10 Amazing, Fun & Interesting Facts About France

France, officially known as French Republic is the country located at western Europe. France is the largest country among all the western Europe countries. Let us know some more interesting facts about France

Interesting Facts About France

#1: Land Area

Though France is the largest European country, when it comes to land area after Russia and Ukraine, nearly 20% of the French territory lies outside Europe in the overseas department and territories (DOM TOM).

#2: Roots & Origin

The German tribe ‘Franks’ lend their name to France. They settled in the Western Roman Empire after the second century.
The state is the oldest in Europe and was founded in 843 after splitting from the Aachen.

#3: Politics

Since 1789, France has changed its Government form from 2 empires, 2 constitutional monarchies, and 5 republics.
The French stand second when it comes to the area of land colonized. They had colonized 8.6% of the total land area.

#4: Marrying the Dead!

In very exceptional cases, you could marry a deceased person with the permission of the President.

#5: France & Science

The World’s first international scientific conference was held in Paris on the 2^nd of February, 1799.
Some interesting facts about France science & inventions are:The adding machine, the hot air balloon, the parachute, the submarine, animation, cinema are a few to name from the inventions and discoveries made by France.

#6: French Wine & Cuisine

France has made wine since the Roman times.
France has 450 different wine appellations. Only 15% of the wines are given the AOC designation benefits.
In 2004, a whooping 56.6 hectoliters of wine was produced.
Some of the top liquors of France are Cognac, Armagnac, Mandarine Napolean, Crème de Cassis, Pastis.
Over 400 types of cheese are produced by France.
Horse meat, frog’s legs and snails are delicacies for the French.
The French fries and French toast were not invented in France.

#7: Excellence

Charles De Gaulle International Airport is the busiest airport when it comes to cargo in Europe and stands sixth in the world.
The headquarters of Airbus is in Toulouse.
The French TGV has an average speed of 263.3 km/hr from station to station and is the fastest train in the world.
The Millau Viaduct in southern France is the world’s tallest bridge.

#8: Kiss & Greet

The French kiss each other on the cheeks as a form of greeting. The number of times kissed may vary from region to region.
It is illegal to kiss on the railways in France.
The French is called Tongue kiss or the soul kiss otherwise. This one is my personal best fact among all the interesting facts about France 😛

#9: Tourism

The most visited country is France with around 75 million people visiting yearly.
The most visited spot is the Disneyland Paris.
The country has the maximum number of Ski resorts.
Every town in France has a Victor Hugo street.
The highest peak in France is the Mont Blanc.

#10: French

Another interesting fact about France is their language, “French”… It is the official language for countries including Switzerland, Canada, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Monaco, Congo and Niger.
An amusing fact is that the official language of United Kingdom was French for as many as 300 years.
Apart from English, French is the only other language that is taught in every country of the world.
French takes pride in being the official language of the United Nations.
During the French revolution, only 25% of the people spoke French as their mother tongue.
Oily chalk is what Crayola means in French.