When we say French twist, French manicure, French cuffs etc. are these truly French fashions? French people call the chic hairstyle we know as a French twist or French roll a chignon banane (banana bun). On the other hand, a French braid or French plait has the same name in France – tresse française – [more...]
Delacroix’s famous painting from 1830 is titled Liberty Leading the People, but his allegorical figure of a woman with a Phrygian cap carrying the Tricolor and a rifle with disregard for her state of undress influenced later representations of Marianne. Earlier, during the French Revolution, there were other personifications of Liberty and Reason, eventually combined [more...]
Aquitaine is the most south-westerly region of France, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west, and Spain to its south. Aquitaine is famous for its history, with evidence of prehistoric human settlement such as the painted cave of Lascaux within Aquitaine’s Périgueux area (which is sometimes known as the cradle of mankind). The Romans ruled [more...]
For the first few years of the 19th century, it looked as though Napoleon would rule Germany, maybe establishing a French Empire in Europe. When the century began, France already had control over the German area west of the Rhine. In 1801 the Kaiser and the Holy Roman Empire signed the Peace Treaty of Lunéville, [more...]
Between 1350 and 1791 there were 28 Dauphin de France, the title of the heir apparent to the French throne, similar to the title Prince of Wales in England. But why should he be the “dolphin” of France? Strictly, the correct title was Dauphin de Viennois, the dolphin of Vienne, a town in Département Isère. [more...]
The French people have an amazing history, a beautiful language, and a justifiable pride in their culture. But they’ve done a surprisingly poor job of preserving these things in the form of French-language online newspaper archives. Still, there are a few good sources to know about, from France and other French-speaking areas, such as Quebec [more...]
La Marseillaise is the National Anthem of France. “La Marseillaise” was written and composed by Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle, captain in the Engineering corps garrisoned in Strasbourg during the night of 24 to 25 April 1792 at the behest of the city’s mayor, Baron de Dietrich. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, “La Marseillaise” [more...]
France lies to the south of the United Kingdom, separated from it by the English Channel, and is in continental Europe. To the southwest it borders with Spain and Andorra. To the northeast and east it borders with Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco. It has two separate coastlines: the Mediterranean to the south, [more...]
France is full of attractive cafés where you can sit and watch the world go by. They may be in a small town square, or on a busy avenue in Paris. They may look out on trees, or a crowded shopping area. But before you can really enjoy their relaxed charm, you need to know [more...]
It’s always been a difference between English-speaking countries and France. Bidets have just never caught on on the USA or the UK, except for an occasional “trend” that never really went very far. But in France there’s a bidet in every bathroom, isn’t there? Not any more. In recent years the bidet has been disappearing [more...]
The Eiffel Tower is an immense tower of exposed latticework supports made of iron built in Paris, France, and it has become a popular tourist attraction and a global symbol of that country. It is one of the most easily identified structures in the world. The tower is named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel and [more...]
Paris is the capital of France and the country’s largest city. The earliest archaeological evidence of permanent settlement in Paris dates to around 4200 BC. Paris lost its position as seat of the French Kingdom during occupation of the English-allied Burgundians but regained its position when Charles VII of France reclaimed the city in 1437. [more...]
Is it the highlight of a trip to Paris, or a tedious, over-rated flop? UK travellers put the Eiffel Tower top of a “most disappointing sights in the world” list in a survey published in 2009. Yet so many people come away delighted with a visit that was exciting, romantic, memorable, fantastic ….. Let’s start [more...]
In 1744, King Louis XV promised that if he were to recover from a mysterious illness he would replace the ruined church of Sainte-Geneviève with a building worthy of Paris’ patron saint. The foundation was laid in 1758. It was completed at the start of the French Revolution and the new Revolutionary government ordered it [more...]