Antoine Humblet

I am Antoine Humblet, a Namur-born Minister of National Education between 1974 and 1977. Shortly after taking office, I was contacted by CODOFIL, which was calling on French-speaking teachers from various countries, including France, French-speaking Switzerland, Quebec, and the French-speaking part of Belgium.

I responded positively to CODOFIL’s request to send French-speaking teachers to the United States, specifically to Louisiana. Thus, in 1974, seven teachers became the pioneers of this initiative. They numbered 32 during the 1975–1976 school year, and we had 99 French-speaking emissaries from Belgium during the 1976–1977 school year.

This mission led me, in 1976, to appoint a distinguished woman from Namur, Miss Mariette Delahaut, as mission officer and person responsible for supervision and coordination.

Shortly afterward, I was approached by the authorities of Louisiana, in particular the lawyer James Domengeaux of Lafayette, president of CODOFIL, with a view to encouraging a twinning arrangement between cities in Louisiana and French-speaking cities in Belgium. The city of New Orleans was initially considered, but I suggested to the Namur council and its mayor, Louis Namêche, that they choose Lafayette in order to strengthen the ties that had been initiated through the sending of teachers from Namur.

And so, I believe that following my request, the City of Namur very gladly chose Lafayette.