Americans discover French TV's famous marmots

American internet users recently discovered one of French TV's best-kept secrets - the humorous marmot idents for broadcaster France 3.

Shortly after Christmas, a US internet user posted a video of competitive marmots on a curling rink, asking the simple question: Okay, who did this?

More than 98,300 likes, and 38,800 retweets later, it's safe to say that tweet went viral, as Americans wondered where they short films came from - Canada, many decided, on the strength of the sport involved.

Even Hollywood star Alyssa Milano is a fan.

And users were even more delighted to discover that there were several more of the short award-winning films to enjoy, pastiching both Hollywood and sports in one-minute segments broadcast just ahead of scheduled programming.

And, don't worry. Many people have now highlighted that this is a French thing, which has been enjoyed over here every summer and Christmas-New Year period since the first short was broadcast in 2015.

You can see more of the shorts on the France 3 website