On October 25, 2008, a grand unveiling ceremony for the Confucius Institute in Brittany was held in Rennes, capital of the Brittany Region. Xu Jialu, former Vice Chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, Xu Lin, Director-General of the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), Zhu Xiaoyu, Educational Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in France, Jean-Yves Le Drian, Chairman of the Brittany Region, Daniel Delaveau, Mayor of Rennes, and Jacqueline Meunier, president of the Brittany-China Friendship Association, attended the ceremony.

At his speech, Xu Jialu spoke highly of the Confucius Institute and its work. He said that the establishment of the Confucius Institute is the result of joint efforts from China and France and will further arouse the interest of local Chinese learners.

Chairman Jean-Yves Le Drian and Mayor Daniel Delaveau also delivered speeches and stressed that the Regional Parliament and the Rennes Municipal Government will provide all necessary support for the development of the Confucius Institute.

Xu Lin, Chief Executive of the Confucius Institute Headquarters and Director-General of Hanban, said that she has very high expectations of the Confucius Institute and believed that it will become one of the leading Confucius Institutes in Europe.

Before the ceremony, Director Xu Lin, Counselor of Education Zhu Xiaoyu, Wang Qilong, Vice President of Shandong Univesity, Christian Guyonvarc’h, Vice Chairman of Brittany Region, Roselyne Lefrancois, Parliamentary Commissioner for Rennes City and the surrounding cities, Bertrand Fortin, President of the Brittany Higher Education and Research Association, and Jacqueline Meunier, President of the  Sino-French Friendship Association, attended a working conference for the Confucius Institute and exchanged views on the future development of the school.

The Confucius Institute’s unique multi-sided participation model is widely supported by local people from various fields.The Institute’s Chinese partner is Shangdong University. Currently, the Institute offers five Chinese training courses for different groups and Chinsese culture promotion activities, such as calligraphy and lectures.