1. There is a Victor Hugo street in every town in France.
2. It’s illegal to name a pig Napoleon in France.
3. Charles VIII had six toes on one foot and hid this fact by wearing and promoting square toe shoes.
4. The guillotine was the official method of execution during the French Revolution. It was invented by a surgeon named Dr. Guillotin.
5. France produces over 400 types of cheese!
Language:
6. French is the official language of many countries including: Switzerland, Canada, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Monaco, Congo and Niger.
7. The word “salut” means both “hello” and “goodbye”
8. French was the official language of England for over 300 years.
9. It’s the mother tongue of 75 million people worldwide.
10. It’s the second most commonly taught foreign language, after English.
11. It’s the official language of the United Nations.
12. It’s the only language (along with English) that’s taught in every country in the world.
13. Crayola is a French word that means “oily chalk”
14. At the time of the French Revolution, 75% of French citizens didn’t speak French as a mother tongue.
15. Non-French celebrities who speak French include: Jodie Foster, Johnny Depp, Diane Kruger, Elton John, Ewan Mcgregor, Halle Berry, Jackie O, Madonna, Mick Jagger, and John Travolta.
16. 34% of the French can speak English.
17. Between 6-11 million Americans speak French.
18. Mont-Blanc is the highest peak in Europe
19. The heir to the French throne was called Le Dauphin, which also means “dolphin.”
20. The French eat snails, frog’s legs and horsemeat.
21. In 1386, a pig was hung in France for the murder of a child.
Love and Romance
22. The number of times the French kiss each other as a form of greeting varies depending on region. In Corsica, the number of kisses can be as many as 5! (If you have a hot first date, you now know where to go)
23. According to a 2003 survey, the French have the most sex in a year (unsurprisingly!)
24. It’s illegal to kiss on railways in France (oops).
25. “French kiss” is a term by the English as a slur on the French culture which was thought to be overly concerned with sex.
26. In France, it’s called a tongue kiss or soul kiss.
27. French men have the lowest level of obesity in the EU, and women are second after Denmark.
28. The French have one of the highest life expectancies in the EU (I think there’s a strong correlation of this fact to #23)
29. First Lady Carla Bruni has been known to have a string of relationships with famous men including Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.
Travel, Culture, and Innovations
30. Coco Chanel’s real name was Gabrielle Bonheur.
31. France has the highest number of ski resorts.
32. The French had an early version of the internet called Minitel, where as long as 1984, they could pay bills and shop at home using the Minitel service.
33. France is the most visited country in the world with 75 million tourists yearly.
34. The first department store was founded by Aristide Boucicaut in 1838l
35. France has wont he most Nobel Prizes for Literature than any other country in the world, and the second most in mathematics.
36. France created the first universal declaration of human rights in 1789.
37. France ruled the second largest colonial empire in the world controlling 8.6% of the world’s land.
38. Famous French inventions include: the hot air balloon, the submarine, and the parachute.
39. In 2004, the French produced 56.6. million hectoliters of wine.
40. French liquers include: Grand Marnier, Triple Sec, Cognac, Armagnac, Pastis and Cointreau.
The French Revolution
41. The storming of the Bastille was more of a symbolic act. During that day, there were only 7 prisoners and 4 of them were there because of check forging.
42. “Let them eat cake” was a statement falsely associated with Marie Antoinette as it was created ten years before she was born.
43. The guillotin was last used in 1977.
44. It was during this time that the French invented the metric system.
45. More than 15,000 people were beheaded at the guillotine.
46. Louis XVI assisted in perfecting the guillotine.
Paris, the city of love
47. 20% of the French live in the Parisian region.
48. Nicknamed “city of lights,” lights actually refers to the number of intellectuals who live there.
49. Jim Morrisson and Oscar Wilde were buried in the Paris cemetery called Pere Lachaise.
50. The Eiffel Tower is painted every 7 years.
51. The Eiffel tower was originally intended to be dismantled and sold as scrap after its construction.
52. There are more Bretons (From Britanny) in Paris than in Britanny.
53. The oldest bridge in Paris is called Pont Neuf (new bridge).
54. The most visited attraction in Paris isn’t the Eiffel Tower (5.5 million), or the Louvre (5 million), but Disneyland Paris at 13 million people.
