5 unusual facts about france?

Show all answers

Cabal

The helicopter story is right.
There were five official languages in France before the Revolution. The other four were wiped out during the great schooling drive at the end of the 19th century.
It was the Italians who taught the French to eat snails during the Renaissance.
le 'trou normand' (the Norman hole) is a strong alcohol, usually Calva, drunk during two courses of a banquet. It was believed it would clean up the stomach and get it ready for still more food.
Steack tartare (raw meat with a raw egg and condiments) is a favourite in France.
Jeans is a French textile. Toile de Nimes. Imported to the States because it was the best cloth for work clothes it came to be known as jeans.
The smart chip on your credit card is a French invention and has been in use in France for twenty years
The Marseillaise, the French anthem, is called that name because soldiers from the southern city of Marseille sang it when they arrived in Paris and as the song became famous it was called the song of the Marseillais, or in short the Marseillaise. Its real name was War song for the Army of the Rhine.
The closest French land is barely 25 kms from Canada. St Pierre et Michelon is a French land.

And to correct Francois, the sirens are not tried every Wednesday but the first Wednesday of the month. In Paris it is at noon and ten minutes past noon.

Francoise

1. Every Wednesday in France, there is war alarm testing, which is to alert citizens about war signal. So if you hear an war alarm other than a Wednesday, you will be aware that a war breaks out in France.

2. Everything is taxable in France. That's why it's called ' the capital of tax' and tax is very high. But then on the contrast, the benefit system is quite generous and so are the rights of the citizens. For example, if you work for one year, then you become unemployed, you are entitled to be paid one year's full wage in the first year, 75% of the full wage for the second year, 50% for the third year. For those who never work, they still have the right to claim the minium living revenue , then they can go to a special supermarket to get free grocery every week, they will have Christmas bonus and once they get back to work, they will be rewarded 1000 Euros. For those who are ambitious and want to start a business but without capital, write a good proposal to the ANPE, in return , if they think your plan is good, they will finance you the money with the condition that you have to keep 2 persons employed.

3. Every business must shut at least 1 day per week. You can't open a shop seven days a week non-stop.

4. For those who are resident card holders living in France, if they don't have a job ( job which is declared and tax paid ), their resident card will not be renewed the following year and they have to go back to their own countries.

5. Bar counter don't provide ashtray which is considered to be a dangerous weapon. If you want to smoke, drop the cigarette ash to the floor. ( Anyway bar smoking is banned but still many bar owners ignore the law and allow their customers to smoke ) Some bars charge drinks more expensive if you drink on a bar counter than at a table.

Edit : Bonjour, Cabal, the war siren is tested every Wednesday in the village I live, which is Laragne Monteglin in Hautes Alpes.

marzetwo

@FranÃ§ois

it's not true that all shops MUST close one day a week. I think it's only true for bakers ans other food-only shops, and I'm not even sure it's still in place...
However, it is forbidden to have employees work on a sunday in a shop. (It's different for a factory for instance if it's a non-stop operation), Unless there is a derogation (there are quite numerous : there is a general derogation for food shops on Sunday mornings, for instance). If you own the shop and you operate it on a family level, you can open the shop on a sunday.

... as a result, the proportion of shops closed on Sunday is very big. There is word of a reform for in urban areas, but it's very controversial and might not pass Parliament.

G. #2

French fries are Belgian no French.
They speak Flemish in the "Nord" Department.

I dunno, I'm not French.

Lucy G

theyve had over 9 governments in less than 100 years
theyre on their SIXTH republic today
thats where the guillotine (machine that chops peoples heads off "painlessly") was invented

Lara R

Helicopters in France rotate in the opposite direction from the US

A lot of people there speak German

Pigs had to live by human laws in medieval France

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: