuously reinvented itself. In 2019, Les Francophonies became “Les Francophonies - From Writing to the Stage” and adopted the Zébrures format: the Spring Zébrures, dedicated to writing residencies and readings of emerging texts, and the Autumn Zébrures, a highlight of performing arts with theatrical creations, dance, music, and literary encounters. In 2026, a new phase begins with the merger of the two events into a single annual festival: Les Zébrures – Festival of Theatrical Writing and Creation.

The Maison des Francophonies, the Festival's Beating Heart

Located at 11 avenue du Général-de-Gaulle in Limoges, the Maison des Francophonies is the festival's headquarters and a year-round cultural hub. It houses the Maison des auteurs et autrices (Writers' House), a writing residency program that hosts francophone playwrights from around the world each year, as well as a documentation center dedicated to contemporary dramatic writing. During the festival, shuttle buses connect the Maison to the various performance venues scattered throughout Limoges and Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

A Program at the Crossroads of Disciplines

Les Francophonies offers a resolutely multidisciplinary program: theater, contemporary dance, music, storytelling, cinema, readings, and literary encounters. Each edition explores a theme or highlights a region of the francophone world. The 2025 Autumn Zébrures edition focused on the Middle East and the Maghreb, while the Spring Zébrures celebrated the diversity of emerging francophone writing. The festival attracts approximately 20,000 spectators, including many students and performing arts professionals, making Limoges a key hub for international francophone creation.

International Reach

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, the City of Limoges, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region, and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, the festival is recognized as a major player in promoting cultural and linguistic diversity. It has discovered or supported artists who have become major figures on the global francophone stage and contributes to the cultural influence of Limoges far beyond the borders of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.