Ecole française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO)

The École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO), or French School of Asian Studies, was founded in 1898 in Saigon as the Mission archéologique d'Indo-Chine.

The mission of the EFEO, a public institution under the aegis of the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, is to study the classical civilizations of Asian through the humanities and social sciences. From India, to China and Japan, and covering all of Southeast Asia, the EFEO's research areas include almost all the societies have been under Indian or Chinese influence in the course of history. Leading scholars working at the EFEO's 18 centres and branch offices in Asia have been essential in the development of the School's research programme. Interdisciplinary projects bring together leading scholars in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, history, philology, and religious studies. Since the vast majority of EFEO members carry out field studies in Asia, the emergence of contemporary issues is obviously of relevance for the School.