Learning French come rain or shine

A French class for beginners in session at a park in Paris. The lessons for mainly asylum seekers are held in various parts of the city managed by volunteers. — AFP

Asylum seekers in France go the extra mile to learn the country’s national language at open-air classes.

SITTING in rows on a grassy embankment overlooking a Paris square, asylum-seekers recite the alphabet in French following a young woman who is pointing to letters on a whiteboard.