The Lycée français Pierre Loti (LFPL), as it exists today, was founded in 1962 with the formation of a Management Committee made up of parents, teachers and representatives of the French Embassy in Turkey. At that time, the school was named the École française d’Istanbul (EFI). It was then renamed in 1989, following a vote by the students, in tribute to the French writer and champion of Franco-Turkish friendship who made seven trips to Istanbul between 1876 and 1913 and wrote novels and articles inspired by his stays there (Aziyadé, Les désenchantées, Fantôme d’Orient, etc.), helping to raise awareness of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire in France. Fantôme d’Orient’ etc.) and helped to promote Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire in France.
Between 1942 and 1962, the establishment was known by various names: the Baccalaureate Preparation Courses, the Lycée du Centre d’études françaises, the French Consular School of Istanbul, etc. The primary school classes housed in the former Saint-Louis Seminary were sometimes referred to as the ‘École Saint-Louis’ or the ‘Petite école de l’Ambassade’ (Embassy’s Little School).
Beyond these various names, the school is known to this day by its famous nickname: le Papillon (the Butterfly). The origin of the nickname is old but uncertain. Nevertheless, it has enjoyed remarkable longevity and has become deeply rooted in the hearts of each generation of students, families and staff members.
During the Second World War, in order to improve the quality of education for children from the French community in Istanbul – particularly those preparing for the baccalaureate exam – a group of volunteer teachers from Galatasaray High School organised lessons at the Consulate General in Istanbul, starting in 1942.
Among them, Camille Bergeaud (1900-1973) was the charismatic driving force behind the Lycée Papillon in its early years. A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and holder of an agrégation in grammar, he was a philosophy teacher at the Lycée Galatasaray and became its French studies prefect. Although he was the instigator and driving force behind the creation of the Lycée Papillon, his initiative came to fruition thanks to the support and participation of various groups forming the French and/or French-speaking community in Istanbul.
In 1945, Le Papillon joined the Centre d’études françaises (CEF), a group of French cultural services also created by Camille Bergeaud. It then comprised the Lycée, the Library, an Institute of Higher Education and a general secretariat. French language courses were also offered there. Papillon grew rapidly within the CEF. From 1945 onwards, classes were open to all levels, from middle school to the baccalaureate.
Towards the end of the 1950s, an ‘Internal Council’ was formed within Papillon, heralding a move towards greater autonomy and parental management, which was fully established in 1962.
In 1962, when the French government created the status of ‘Petite école’ (small school) to improve the education of French expatriate children by subsidising French schools abroad, the cultural attaché proposed creating an association bringing together parents, teachers and members of the French community interested in the running of the school. On 19 November 1962, the Association de Gestion de l’École française d’Istanbul (Istanbul French School Management Association) was created. The members of its Board of Directors (or Management Committee) were responsible for managing the school. Alongside the Management Association, the school’s headteacher was responsible for educational and administrative matters. Thus, having previously been part of the Istanbul Cultural Centre, the school acquired its own status and adopted a new name.
The first agreement governing relations between the French State and the Association of Parents of Students was signed in 1985. From 1990 onwards, agreements between the LFPL and the French government were concluded through the Agence pour l’enseignement français à l’étranger (AEFE), a public institution under the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which manages the network of French secondary schools abroad.
Over time, the school has been located in various places, first in Taksim in the premises of the French Consulate General, then in Beyoğlu, in the buildings of the former Saint-Louis seminary and in the outbuildings of the Palais de France. Most of the primary school still occupies these premises, which were extensively renovated in 1989. In addition, in 1992, the Tribunal (built in 1844) was allocated to the school after renovation. In this latter building, which houses the nursery classes, French nationals were tried independently of the Ottoman courts under the status of ‘capitulations’ granted in 1534 by a treaty between Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent, which was denounced when the Republic was founded in 1923. The Palais de France, built in the Louis-Philippe style, dates from the 1840s (1839-1847) and was partially refurbished between 1908 and 1913. The Church of Saint-Louis was built in 1846, and the former building of the ‘drogmans’ (interpreters of the Embassy), now occupied by the French Institute of Anatolian Studies, was built in 1874. The buildings of the convent and seminary of Saint-Louis des frères Capucins were built in 1889.
On the banks of the Bosphorus, in the Tarabya district, lies a French estate that was once the summer residence of the French ambassador in the 19th century. The first occupant of the palace, built on the site in the second half of the 18th century, was Constantin Ipsilanti, a ‘Rum’ aristocrat from the Fener district, who was also governor of Transylvania (‘Voyvode’ of Wallachia, in present-day Romania). After expropriation, the Ipsilanti Palace was given to France in 1807 by the Ottoman Sultan Selim III in gratitude for its help during the English blockade of Istanbul. An annex, which was used for a time by Marmara University, was then purchased by France in 1822. With the exception of the buildings on this part of the site, the main building of the ambassador’s summer residence was destroyed by fire in 1913. Secondary school pupils (middle and high school) and some primary school pupils have been taught on this site since 2003.
Since the 1980s, Papillon’s life has been punctuated by significant events that have helped shape and promote its identity: sports tournaments, theatre performances, Christmas, carnival, end-of-year celebrations, multicultural festivals, etc.
Since the 1980s, the school has made learning about the language, culture and heritage of Turkey one of its priorities. As a result, Papillon students take part in educational outings and school trips in their host country throughout their schooling. Trips to Ephesus, skiing holidays in Uludağ and visits to Istanbul’s historical and cultural heritage sites have inspired several generations of students.
Alongside its ever-increasing integration into its Turkish cultural and linguistic environment, the Lycée Papillon has been developing its range of school trips since the late 1980s. In this way, it promotes an education that is open to Europe and the world. Language trips are organised every year. In addition, the 2010s saw the emergence of ‘great epics’ such as the Istanbul-Bischwiller (Alsace) bicycle trip in 2013 and the discovery of Nepal in 2015, followed by Rajasthan (India) in 2025.
At the beginning of 2023, students from the Pierre Loti French middle and high schools went to meet the ‘elders’ of the Papillon. These encounters gave rise to rich and moving exchanges, available in their entirety on our two school media outlets, Loti News and Crescendo: Les Mémoires du Papillon (Memoirs of the Papillon).
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