Test your knowledge: fun French facts
Explore intriguing French trivia, from the toughest dictation in history to the vibrant culture of Limoges and the unique lifestyle on Ile de Ré
The Ile de Ré is perfect for cycling
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1. Listen very carefully…
The most tricky dictation exercise in French history was given by Prosper Mérimée (pictured above), the author of Carmen, at the Imperial Court in 1857.
Full of linguistic traps and wordplays, it was created at the request of the Empress Eugénie as a means of ‘distracting’ the gathered intelligentsia and nobility.
Napoleon III is said to have made seventy-five errors, the empress sixty-two, Alexander Dumas fils (son of The Three Musketeers writer) twenty-four and Klemens von Metternich, the Austrian ambassador, just three.
At the announcement of the results, Dumas is said to have turned to Metternich to ask him: “When are you going, Prince, to come to the Académie Française to teach us how to spell?”
Q: What is the longest French word found in standard dictionaries?
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A) Anticonstitutionnellement (25 letters). Intergouvernementalisation has 26 letters but is only used in administrative literature
2. Red sky at night
Limoges may be known for its delicate translucent porcelain but the capital of porcelain was given a new nickname of la ville rouge in the 19th century because of the workers’ left-wing views.
The town even declared itself an autonomous republic in 1848 after pottery and shoe workers rebelled against national election results.
A more ‘romantic’ view is that the ville rouge name comes from the colour of the night sky when all 135 porcelain ovens of the Limoges factories were opened.
Q: France’s historically largest union was created in Limoges in 1895. What is its name?
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A) The Confédération générale du travail (CGT)
3. Island life
La petite reine (the bicycle) rules on the Ile de Ré, an island off La Rochelle which is perfect for cycling and just 30km long and 5km wide with, in places, water all around. Beloved by well-off Parisians, the island also has visitors for longer stays: it houses France’s largest jail and only one person has escaped. They are the only people who feel cooped up as the outdoor lifestyle is much loved, with miles of beaches and water-based pursuits.
Q: Who designed the island’s Unesco-recognised fortress (and the prison) at St-Martin-de-Re?
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A) The fortifications at St-Martin-de-Ré were designed in a 1.5km radius arc with 14kms of ramparts by Louis XIV’s military architect Sébastien Le Prestre Vauban
