For a few hours Friday afternoon, Marquette students and faculty got a look at French culture, which was free from any talk of wine boycotts or freedom fries.

About 40 students and faculty were on hand for the event, which took place in the Haggerty Museum of Art.

The afternoon featured a discussion of French art with Associate Curator Annemarie Sawkins, readings of French poetry by students and faculty and a presentation on Paris by visiting College of Business Administration junior and native French speaker Dalia Franicevic.

Associate Professor of French Steven Taylor said the event was part of National French Week, a week designed to promote awareness of Francophone cultures and countries throughout the world.

Sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French, French Week includes events throughout the country for French students of all ages and grade levels, according to Taylor.

Taylor said the afternoon of French culture began three years ago as a collaborative effort between French faculty and staff and Pi Delta Phi, the French honor society.

The program helps "to make French more visible to people here at Marquette," he said.

Sawkins focused the art discussion on the "Miserere" series of early 20th-century Parisian artist Georges Rouault. The series of etched copper prints interweaves images of the suffering of Christ with the suffering of man, ending with man's salvation in Christ, she said.

The series was donated to the Marquette University Fine Arts Collection in 1958 by alumnus Leonard J. Scheller, according to the Haggerty's Web site.

Students and faculty also read a variety of French poetry. Selections included the work of celebrated French poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Eluard, and author Anne Hébert, who was a native of Quebec.

Franicevic is visiting Marquette for the semester from ESDES, the business school at the Catholic University of Lyon in France. She presented an overview of the highlights of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Champs-Elysees boulevard through the heart of the city and the Montmartre district.

Having once lived within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower, Franicevic recommended visiting Paris to anyone who gets the chance.

"If you have the opportunity, it's fantastic," Franicevic said in French.

Franicevic said she chose to study at Marquette this semester because a friend recommended it as a good school.

"It's been a very good experience," she said in French.

Adjunct Assistant Professor of French Dorothee Mertz-Weigel and Assistant Professor of French Sarah Gendron were among those who said they enjoyed the program.

"It was exceptional," Mertz-Weigel said in French.

College of Business Administration junior and French student Aubrey Schwoerer said the program was "a good opportunity to experience French culture outside the classroom."

"It's very interesting," said Schwoerer, who plans to study in Lyon next semester. "It's a nice way for people of all different levels of French to participate."