The AFSF offers a range of classes and individual instruction for learning French, from beginners (A1) with no previous knowledge of the language to advanced students (C1), both in person and online .

French-language films are shown the first Tuesday evening of the month in the theater; screenings are free but a donation is appreciated.

Emigration to California was spurred by the government-created Loterie des Lingots d'or, a project to send unwanted individuals to San Francisco as gold seekers.

In later years, around 120,000 immigrants from Béarn or Basque country arrived in America between 1820 and 1926; many settled in San Francisco Bay Area.

Two satellite chapters in Redwood City and Palo Alto were established, and in 1972 the AFSF's executive director developed a "Junior Alliance".

The AFSF reached a thousand members and students, maintaining strong links with sister chapters in Berkeley, Saratoga and Monterey.

In the 1980s the AFSF joined the Ligue Henri IV, an association created in 1895 by the large Béarnais community in San Francisco.

In 1982, the AFSF relocated to a building on Bush Street owned by the Ligue and designed in 1910 by prominent Bay Area architect Willis Polk.