Facts about France
1. Why is France called the Hexagon?
The French people refer to their country as “L’Hexagone”, which translates to the word Hexagon. Why? There can only be a simple explanation for it, right? It is because if you look at a map of France, you will realize that it is in the shape of a Hexagon since the country is roughly six-sided.
2. Is France the world’s most popular tourist destination?
With some of the world’s most iconic landmarks that call France its home, coupled with its stunning architecture, beautiful beaches, breathtaking countryside, and riveting history, there is no doubt why France attracts millennials and baby boomers alike from across the world. It acts as a beacon of hope for culture and arts. With more than 89.4 million international tourist arrivals in 2018, it is officially the world’s number one tourist destination. The US is 18 times bigger than France and it welcomed only 79.6 million international tourists at the same time. How’s that for a perspective!
3. What’s the national motto of France:
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity- the motto of France, came into use during the time of the French revolution. Liberty stands for having the freedom to make decisions without fear of any repercussions. Equality stands for the fact that everyone is equal in front of the law where there is equal opportunity, rights and respect. Fraternity is the idea of people being together like a community sharing similar interests.
4. Who is the king with the shortest reign ever?
The Queen of the United Kingdom, Elizabeth II holds the distinction of being the longest ruling monarch. Since 1952, she has been the Queen. Louis XIX or Lousin Antoine on the other hand holds the dubious distinction of being a monarch for having the shortest reign ever- 20 minutes. Yes. Just 20 minutes! This bizarre incident happened in July 1830 during the July Revolution when his father, Charles X of France, abdicated the throne.
5. What did France ban supermarkets from doing?
If you own a supermarket in France, you are likely to be arrested if you throw away or destroy unsold food. Since 2016, this law came into effect where supermarkets were prohibited from throwing away unsold food if it has not crossed the “best before” date. Instead, they are encouraged to donate to charities. Failure to comply can result in fines of 75,000 Euros or two years of imprisonment. This food waste law was a result of strong campaigns by politicians as well as signature campaigns by its citizens.
6. A French woman is the world’s oldest ever human
If Jeanne Calment could have lived for three more years, she’d have been the only person on Earth to have lived through the 19th, 20th and 21st century. Born on 21 February, 1875, she outlived her daughter and grandson. Researchers have challenged Calment’s extreme age, but there has been conclusive research to prove that she is who she claims to be. Calment ascribed her longevity to a diet rich in olive oil. She did enjoy a fair share of fried and spicy foods and was a devout Christian.
7. The world’s first artificial heart transplant and face transplant both took place in France
Surgeons in France performed the first face transplant in 2005. The patient underwent surgery to her face as it was disfigured after a dog mauled her. As of August 2018, more than 40 face transplants have been performed across the world. The first heart transplant happened in France too at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris. The transplant was in 2013 where an external lithium-ion battery mimicked the contractions of a real heart.
8. In France, did you know you can marry a dead person.
Under French law, posthumous marriages are possible legally as long as there is evidence to show that the deceased person intended to marry the partner. It became legal in France by Article 171 of the civil code which states-”The President of the Republic may, for serious reasons, authorize the solemnization of marriage if one of the spouses died after completion of official formalities marking it unequivocal consent.”
9. The Louvre Museum in Paris was the most visited museum in the world in 2018
With more than 10.2 million visitors in 2018, the Louvre museum in Paris was the most visited one in the world. Covering more than 783,000 square foot, it showcases more than 38,000 different objects. Its most famous attraction is Leonardo Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa whose value after accounting for inflation based on its initial assumption would be $850 million in 2019. The Louvre served as the royal palace for French kings in the 16th and 17th centuries.
10.France’s huge rail network
France was one of the early adopters of high-speed rail technology. Its high-speed network exceeds a length of 1,550 kms. At 29,000 kms, it is considered to be the second biggest in Europe and the ninth biggest in the world. The French railway network has more than 50% of it electrified. France has the fifth-most used passenger network in the world and second-most used in Europe after that of Russia.
11.The Tour de France, the cycling championship
The 23-day long Tour de France which has a prize money of 2.3 million euros is the world’s most prestigious and most difficult bicycle race. The 21-stage race makes the cyclists cover flat and mountainous terrain where they have to race for about 1-6 hours every day depending on the style of the race. Lance Armstrong is the most famous Tour de France cyclist, but his career was marred and he was stripped of his titles when he tested positive for doping.
12.The use of camouflage by the French in the world war
To hide from one’s enemy so that it becomes difficult to be identified was the objective behind using a camouflage uniform. The French army was the first army in the world to use a camouflage uniform. They abandoned the use of white gloves and red pantaloons to develop uniforms that are much more stealthier. Even the word camouflage comes from the French verb which means ‘to make up for the stage.
