Want to challenge yourself? Get your pens! This Monday, January 29, 2024, the BnF is offering fans of spelling and fine letters a giant (and free) dictation for the second year in a row.

After the success of the previous one, which brought together more than 350 participants, the 2024 edition has the theme Ode to writing and will be hosted by the singer and author Gaël Faye, ambassador of Pilot France. From 2 p.m., he will open the event by offering participants his own interpretation of the theme before launching the first reading of the dictation: a text written by Marie-Hélène Lafon, author crowned with several literary prizes. 240 participants are already expected: a success for the project which seeks to bring together French people around the pleasure of writing.

Above all, it is an opportunity to write in the royal Salle Ovale, the jewel of the Richelieu site, the more than 300-year-old historic cradle of the National Library of France. Upholstered with more than 20,000 books, this sumptuous setting is famous for its impressive glass roof, paintings and 18th-century woodwork. If you are not crowned King or Queen of Spelling, no disappointment: in this symbolic place, a magical experience is offered to all literature lovers, regardless of their level.

The unifying initiative that is La Dictée Géante, created by Rachid Santaki, is not limited to the capital. Quite the contrary: dictations are organized throughout the year throughout France. Find the next here.