All stories
Every story on French Stories, from absolute beginner to intermediate.
La boulangère de la rue Saint-Michel
The Baker on Rue Saint-Michel
A young woman's first day learning to shape croissants from the owner of a Québec City bakery.
- work
- food
- learning
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La leçon de guitare
The Guitar Lesson
A girl asks her elderly neighbor to teach her guitar, and their Wednesday lessons become a new friendship.
- music
- intergenerational friendship
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Le dimanche au zoo
Sunday at the Zoo
A boy's class trip to the zoo in Réunion ends with a wonderful discovery: a giant tortoise named Georgette.
- animals
- school trip
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Le marché de Dakar
The Dakar Market
A girl helps her aunt sell fabric at the Dakar market and learns to negotiate politely with customers.
- family trade
- culture
- numbers
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Le nouveau vélo
The New Bike
A boy gets a new bike for his birthday and makes a new friend on his first ride to the park.
- friendship
- hobbies
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Le petit jardin
The Little Garden
A boy in Papeete plants tomato seeds on his balcony and learns patience as he watches them grow.
- nature
- patience
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Les cloches de Genève
The Bells of Geneva
A visiting student discovers Geneva's old town during a street-music festival and hears its church bells for the first time.
- travel
- music
- discovery
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Mon premier match
My First Match
A boy joins his neighborhood football team in Abidjan and plays in his very first match.
- sports
- friendship
- confidence
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Un chat dans la classe
A Cat in the Classroom
A stray cat wanders into a Brussels classroom, and the class works together to decide how to care for it.
- school
- animals
- community
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Une lettre pour correspondante
A Letter for a Pen Pal
A girl in Québec writes her very first letter to a new pen pal in Morocco for a school exchange project.
- friendship
- writing
- culture
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Déménagement à Québec
Moving to Québec City
A teenager moves to a new school mid-year and feels like an outsider, until the chess club gives her a way in.
- belonging
- new beginnings
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La chorale du quartier
The Neighborhood Choir
A teenager joins a neighborhood choir rehearsing for a cultural festival, doubting her voice until a mentor encourages her.
- music
- self-confidence
- community
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La randonnée des Alpes
The Hike in the Alps
On a group hike near Chamonix, a teenager freezes with fear at a high viewpoint, and a friend helps him find the courage to continue.
- courage
- friendship
- nature
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Le concours de dessin
The Drawing Contest
A teenager's regional art contest falls on the same day as his best friend's birthday, so he has to find a way to make both happen.
- art
- friendship
- decisions
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Le potager partagé
The Shared Garden
Two teenagers from neighborhoods that don't usually mix end up organizing a shared community garden together.
- cooperation
- environment
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Le projet de sciences
The Science Project
Two classmates disagree on how to approach a science project and have to find a compromise before the deadline.
- collaboration
- conflict resolution
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Le stage de théâtre
The Theater Workshop
A teenager attends a theater workshop and overcomes stage fright before a small public performance, with the group's support.
- performing arts
- confidence
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Le tournoi de Scrabble
The Scrabble Tournament
A teenager competes in a regional Scrabble tournament against a rival who becomes a friend by the end of the day.
- competition
- sportsmanship
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L'entretien à la bibliothèque
The Library Interview
A teenager prepares for his first job interview, for a part-time library position, and succeeds despite his nerves.
- work
- growing up
- perseverance
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Un été à Annecy
A Summer in Annecy
A teenager hosts her pen pal from Morocco for two weeks, and small cultural misunderstandings give way to a stronger friendship.
- cultural exchange
- friendship
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La Dernière Répétition
The Last Rehearsal
A dancer in a Papeete dance troupe seems to be preparing to leave, and the others piece it together from small clues he never puts into words.
- change
- unspoken goodbyes
- community
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La Lettre Anonyme
The Anonymous Letter
Before a small Strasbourg theater troupe's opening night, an anonymous letter criticizes the lead actor's pacing, and no one admits to writing it.
- theater
- trust
- assumptions
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L'Atelier du Luthier
The Luthier's Workshop
An apprentice violin-maker in Mirecourt challenges his master's old-fashioned methods, but his real doubt turns out to be about something else entirely.
- craftsmanship
- generational knowledge
- self-doubt
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Le Conseil du Vieux Pêcheur
The Old Fisherman's Advice
Frustrated by shrinking catches near Saint-Louis, a young fisherman asks an elder for advice and receives a story with no single correct reading.
- tradition vs. modernity
- environment
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Le Dernier Cours de Madame Nkomo
Madame Nkomo's Last Class
On her last day at a Yaoundé lycée, a veteran teacher announces an early retirement, and her students piece together a reason she never says out loud.
- school
- mentorship
- change
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Le Silence du Rendez-vous
The Silence of the Meeting
Years after a falling-out, two former co-owners of a lakeside bookshop in Évian meet to decide its future, and the real cause of their quarrel surfaces only through what they don't say.
- reconciliation
- unspoken history
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Le Témoin Discret
The Quiet Witness
During the grape harvest near Bordeaux, a quiet new worker is suspected of reporting a safety problem, but the truth is more nuanced than anyone assumed.
- workplace trust
- assumption vs. reality
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Le Vote du Conseil
The Council Vote
A Montréal neighborhood council debates whether to save an old cinema from demolition, and the vote's outcome is left open.
- civic life
- community
- differing values
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L'Échange à Fribourg
The Exchange in Fribourg
A French exchange student and a Swiss-German classmate clash repeatedly over small habits before reaching real mutual understanding.
- cultural exchange
- identity
- bilingualism
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Les Deux Rives
The Two Riverbanks
Separated for years by the Congo River and by different life paths, two childhood friends from Kinshasa and Brazzaville meet again at a festival.
- friendship
- change
- circumstance
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