It was pointed out above that French thought and French example have always exercised a profound influence on the Latin-American republics. Until recently, this influence made itself felt without much conscious observation or deliberate activity on the part of Frenchmen. Indeed, there was sometimes a disposition, which was not unknown in England also, to view the Latin-American in a satirical light. A changed attitude in France--a desire for cordial and equal intercourse--took definite shape in the formation of the Comité France-Amérique in 1906 under the presidency of M. Gabriel Hanotaux. The objects of this society are to develop economic, intellectual and artistic relations between France and the nations of the New World, to attract students and travellers to France from the two Americas and welcome them cordially, to encourage every means of making France and America known to one another. The society soon numbered over 1000 members, and proceeded to found branches in Latin-American capitals, as well as in the United States and Canada. It publishes a monthly review entitled _France-Amérique_, dealing with every branch of life in the two Americas, and has formed a sub-section known as Ligue française de propagande, to spread in America a knowledge of French education and art, as well as French industrial products. The society has published a number of books concerning the history and present conditions of American countries.
The same year, 1906, saw the foundation of the Groupement des Universités et grandes Écoles de France pour les relations avec l'Amérique Latine. This academic association, though it does not ignore the business side of foreign relations, is naturally more concerned with educational and intellectual matters. Its activities appear in the visits of French professors and lecturers to Latin-American capitals, the reception of Latin-American students in France, the study of Spanish-American history, literature and archaeology in French Universities, and in one apparently trivial but very practical detail--the reduction by one half of French Steamship Companies' fares to Latin-American students visiting France.
The economic side of this French movement appears in the institution of a "Latin-American week," a kind of festival for propaganda and intercourse, to be celebrated annually in some great business centre of France. The inaugural seven days' meeting was held at Lyons in December 1916. Sixty Latin-American delegates were present, and were met by 200 French delegates from Paris, among them leading men representing every side of French life. The conference discussed every aspect of the relations between France and Latin America, and the means of extending and improving those relations.