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GR, GRP, PR: What do the French hiking signs mean?
What are the coloured symbols on French hiking routes? Who paints them there and why?
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Miss France: glam - but not sexy
Miss France organiser Geneviève de Fontenay fears she is fighting a losing battle to protect her 'Cinderella dream' from vulgarity
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Normandy Landings visit for Queen
Queen Elizabeth has confirmed a state visit to France, ending rumours she is handing over duties to Charles
Do French use Nato alphabet?
Is there an official way to spell out letters on the phone?
Q: IS THERE an official way to spell out letters on the phone in France, like the Nato phonetic alphabet - Yankee, Hotel, Foxtrot etc? J.W.
FRANCE recognises the Nato phonetic alphabet (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie etc) for air traffic and in the emergency services, however it also has a homegrown version, known as the alphabet téléphonique (or radio) français.
The French list - suggested for use when clarifying spelling - is almost entirely first names (though Kléber is also a surname), apart from the curious choice of “Quintal” (a measure of weight) for “Q"”- Anatole, Berthe, Célestine, Désiré, Eugène, François, Gaston, Henri, Irma, Joseph, Kléber, Louis, Marcel, Nicolas, Oscar, Pierre, Quintal, Raoul, Suzanne, Thérèse, Ursule, Victor, William, Xavier, Yvonne, Zoé.