Misc
55. French film production is second in the world.
56. Napoleon was 5’6.
57. French toast and french fries aren’t French inventions.
58. The croissant was actually invented in Austria.
59. The ministry of health once tried to promote milk as the national drink of France (ha!)
60. France is about the same size as Texas, with twice the population of California.
61. France is home to 28 UNESCO World Heritage sites.
62. There are about 2 new cook books that are published everyday in France.
63. Drugstores in France usually have a neon green cross on the door57. French toast and french fries aren’t French inventions.
64. If you cross your glass with someone else when toasting, you will receive 7 years of bad sex.
65. Grasse, France is known as the Perfume Capital of the World.
66. About 20& of French territory lies outside Europe.
67. Wearing a white wedding dress is a French tradition which began in 1499.
68. France was originally named Lutetia.
69. It’s against the law to take pictures of police officers and police vehicles.
Disclaimer: my blog is mainly for entertainment purposes, and not an encyclopedia. These fun facts came from information that my friends have told me, that I’ve witnessed, read, or stumbled upon on the internet. Some of these facts may be out of date and therefore, I do not suggest anyone quoting these facts for a research paper, or use in life or death situations.
Wow, this is just great!
I seriously need to start speaking more French and visit Paris… 🙂
yh well some people got shot a cupel of weeks a go that is why im not going to go to paris xxx :-/
You won;t go to Paris because some people got shot? I don;t know where you come from, but given that you speak english, I would say an English speaking country. So maybe you should learn that there are no english speaking country where there are less shooting than in france. And if you live in the US, then it is definitly the funniest thing I have ever heard…
i know right i do to
cool
this is awesome
I love these posts… they are so interesting! So funny that Disneyland Paris is more visited that le tour eiffel and le louvre!
xoxo
Jenna
that is so right jenna good comment i just wanted you to know that your commet was so right
omg its illegal to kiss on the railway thats way stupid im lucky i dont live there LOL
this site is so helpful thanks it helped me with my college homework i hope it helps people who have homework just like me this will help me just like it help the other people thanks
wow and i’m in 4th grade i have not so nice teachers
It did help with my HW
For me it’s really not that suprising, it seems so big, whereas the second level on the eiffel is tiny. Although I’m sure the US parks are even huger! (I really do not care about my amazing English skills at the moment! XD)
wow
Technically it’s wrong. The Eiffel tower IS the most visited attraction in Paris, because Disneyland is not IN Paris. It’s in a city well outside of Paris ( about 45 min by train ) called Marne La Vallée. Of coarse they wouldn’t call it “Disneyland Marne La Vallée” because it doesn’t have the same effect as saying Paris. And you can’t compare a modern theme parks with historical monuments.
Interesting article, but some other entries are not right, hence the disclaimer from the author. Sorry for those people who used this as a reference for school work.
thanks for the fact check on that, I was about to put it on my aunts website that is for her french students and i suppose whomever else visits the site. Saved me from embarressment if I had put it on there. Good site though and with the disclaimer it’s not her fault, it’s hard to fact check everything and SO much misinformation out there. Both honest mistakes and purposely misinforming people of politics and such.
Lutetia was the former name of Paris, not France. France was called Gaule
Right , also the mont blanc isnt the highest mountain in europe, Elbrus Is
wow, loved this post. Makes me wanna learn french
lol i love thgis
#
Love these posts you do! Thanks for sharing!!
The guillotine was actually used in 1977?? That's suprising!!
And it's good to see that OZ isn't alone in having inept and foolhardy politicians – as proven by #59!!
i liked it :)))
INTERESTING, INDEED!! 😀 😀 😀 thanks so much for sharing!
Wow….suddenly I really feel the desire to go to France. 😀
I like reading your blog. it's sometimes suprising how you see Europe in canada :p
Hé, thanks for sharing, I've learned stuff about my own country…. If I could, just one mistake about #18: it's only 40% of the songs that have to be French… (thank god 😉 )
I'm french, I never eat snails, frogs or horse meat ! Famous French inventions include also Champagne, photo, cinema and the discovery of radioactivity
Look here I have lost my french documents and I really need them for my athletics I know this about french facts but can you please help me
"France has wont he most Nobel Prizes for Literature than any other country in the world, and the second most in mathematics."
A Nobel Prize for mathematics doesn't exist.
The Nobel Prize of mathematics doesn’t exist but the Fields medal do and is considered as the highest distinction in maths, that’s why some people call it the Maths Nobel Prize. And France has won the second higher number of Fields medals in history.
“France has wont he most Nobel Prizes for Literature than any other country in the world, and the second most in mathematics.”
Typo. It’s really “France has won the most Nobel Prizes for Literature than any other country in the world, and the second most in mathematics.”
And, by the way, Romain is right. The Nobel Prize of mathematics doesn’t exist.
where are 63-69?
@Anonymous
Good point!
My french teacher said that the eiffel tower is the most visited monument in the world O.o
…………………………. this is awkward
well your french teachers rong as usual
That’s right the teacher’s wrong
well… that’s right, the effeil tower is the most visited in the world : >>> disneyland IS NOT a monument.
correct, Eiffel tower is the most visited monument in the world AND Disneyland Paris IS NOT even in Paris… It’s in a city outside of Paris called Marne La Vallée and to get there (normally) you take the train FROM Paris.
18. On the French radio between 8am to 8pm, music must be by French artists.
This is actually false, we have to endure too music like justin bieber of katy perry but there is a Quota of french music that must be passed on the radio. (Yes this law is kinda stupid)
Also about weird food i've nerver eated horse meat, the only place i ate frog's legs was a chinese restaurant.
Snails, I eat them but many of frenchs finds that disgusting.
Though Dr. Guillotin was amongst a number of people who suggested the use of the guillotine as a humane method of execution, he did not actually invent it.
French is only one of the official languages of Canada. The Official Languages Act gives English and French equal status in the government of Canada.
FRANCE , WHERES FACTSON MARIE ANTOINETTE
AND THIS IS BY FAR THE BEST WEBSTIE FOR FUN FACTS !!!
: ? )
Number 18 is wrong. We can listening to foreign music of course ! But i think there is a quota of french music they have to put. But between 8am to 8pm we can listening to Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and other "wonderful" singers ! 😉
dude….too true. but you know both miley cyrus and justin bieber have really cool song so you know. but that is totally true i like read somewhere that people could only listen to “good” songs after 8pm i just didnt know that it was France. cool beans
C'est justement parce qu'il n'y a pas de prix Nobel de mathématiques que nous l'avons gagné (that's just because there isn't a Nobel Prize for Mathematics that we won it) !
the radio thing isnt true. they have a 40% quota of french music on most channels.
a few of these were incorrect.
Laurenzo Martinez and Treggy Hert love this site!!
🙂
this site is the onset of technology!
i retrieved lots of important information from this site!
this site makes an innovation to life!
i am a martial and this site makes me wanna go to france
Thank you for a great post! Love it! Just a couple of points. 🙂
18. On the French radio … Very funny! You're joking, right?
21. In 1386, a pig was hung … There must have been two murderous pigs because 'The Independant' reported on Monday 12 July 1993 that in 1408 "A sow is hanged in the town of Pont de Larche, France: 'for the crime of having murdered and killed a little child'".
25. "French kiss" is a term by the English … Jealous Brits! 😀
43. The guillotine (not guillotin) was last used in 1977.
44. It was during this time that the French invented the metric system.
A touch of dyscalculia, perhaps? It was 1799 that the metric system was adopted!
Well spotted! 😀
Your French teacher makes mistakes too!
Check out: "most visited sites in france" on Google
or just go to the site:
http://www.bonjourlafrance.com/france-tourist-attractions/france-tourist-attraction.htm
Cognac and Armagnac are not liquers. They are both brandy, just made in a specific region.
Michelle, I found you from "Stumble!" I've enjoyed reading about Germany and France. The facts you posted are interesting. I hope to return to Paris and see the places there was not time to see years ago. Thanks, Helen
Liquor is an alcoholic beverage that's produced by distilling. Brandy is distilled wine, and therefore a type of liquor.
Thanks! And I hope you do as well! 🙂
If you go,visit the South West(Sud Ouest) of France.From Bordeaux to Pau and throughout the Pyrenees Mountains are lovely people,beautiful cities and villages and stunning landscapes…
I'm french, I never eat snails, frogs or horse meat ! Champagne is a german invention… unhappy. Champagne is only a district.
Hi michelle,
As a Frenchman, I can ensure you that: "On the French radio between 8am to 8pm, music must be by French artists." is not exactly true.
We have a law that compels broadcasters to broadcast a certain amount of French creations (in French)… It's small percentage, but we don't only have French music in France during the day.
However, all US TV shows and movies are dubbed in French on TV.
