French Lessons

What's interesting about France? (Part 5)

Sciences and inventions:

• Famous and fascinating French inventions include the amazing adding machine, the hot air balloon, the airship, the parachute, the submarine, the ambulance service, photography, animation and cinema.

• The world's first international scientific conference was held in Paris on 2 February 1799.

• France has won the most Nobel Prizes for Literature of any country (13 so far) and the second highest number of Field Medals (mathematics) after the USA.

What's interesting about France? (Part 4)

History:

• The name 'France' comes from the Franks, a Germanic tribe that settled in the Western Roman Empire from the 2nd century, then took over most of Gaul after the collapse of the empire. Interesting, isn't it?

• The French state is one of the oldest in Europe; it was founded in 843, splitting from the Carolingian Empire based in Aachen (Belgo-German border).

• The region of Paris was settled since around 4200 BCE. The city itself was founded by the Parisii, a Celtic tribe, around 250 BCE. The Roman renamed it Luteca from 52 BCE, and it only became known as "Paris" after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.
  
  

What makes France attractive?

France is one of the most popular tourist destinations with its rich cultural and political heritage. A recent statistics says that nearly 82 million foreigners visit France every year. France is ranked as the seventh country in country brand index; how about knowing some interesting facts about France?

1. France is also referred as L’Hexagone as it looks like the geometrical shape hexagon; L’Hexagone means a hexagon.
2. Rivers played a major role in transportation before the introduction of railways; France has 24 rivers and majority of the metropolitan departments got their names from these rivers.

What's interesting about France? (Part 3)

The language:

• French used to be the language of the nobility and diplomacy all across Europe and in the Ottoman Empire, then the world's first real international language until English replaced it in the mid-20th century.

• The French word for 'deadline' is (ironically) délai, and indeed delay is part and parcel of the French work culture.

What's interesting about France? (Part 2)

Land and geography :

• France is the largest European country in terms of land area after Russia and Ukraine.

• Nearly 20% of the territory of France lies outside Europe. These regions are known as "DOM-TOM" (overseas departments and territories), where over 2.5 million French citizens live.

• The 45th parallel north, which marks the theoretical halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole, is said to be the limit between Northern France, where the Oïl dialects are spoken, and Southern France, where the Occitan dialects prevail. It is also the boundary between the butter and olive oil cuisines. In a wider European context, the 45th parallel roughly marks the division between northern and southern Europe, a division that may date back to the Neolithic

What's interesting about France ? (Part 1)

• France is officially known as the French Republic.
• The name France comes from the Latin word Francia, which means 'country of the Franks'.
• French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, and Reunion are also recognized as a part of France.
• In 2012, the population of mainland France was just under 63 million (62,814,233). Another 2.8 million (2,816,459) are split between French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion.