The most interesting facts about France

The most interesting facts about France
1. Among the countries of Western Europe, France occupies the largest territory (547 thousand square kilometers, or a fifth of the EU). It is the second most populous Western European state (more than 67 million inhabitants), second only to Germany . The largest city in the country is Paris , its capital and the only millionaire city in France. Its population is almost 2.2 million people. The country occupies a leading position in terms of the volume of tourist flow.
2. Two-thirds of the area of ​​France is occupied by plains. The shores of the mainland are washed by the waters of the Mediterranean and North Seas, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel, under which the third longest railway Eurotunnel in the world passes , connecting France with Great Britain (51 km). The length of the coastline of France is 5.5 thousand km. Mount Blanc has the highest peak in Western Europe (over 4.8 km). An 11.6-kilometer road tunnel has been laid under its massif, linking France with Italy . The country has 43 regional and 7 national parks, 156 nature reserves and 429 coast guard zones. The longest river is the Loire (1020 km).

Corsica
3. The island of Corsica , called the "mountain in the sea" - the fourth largest among the Mediterranean islands after Sicily , Sardinia and Cyprus . It is almost twice as close to mainland Italy as it is to the coast of France. In the capital of South Corsica , Ajaccio , Napoleon I Bonaparte was born, revered by all Corsicans. The image of the emperor is everywhere here - in the names of streets, wines and coffee, postcards, souvenirs and statues. There is a house-museum of Napoleon , his secret grotto and even a monument in honor of the capture of Moscow . On August 15, Napoleon's birthday is celebrated in Corsica .
4. France is located in one time zone, however, taking into account overseas territories, its citizens live in 12 time zones. At one time, the country had colonies in almost all regions of the world. The first of these was Canada (New France) in 1534, and the last to gain independence was the modern Republic of Vanuatu (New Hybrids) in 1980. It is noteworthy that in most of the former colonies, French remained the official language.

5. The national flag of France - the blue-white-red tricolor - was established in 1794, during the French Revolution. The blue color, representing St. Martin of Tours, remains from the time of the first Frankish king Clovis I. The white color symbolizes divine purity and the hallmark of the supporters of Joan of Arc. The color red is associated with the first bishop of Paris, St. Dionysius (Saint-Denis), executed in the III century. on the hill of Montmartre . The fleur-de-lis fleur-de-lis is a sign of royalty in France and a symbol of the Immaculate Virgin Mary.

6. The ancient Romans knew France as part of Gaul, inhabited mainly by representatives of the Celtic tribes - the Gauls, who received the ethnonym from the Latin "gallus (rooster)" for their fighting spirit and fiery red crests on their heads. Subsequently, the Gauls assimilated with the Romans and mixed with the barbarian peoples - the Burgundians, Visigoths, and also founded in the 5th century. Frankish state by Salic Franks. The Gallic rooster, as a symbol of the ancestors and the perky character of the French, subsequently turned into an allegorical emblem of France and was depicted on coins, banners, and stamps.

Notre Dame de Paris

7. The list of the 100 most visited museums in the world includes 8 museums in France, where the Louvre occupies the first position, and the Orsay Museum is also in the TOP 10 . Rouen and Strasbourg Cathedrals are among the ten tallest churches in the world , and the symbol of Paris, Notre Dame de Paris , became the main character of Hugo's novel Notre Dame Cathedral. Versailles is the largest palace and park ensemble in Europe, its construction, in terms of today, took almost 260 billion euros. The location for Disneyland near the French capital was chosen from 1,200 possible European locations.

8. The famous symbol of France is the Eiffel Tower , the most visited of all paid towers in the world and the most photographed of all the sights on the planet. It was erected for the 1889 World's Fair and still towers over Paris to this day, although initially the "ridiculous structure" was planned to be demolished after the end of the event, and the same scammer twice sold the tower for scrap. The French are related to another colossal attraction that has become a symbol of the United States . It was they who gave the American people the Statue of Liberty .

Eiffel Tower

9. France accounts for 25% of EU agricultural production. In terms of the average area of ​​agricultural land (about 30 hectares), it occupies a leading position among European countries. On its territory there is the largest network of hydroelectric power plants, including about half a thousand hydroelectric power plants, but nuclear power plants provide the main flow of electricity. In nuclear energy, France is the world leader, and in terms of electricity supplies, France is the world's largest exporter.

10. France is the birthplace of cognac and champagne, it competes with Italy for the title of the largest wine producer and ranks 3rd in the world in terms of vineyard area (after Spain and China ). The first vines in the area of ​​modern Marseillewere planted in the 6th century. BC e. Phocian Greeks, but the development of viticulture began in the era of the Roman Empire and continued into the Middle Ages. It was the French who were the first to use wooden barrels for transporting wine and began to measure the capacity of ships with them, from where the word “ton” (French “tonneau”) subsequently appeared. Today, Bordeaux wines are recognized as the standard of quality and unsurpassed taste. The French lead in terms of per capita wine consumption, while they are significantly less prone to cardiovascular diseases than others.

11. More than 500 cheeses are produced in France, a tenth of which is marked with a certificate of authenticity of origin (AOC). The first labeled cheese was Roquefort in 1925, made from sheep's milk and ripened on oak racks in the limestone grottoes of Rouergue, where a noble mold forms an unusual aroma and taste of the cheese. The exclusive right to manufacture Roquefort was given to the inhabitants of the village of the same name in 1411 by King Charles VI of France.
12. The French got the nickname "frogs" for their love of a special delicacy - frog legs, which can only be tasted in gourmet restaurants. One of the symbols of France is the baguette, but the most popular croissants have an ambiguous history. For the first time, buns in the form of an Ottoman crescent were baked in 1683 in honor of the victory of Vienna over the Turks and appeared in Paris only in 1770. The French own the “improvement” of croissants. At the beginning of the XX century. they added puff pastry to the recipe. Thanks to French chefs, we also know eclairs, meringues, Bechamel sauce, soufflé, Olivier salad, scrambled eggs, etc.

13. "Bistros" and "brasserie" refer to varieties of French cafes. The first establishments are eateries serving simple dishes and alcoholic drinks, and their name is associated with the Russian "quickly." That is how the Cossacks came to Paris after its capture in 1814 Brasseries, or breweries, have their own peculiarity - menus on slate boards, an interior that has been preserved for decades, and an unchanged list of dishes.
14. From the 17th century. France is considered the center of elite culture. It is the birthplace of cinema, impressionism, chanson, quadrille and cancan. At the origins of animation at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. the Frenchmen Emile Reynaud and Emile Colle stood, and the Lumiere brothers invented the cinematograph and organized in 1895 the first ever public film show on the Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. Since 1946, Cannes has hosted one of the most prestigious international film festivals in the world .
15. French brands of clothing, shoes, cosmetics, jewelry and perfumery caress the ears of millions of fashionistas and fashionistas. Chanel and Christian Dior, Hermes and Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Nina Ricci, Lancôme, L'Oreal, Cartier, etc. are known all over the world. in Paris is the most authoritative among similar events. The “revolutionary” bikini swimsuit was created by the Frenchman Louis Benard, and the French film actress Brigitte Bardot played an important role in its popularization.
16. 90% of French motorists prefer to drive domestic brands - Peugeot, Citroen and Renault, which are among the world's leading companies. Regarding two-wheeled vehicles, we can note the prestigious multi-day cycling race "Tour de France", held in France for over 100 years. It was established as an advertising project for the sports newspaper "L'Auto" and first took place in 1903. The race tracks and their length change every year, but the participants traditionally finish on the Champs Elysees . By the way, the first "real" bicycle was made by the Frenchman Pierre Lalman in 1863, equipping it with a mechanism with rotating pedals.

17. The laundry soap familiar to us is directly related to the French “Marseille soap”, known since the 12th century. Marseille's first recorded soap maker was Crecas Davin (1370), and the first founder of the Marseille soap factory was Georges Prunemois in 1593. In 1688, the product was legally called "Marseille soap", and manufacturers were strictly forbidden to use animals in the recipe fats. Today, there are 6 soap factories in Marseille-Provence, which account for 30% of France's soap production.

18. The first successful parachute jumps were made by the French. One of them in the XVII century. jumped out of the prison window, holding a tent of sewn sheets in his hands. Another suicide bomber agreed, in exchange for his life, to experience the "flying cloak of Professor Fontage" in 1777. The Frenchman Andre-Jacques Garnerin also became the world's first parachutist. In 1797, he made a jump from a hot air balloon hovering at a height of 680 m above the Monceau park in Paris .

Lyon

19. The guillotine was named after the French anatomy professor Joseph Guillotin, who proposed its use as a more humane instrument of execution in 1789. In fact, he was not its inventor and was a passionate opponent of the death penalty. After Guillotin passed away, his heirs turned to the authorities with a request to rename the instrument of execution, but were refused. As a result, the family had to take a different surname.

20. France is a country of romance, love, chic, sophistication and tradition. The French are ambitious, patriotic, freedom-loving, punctual, gallant and superstitious. They know how to surround themselves with beauty and comfort, get maximum pleasure from life and food, are able to fall passionately in love and, at the same time, can be condescending towards residents of other countries, which, however, does not apply to skin color, religion or race. The French consider their language a national treasure and are sure that it should be used for international communication.