Regards!
Are you positive we can't use these facts?
It says 63-69 will come out soon
these really helped me because im doing a report on France for my school prodject
#44: "this time" means during the French Revolution (1789/1792 or something like that) so it matches with your date!
That's great! Thanks for sharing!
"The French eat snails, frog's legs and horsemeat."
I'm French and I DON'T eat it! Nobody eats frog's legs.. o_O
Yes, frogs legs is a quite known french course, but it tends to disapear.
I'm French and I DO eat snails, frog's legs, horsemeat…and I am happpy to learn here that my name is "nobody".
Number 18 is not true. While French ‘protectionist’ culture regulates that 60% of broadcast media be in French, the normal ‘Top 40’ radio is syndicated in France as it would be in the U.S.
OK- so where are facts 63-69?? 🙂
awesome but heh some quite strange facts
Woowowow amazing facts
i love u sexy ppl
its of great fun i have appreciated great marks
Wow this web-site is AMAZING i love it and it helped me write something for a geography 5 page essay on France! Now let me tell you writing the report/essay was not fun but this web-site really helped me because had to find at least 60 facts and i had 69 because of this WONDERFUL web-site!!!! Who ever wrote/made up this web-site is an amazing person. LOL I dont really know i would have to meet the person to find out for sure;)
YAH IK IT IS JUST AMAZING:)
These Fun Facts are awesome!! Is that out there for any language?
That was so interning for me to help me with my homework thanks alot
hello. how u doing
pretty cool collection, even if some are not very accurate.
I wont go back on the one already mentioned …
” If you cross your glass with someone else when toasting, you will receive 7 years of bad sex.”
Actually we just don’t cross glass, but if you don’t look at the person you are cheering with, that is 7 year of bad sex 🙂
wow cool just visited france if u are planning 2 go 2 france 2 places 2 go are monaco annd nice soooooooooooooooooo much fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Love these Post Thanks It really Helped me!
Wow! this is soooo much fun i loved every fact!
i feel like going to france now.
maybe ill go later in the year! 😀
this is amazing
i like it
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmmnnn! this is so intererresting Thanks 🙂 tteamo<3
Actually, Lutetia was the ancient name for Paris. The name “France” come from the Germanic tribe which colonized the north of France during the first millennium, the Franks. They were themselves named that way after the old Germanic word for “free men” – which gives an entirely new meaning to the re-branding of French Fries into Freedom Fries, an actually accurate translation… The old name for what composed modern France is the Gaules (plural), the patchwork of territories claimed by Celtic (Gauls) tribes, unified by the Romans. The old capital was Lugdunum (now Lyon), and as an adopted Lyonnais, I can tell you that there is quite a bit of resentment toward Paris even nowadays…
im using this for my homework 🙂
“France has the most sex!” oh my god, I know where me and my husband are going next year.. X
Unfortunatly, this quote is uncomplete. In France we have the most and the best sex…;-)
Hi there !
I’m a french citizen from Paris and found this post “accidentally” 😉
Really Nice one ! I’ve discovered some facts I even didn’t knew as à french (AND checked them: approved !).
Thanks for that !
so cool
so cool thank you
🙂 🙂 🙂 this was soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo awesome
i really liked these facts it brings back meny memories of when i yusto live in france xoxoxo
xoxo
pia
yep…france is rally amazin…;)
i have proghect and the fact really helped
I’m excited to find this site. I want to to thank you for your time just for this wonderful read!! I definitely liked every part of it and I have you book-marked to look at new information in your website.
its cool
great facts
70 France is the only country in the world to be on all the oceans making the second maritime empire after the U.S.
Atlantic ocean: France mainland, Martinique, Guyane
Pacific ocean:New Caledonia, Tahiti
Indian ocean:Mayotte, Réunion island
France is the third military power after the U.S. and China
Do they make curry
I’m french and i do eat snails, frog’s legs and horsemeat.
Frog’s legs tastes like chiken but a little more dry. My mom cooks that with cream, parsley and garlic, it’s delicious 🙂
There are many recipes for snails but in my family we put butter parsley and garlic (again!) in the shell. Ultimately, we don’t very taste the snail in itself.
Horsemeat taste like any other meat. Like beef.
Come in Montpellier (South of France), i will cook you some frog’s legs!
Sorry for my very very bad english !
nice facts
haha
Your fact 68 is false. France was originally named Gaule.
