For almost 30 years, since the dawn of the 1989 Revolution, the French Institute of Timișoara (formerly the French Cultural Center) has been a key player in local cultural life. Established in 1992 in the prestigious Villa Kimmel, it is, since 2012, one of the four branches of the French Institute in Romania (together with Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca and Iași). The Institute's mission is to promote the policy of cooperation and cultural action of the French Embassy in favor of French cultures and language, focusing on their most topical dimensions.