Interactive quiz: 20 questions on France
What is the name of the distinctive hat worn by chefs? What are la Bintje, la Spunta and l’Apollo? How many answers can you get right?
1. To which Edith Piaf’s song do the following lyrics belong : “Le ciel bleu sur nous peut s'effondrer, et la Terre peut bien s'écrouler, peu m'importe si tu m'aimes, je me fous du monde entier…”
A. La vie en rose
B. La foule
C. Hymne à l’amour
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C
2. According to a legend Napoleon lost the Battle of Waterloo on June 18 1815, because he couldn’t stay for long sitting on his horse. What is the reason given for this?
A. He had a bad back
B. He had a crisis of hemorrhoids
C. He was allergic to horse hair
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B. The story of Napoleon’s piles is difficult to prove or disprove but it almost certainly does not explain the defeat which was down to timing, judgement and moving men and heavy equipment around the field of battle.
3. Which French football team won the UEFA Champions League twice consecutively in 2025 and 2026 ?
A. Olympique de Marseille
B. Olympique de Lyon
C. Paris St-Germain
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C
4. What are la Bintje, la Spunta and l’Apollo?
A. Varieties of potatoes grown in France
B. Names of lunar craters discovered by the French
C. Names of French rockets
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A
5. Which of these kings of France never existed?
A. Charles the Bald
B. Louis the Lazy
C. Henri Bad Breath
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C is invented. Charles II the Bald (Charles le Chauve) lived and ruled in the 9th Century. Louis V the Lazy (Louis le Fainéant) was the last Carolingian king of France, ruling for just over a year (986–987) before dying in a hunting accident at age 20. He earned his nickname because he accomplished nothing of note during his brief, troubled reign.
6. Who were Les Nabis?
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A group of avant-garde Post-Impressionist artists who revolutionized modern art at the end of the 19th Century. Inspired by Paul Gauguin, they sought to liberate painting from the constraints of realism in order to transform it into a spiritual and decorative form of expression. The term evokes a Hebrew word for “prophets”.
7. Les navettes are biscuits made with flour, sugar, orange flower and almond. Of which French city are they a specialty?
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Marseille
8. Gérard Depardieu won a César (Best Actor award at Cannes) and an Oscar nomination in 1991 for his role in a film directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau, based on a character created by playwright Edmond Rostand. Which film was it?
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Cyrano de Bergerac
9. The Dordogne department is renowned for its duck and goose specialties but it is not the only one. What other French department, known as “the heart of Gascony”, is also famous for specialties such as confit de canard, magret, and foie gras?
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Le Gers
10. When was the last person executed in France before capital punishment was abolished?
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The last man to be executed by guillotine in France was beheaded on September 10, 1977 at the Baumettes prison in Marseille. Capital punishment was abolished in 1981.
11. In which city are the inhabitants called les angoumoisins?
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Angoulême
12. What is the name of the distinctive hat worn by chefs?
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La toque
13. Why did part of the parapet of Le Pont des Arts in Paris collapse in 2014?
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It gave way under the weight of “love locks”, padlocks attached to the railings as testament to couples’ eternal devotion to one another.
14. She was a Holocaust survivor and advocate for human rights, who became the first female President of the European Parliament and served in the French Senate. Thanks mainly to her, abortion was legalised in France in 1975. Who was she?
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Simone Veil
15. What is Parcoursup?
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It is a national platform or website for post-secondary education applications. Students, typically in their final year of high school (lycée), use it to apply for higher education programmes.
16. Which city is the home of Les Girondins football team?
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Bordeaux
17. What are “Les Molières”?
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Les Molières (or Nuit des Molières) is an annual ceremony in which awards for excellence in French theatre are handed out. (If you answered a town in Ile-de-France you are also right.)
18. King Henry II died a most unfortunate, unusual and horrible death in 1559, in an incident that found an echo in A Game of Thrones. What happened to him?
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Henry II was fatally injured by the Count of Montgomery during a jousting tournament. He died from his injuries ten days later.
19. Camille Claudel (1864–1943) was a French sculptor and artist of remarkable talent whose work is celebrated for its expressive realism, emotional intensity, and technical mastery. Was this artist a man or a woman?
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A woman. The forename Camille is unisex.
20. When is the feast day of La Chandeleur and what food is typically eaten on this day?
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Candlemas falls on February 2. It’s France’s Pancake Day as the traditional food eaten is crêpes.