Lutetia was the Paris’ name while France was names Gaule
fact #23 is funny
Lutèce (Lutetia) was actually the name of Paris during the Roman Empire period. 🙂
yeah what ever Beb said
hahah!!!yallzzz is crazy!!!!
It Says French toast And French fries wherent made in france twice
Fact:Paris is not bigger then londen or berlin
Oh and if u dont live in frace Pilou Pilou (the song of toulon rugby team)
WOW this really helped me with my homework XD 🙂
thx that helped me a lot
Thanks for updating helped me lot to finish my sons homework on France. Keep posting on new adventures.
Amazing
France seems like a instering places.
this web site was very helpful for my france project i had to do it had a lot of cool and intresting things (:
i visited Paris and it was one of the most amazing places ive been to and i have traveled all over Europe 🙂
feel the love sex
We don’t eat horsemeat in France…………..
Hope we do in the UK, without knowing about it! XD
68 is wrong ; Lutetia was paris, not france
Interesting fact*
Nollywood is actually the second largest film industry in the world. Nollywood (for those who don’t know) is the film industry in Nigeria – situated in Africa. Nollywood even surpasses Hollywood, but Bollywood still tops the charts.
Lutetia was the name for Paris not France.
good website and it dies really help my homework.
Thanks this really helped with my homework! I appreciate the effort pt into this and even though they’re not 100% accurate they help more than Yahoo!.
Thanks,
Anon
love paris
this website is awsome 😉
this site is awsome i think if anybody needs to look up a state go here first
this helped my with my socail studies home work
is anybody there
hello is anybody there
hi
this information made me more eager to visit the place and i hope one day i will be one of the resident God willing…
#68 : Lutèce was not the name of France, but the first name of the city of Paris.
France was first called La Gaule.
Fact 68: Lutetia was actually Paris’ name during the Gallo-Roman period, not France’s name ! 🙂
Hi ! I’m French and your post is really funny from my vision.
I knew almost all of this fact but I learned really interesting thing too (But some fact are weird, I don’t know if it’s true) !
Thanks for this usefull and funny moment !
If, someone wants to know more about France, you can send me mail 🙂
Awesome!!!
🙂 HAPPY DAYS 69 🙂
34% of the French can speak English. Uh, yeah, no, more like 10% according to a recent survey, although children do learn english more and more early.
As for number 14, you are correct, but I want to add that french was considered for a long time to be a language made for the people. The elite used latin exclusively. Funny when our elites are now so obsessed with younger crowds “butchering” the french language.
Dillon is from france
pigs kill people!! What!!
Frozen is awesome Olaf
Number 4
Dr.Guillotin did not invent the guillotin thought he did have a part in suggesting it as a method of execution. A man named Antoine Louis actually invented it!
this doesnt mean anything ;p
Hey, I believe Lutetia was the capital, not the name of France. That was Gaul before the Roman Empire took over.
Just a small correction, “Lutecia” was Paris’ first name, not France ! France’s original name was “Gaule”
This helped me a lot for my French assignment! I noticed the note at the bottom of the page but I checked on other sites if the facts I took from here were true.
Thank you! 😀
Funny but many many errors. The last one: Lutetia is the gallo-roman name of…Paris. you shouln’ t trust your friends
Great article! My kids use Crayola all the time – who knew what it meant?! Fascinating stuff 🙂
It’s actually called “The City of Light” nicknamed based on the period of Enlightenment.
nice articals for my project
Hehehe this is super useful for my homework. my french teacher was like “Ok everyone today’s homework is learning as much about France to complete the paper!”
hi
4. The guillotine was the official method of execution during the French Revolution. It was invented by a surgeon named Dr. Guillotin.
This is also incorrect. Not only he wasn’t the man to create it, but this way of execution was already existing in nothern countries.
Actually Lutèce is the roman name of Paris. France was called Gaule before invasion of the Franks, Marseille was Phocée, Lyon Lugdugum, Bordeaux Burdigala and so on…
France’s original name was not Lutecia, but la Gaule or les gaules
Lutecia (or Lutece) was Paris original name, and at that time, lyon (called Lugdunum) was the capital.
Gastronomy: french cuisine is at the UNESCO and Lyon is the world capital of gastronomy.
this is really useful and helped me wid my home work : )
not enough numbers
i wonder if france is cool
it is!!!!!