13.France produces nearly a billion tons of cheese a year in around 1,200 different varieties
Cheese making is an art and it is a practice that has dated back to at least 500 AD in France. The love for cheese among the French is so much that they produce billions of tons of cheese a year which includes around 1,200 different varieties. There is a French proverb that goes like this-”un fromage par jour de l'année” which translates to “there is a different cheese for everyday of the year.” That’s how much the French love cheese.
14.The French eat around 30,000 tonnes of snails a year:
The French eat 500,000,000 snails every year. Usually served with garlic, parsley and butter, only about 1,000 tonnes of the delicacy comes from France. The snails that you consume in France are highly likely to be picked from the fields in Eastern Europe. In fact, there were only 100 registered snail farms in existence, as of 2015. Here is an interesting fact, it is against the law to carry live snails on a high-speed train in France without any tickets.
15.Who holds the record as the world’s longest novel
Marcel Proust’s ‘A la recherche du temps perdu’ which translates to “Remembrance of Things Past” or “In search of lost time” is considered to be the world’s longest novel. With an estimated 9,609,000 characters, it was a 13-volume work. Each letter and space is considered as one character and the Guinness World Records has officially announced it as the world’s longest novel.
16.France has the Most Time Zones in the World
France has 12 time zones. Yes, please read that again. The number is 12. Countries like India and China which are much bigger in size use only one timezone. Australia and America have three and eleven time zones respectively. For the uninitiated, time zone is a region or an area that follows the same standard time. The main reason why France has many number of time zones is because it has a large number of national territories scattered all over the world.
17.Women Are Finally Legally Allowed To Wear Pants. Wait. What?
Doesn’t it sound ridiculous when you get to hear that in the 21st century, women in Paris were barred from wearing pants? It was a 200-year old law, thankfully. Unfortunately, no one had the good sense to revoke this law until 2013. The law was imposed on November 17, 1800, and according to it, women had to take special permission if they wanted to dress like a man. Although this law was formally rescinded only recently, it was never implemented in modern France.
18.The camera phone was invented in France in 1997 by Philippe Khan
The first camera phone was invented by a resident of Paris- Phillipe Kahn. This happened on June 11, 1997 and the first picture he took was that of his new-born daughter, Sophie. He wired his digital camera with his Motorola phone and a laptop along with the software that he developed to make this happen. Kahn was born in Paris in 1962 and he has more than 100 patents to his name.
19.Did you know that French was the official language in the British court for a period of time?
Did you know that the royal subjects in the court of England's King conversed in French from 1066 to 1362 because it was the official language of the country during that time. Even though the vast majority of the population was conversing in English, French was used in the royal court, by the aristocrats, in law courts, etc. The change to French happened during the Norman Conquest in 1066. Isn’t it intriguing that France was the official language of a country whose greatest gift to the world is the English language.
20.Is the French toast really French?
Is the Swiss cheese from Switzerland? Yes, of course. But can we say the same thing about the delectable French toast? No. The legend goes that it was invented by a man named Joseph French in 1724. The other rumor is that it was invented during the Roman Empire. So there are different versions of it, unless we invent a time machine, there is no way for us to verify any of their claims.
21.France has won the most Nobel Prizes for Literature
The French Poet and Essayist, Sully Prudhomme was the first French winner of the Nobel prize for Literature. France is the country that has the most number of Nobel Prizes for Literature. They have more than 15 French nationals who have won the prestigious award since its inception in 1901.
22.The French consume gallons of wine each year that doctors are worried.
The French consume so much wine that health officials say that they should consume less of it because of the serious health concerns raised over their drinking patterns. The concerns are valid because the French consume more than 11.2 billion glasses of wine each year. France produces a huge amount of wine, to the tune of 50 billion hectolitres and more. The French have a history with wine to the point that it is almost considered to be a huge part of their national heritage.
23.Was Paris called Lutetia once?
The Roman city of Paris was originally called Lutetia. It was an extremely prosperous city that had temples, public baths, forums, theaters, etc. When the Western Roman Empire was dying, the town was slowly being referred to as Parisius. Parisius was the Latin name for Paris and that is how we got the modern day name. The name of Paris first appears only during the 3rd century AD.
24.The Statue of Liberty in New York City, was a gift from the people of France to the US.
Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was not actually constructed by the USA, but it was a gift from the people of France? It was a gift to commemorate the alliance of France and the US during the American Revolution. The statue arrived in the US in 1885 after being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean in 350 pieces which came in more than 200 cases.
25.Mont-Blanc in the French Alps is the highest peak in Europe.
Rising 4,808 metres above sea level, it is the highest mountain in the Alps and in the European Union. It is situated along the French-Italy border and reaches into Switzerland. Mont-Blanc is a high-altitude mountain which carries a variety of risks like falls, avalanches, medical complications, ice, etc. Most of them are dangerous elements which can easily cause deaths for those who are not skilled. Unless you are in the company of certified mountain guides, you are putting your life at risk.
26.France produces over 400 varieties of cheese
When you hear the word Cheese, Switzerland is the first name that pops in your mind, right? Guess what. The Swiss produce 450 varieties of cheese while the French come a close second at 400. Each of the cheese varieties is as distinctive as the other and they are made from cows, goats, ewes, or a combination of all of these.
27.The Eiffel Tower and why it was built.
The World’s Fair of 1889 was the first time that the world witnessed The Eiffel Tower or La Tour Eiffel. It was constructed to commemorate the 100 years of French revolution and as a testament to the industrial prowess of France to the world. Millions of tourists around the world come to France just to visit the Eiffel tower. Thanks to its scintillating construction and incredible view, it is also called a ‘symbol of love.’
28.What is known as the Le Drapeau Tricolore
The colors blue, white and red symbolize nobility, clergy and bourgeois respectively as they were the estates of the old regime that was in France. These colors symbolized the values of the French revolution: liberty, equality, brotherhood, secularism, democracy and modernization. Just so you know, the French flag is called Le Drapeau Tricolore. It was adopted on February 15, 1794.
29.Did the French army cut off the cables to the Eiffel Tower’s lift to discourage the Nazis from hoisting the flag on the top?
Did you know that Hitler ordered that the Eiffel Tower be torn down? Thankfully, the order was never followed through. When the Nazis wanted to hoist their flag on top of the Eiffel Tower, the French resistance cut the elevator’s cable, so they had to take the stairs. The Nazis were planning to use the Eiffel Tower as a part of their propaganda. Without the lift, anyone who wants to go on top of the Eiffel Tower needs to climb 1500 steps. Hitler thought it was too much as he was not in the best of shape and instead posed with the Eiffel Tower in the background and not on top of it as he wanted.
30.Who is the youngest French head of state?
The youngest French head of state since the time of Napoleon is Emmanuel Macron. He was 39 years and 144 days when he became the youngest president in French history. He is also the first President of France born after the establishment of the Fifth Republic in 1958. He is largely seen as a Centrist, although he is also described as a social liberal and a social democrat. He is widely described as a Europhile.
31.The Louvre Museum in Paris is consistently the most visited museum in the world. Over 9 million visitors go through their doors annually.
32.The highest mountain in France is Mont Blanc. At 15,780 feet, Mont Blanc is a part of the French Alps.
33.The French rail system, at 29,000 km, is second only to Germany’s in length.
34.Why were potatoes illegal in France once?
During the period of 1748 and 1772, cultivation of potatoes was forbidden as it was thought to cause leprosy apart from being considered poisonous. Today, potatoes are the primary source of polyphenols in the typical French diet. The outlawing of potatoes was also based on the fact that it was used to feed farm animals and prisoners of war from the countries which export potatoes to the French.
35.The population of France.
With a population of 65,273.511 (in 2020) it is the third-largest populated European country. Germany and the UK are at number 1 and 2. Located in Wester Europe, France shares its borders with Andorra, Spain, Monaco, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg. France is about 1.5 times bigger than Germany despite which it has a population of 83,783, 942. The number of people in the UK is 67,886,011.
36.The lucky citizens of France sleep an average of 8.8 hours each night. That’s the record for the entire developed world
37.What’s special about the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise”
Written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg, “La Marseillaise” is the official national anthem of France. It was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du Rhin" and was written after the declaration of war by France against Austria. It was sung on 24th April, 1792 for the first time. It was first sung by the volunteers from Marseilles when they were marching to Paris in the war that was launched against Prussia and Austria.
38.France’s TGV or high-speed train is one of the fastest passenger trains in the world.
TGV stands for Train à Grande Vitesse which means “high speed train” in English. The V150, which is a type of TGV, holds the record for being the highest speed on any national rail system. When the time it was started, it was considered to be the fastest passenger train in the world when it hit an unbelievable 357.2 mph, but the Shanghai Maglev, also called Shanghai Transrapid, is currently the fastest in the world.
39.The Sorbonne is one of the oldest universities in Paris.
The University of Paris, also known as ‘La Sorbonne’ was established between 1160 and 1250 in the French capital. It is considered to be one of the oldest established universities in the world. During the French revolution, that is between 1793 and 1896, the operations were suspended. The Sorbonne university is 770 years old and today, it is known for its world-class research university with various disciplines including arts, humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, engineering and medicine.
40.How long do men and women in France live?
Based on records from 2019, the life expectancy of the French is 82.27 years and is considered to be one of the countries that has the highest life expectancy. The female life expectancy at birth is considered to be 85.7 years and 79.8 years for males. The countries with the worst life expectancy, the number is anywhere between 50 and 60. Countries like Switzerland, Spain, Australia and Italy have their life expectancy at over 83 years, according to data collected in 2019.