Interactive quiz: 20 questions on France

1. What was the name of the girl who claimed to have met the Virgin Mary in Lourdes in the 19th century? A. Bernardette Soubirous, B. Bénédicte Brochard, C. Babette Soubiren

2. What is a “clapier”? A. A board used in television programmes to tell the public to clap, B. A rabbit hutch, C. A tray to organize papers 

3. Which French author’s father served as a general under Napoleon and was nicknamed the “Black Devil”? A. Albert Camus, B. Alexandre Dumas, C. Victor Hugo

4. Artist Herni Matisse established the Matisse Museum in his hometown in 1952. Where is this? A. Le Cateau-Cambrésis, B. Sars-Poitiers, C. Bohain-en-Vermandois

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A

5. What is the present name of the former Île Bourbon?

6. Which aperitif drink is made from aromatic plants, aniseed, fennel and licorice?

7. What do the following French mountains have in common: Puy de Dôme, Puy de Pariou and Puy de Sancy?

8. Which was the first overseas French colony to be created and in what year was it founded?

9. What is the I.N.S.E.E ?

10. Nougat is a fluffy and creamy sweet paste made from sugar or honey and egg whites. Of which French city is it the specialty?

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Montélimar in the Drôme department.

11. When you are on board a ship and someone asks you to look “à tribord,” would you look forward, to the right or to the left?

12. What does the concept of “Francophonie” refer to?

13. In which book does Jean-Jacques Rousseau set out his ideas about education?

14. For which king of France was Jeanne d’Arc fighting?

15. The first constitution of a modern nation state was written in a place which wasn’t yet part of France but which would become so 14 years later? Where was this?

16. How many medals did France win in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris?

17. What’s the name of the smallest ball in pétanque?

18. Which one of these ingredients doesn’t feature in a persillade sauce: garlic, parsley, tomato or olive oil?

19. Which is the oldest architectural structure in France and one of the oldest in the world?

20. In which French museum can you step into the Cour de Khorsabad?

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The Louvre. It is a reconstruction of the courtyard of the Palace of Sargon II (8th Century BCE) from Khorsabad, the ancient Assyrian capital which is in present-day Iraq. The museum displays colossal statues that once guarded the palace gates. French archaeologist Paul-Émile Botta discovered the ruins of Khorsabad in 1843, and parts of the palace were transported to Paris.