It was the night pour voir la vie en rose.
The wine and dainty canapes flowed and the band crooned to the ambiance of French tunes from the past seven decades.
Alliance Francaise Newcastle, the organisation that has fostered and promoted the French language and culture in the Hunter, celebrated its 75th anniversary at the weekend among a bustling congregation of teachers, ex-pats and French businesses connecting the region to that other famed wine country.
"We are a big family," Alliance Francaise president Marie-Laure Vuaille-Barcan said.
"It is important to learn from different cultures. I don't need to say that, today, it is even more important for dialogue between cultures and to not be afraid as a culture."
"When I learned English, I found it was hard to learn another language, but you learn so much from it and I think that is crucial."
The group hosts culture-sharing events throughout the year, including commemorations for major French holidays, the Hunter's French Film Festival, and a host of social engagements aimed at encouraging international connection.
Newcastle lord Mayor Gavin Morris, who spoke at the anniversary, lauded the city's reputation as a multicultural melting pot and said the French had given much to the Hunter.
"Our relationship with France can be seen in the French vines that established the Hunter's wine industry and in French companies now contributing to the region's public transport, defence, renewable energy and environmental services," Cr Morris said.
The French deputy consul-general to Australia, Sami Bouakaze, said it was a natural expression of the human nature to want to share experience and culture.
"As human beings, we need to share," he said.
"There is no other way for humankind to survive on this planet without it.
"Even if we do not speak the language, it is trying to understand each other. You are Australian and you have your beliefs. I am French and I have mine. That does not mean we cannot connect.
"I think it is foolish to think that we could not find common ground and be able to live together."
