French Trivia Questions
What is the French equivalent for "The Star-Spangled Banner"?
"La Marseillaise"
What is the French equivalent for E Pluribus Unum?
"Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité"
What is the furthest distance one would have to walk in Paris to get to a metro (subway) station?
500 meters
At what time does school day end for most French high school students?
5:00 p.m.
What French company is the world's first commercial space transportation agency?
Ariane
What southern French city has such impressive Roman ruins that it is sometimes called the "Rome of France"?
Arles
"All for one, one for all" is the motto of what French fictional characters?
Athos, Portho, & Aramis (The Three Musketeers)
Who is the United States' first ambassador to France?
Benjamin Franklin
What are the colors of the French flag?
Blue, white, red (in that order)
What French expression is commonly said to someone beginning a meal?
Bon appétit!
What French town in the south of France hosts an International Film Festival every May?
Cannes
What is the name of the singer and movie star French president Nicolas Sarkozy married while in office? (He was defeated for re-election in 2012.)
Carla Bruni
What opera was the masterpiece of Georges Bizet?
Carmen
What French general (later president of France) said in a broadcast to the French people form London on June 18, 1940, "France has lost a battle. But France has not lost the war."
Charles de Gaulle
Blois, Chambord, Chenonceau have in common
Châteaux of the Loire Valley
What French Impressionist artist painted many of his paintings in the garden he created at his home in Giverny?
Claude Monet
What island in the Mediterranean is the birthplace of Napoléon?
Corsica
What holiday do French families celebrate by eating a "galette des rois" (Kings' cake)
Epiphany (Jan. 6)
What French king was patron to Leonardo da Vinci, bringing him to live in Amboise, France and buying the Mona Lisa from him?
François (Francis) I
Who is the current president of France?
François Hollande
Which French president was responsible for the building of the Louvre Pyramid, the Great Arch at La Défense, and the Bastille Opera?
François Mitterand
What French territory is located in South America?
French Guyana (la Guyane française)
What was the former name of France?
Gaul
The main key to the Bastille prison, stormed during the French Revolution, is actually found in what American president's home?
George Washington (Mount Vernon)
Name the seven countries that border France clockwise, beginning with Germany.
Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Andorra, Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg
Flying buttresses, gargoyles, stained glass, ribbed vaults, and thin walls are characteristic of what architectural style which was prevalent in Europe from the 12th in the 16th century?
Gothic
This actor is one of the most prolific French film stars and has appeared in several American movies including Green Card, My Father the Hero, and Life of Pi.
Gérard Depardieu
What is the second largest religious group in France?
Islam/Muslims
The French cinematographer produced a classic version of Beauty and the Beast (la Belle et la Bête) in 1945, Disney borrowed many elements from it in their cartoon version:
Jean Cocteau
What American actress has done the French dubbing for all her films?
Jodie Foster
What French science-fiction writer is the author of Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea, Around the World in 80 days, and A Journey to the Center of the Earth?
Jules Verne
When do the French celebrate their national holiday?
July 14
In what Paris square were many guillotined during the French Revolution?
La Place de la Révolution, now called Place de la Concorde
What French holiday is celebrated on May 1?
Labor Day
What American won the Tour de France 7 times, but was eventually stripped of all his titles?
Lance Armstrong
What is the name of the huge hotel in Québec which was designed to look like a French château?
Le Château Frontenac
What city in France is famous for its 24-hour long auto race?
LeMans
What do the french call their national soccer & ruby teams?
Les Bleus (the Blues)
What river valley is famous for the many Renaissance châteaux located there?
Loire
What French King, responsible for the construction of the magnificent palace at Versailles said, "L'État, c'est moi." (I am the State)?
Louis XIV
What is the last day of Carnaval called (the day before Lent)?
Mardi Gras
What is the French equivalent for Uncle Sam?
Marianne
What Austrian princess became a very unpopular queen of France (wife of Louis XVI)
Marie-Antoinette
Napoleon's first wife, Josephine, was a native of what Caribbean island?
Martinique
What French company both manufactures tires and publishes travel and restaurant guides?
Michelin
Going along the Mediterranean coast from France to Italy, one passes through what tiny but wealthy principality?
Monaco
What is the first day of the week on a French calendar?
Monday (lundi)
What mountain in the French Alps is Europe's highest peak?
Mont Blanc
What is the second-largest French-speaking city in the world?
Montreal, Canada
What painter born in Spain spent most his long career in France?
Pablo Picasso
Where are the French territories Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia located?
Pacific Ocean
The author Oscar Wilde once wrote, "They say that when good Americans die they go to..." (what city)
Paris
What Frenchman founded the modern-day Olympic games in 1896?
Pierre de Coubertin
What French mathematician and philosopher, when pondering the nature of existence and of knowledge itself observed, "I think, therefore I am."?
René Descartes
What World War I flying ace was the first to shoot a machine gun between the blades of his plane's propeller? (The French Open is played in the famous stadium named for him.)
Rolland Garros
During what war did Joan of Arc and her army drive back the English and guide the Dauphin to be crowned King Charles VII?
The 100 years War
What French brothers are well-known for launching the first practical hot-air balloon in 1783?
The Montgolfier brothers
What gift did the French give to America to commemorate its centennial to independence?
The Statue of Liberty
What do Alsatian, Breton, Catalan, and Provençal all have in common?
They are dialects spoken in France.
What French painter is famous for the posters he created to advertise the dance halls and night clubs in Montmartre?
Toulouse-Lautrec
What painter born in Holland spent most of his short, troubled life painting in France?
Vincent VanGogh
Where was Napoleon Bonaparte's final defeat?
Waterloo
What symbol designates a pharmacy in France?
a green cross
What is a croque-monsieur?
a hot ham & cheese sandwich
What do Renault, Peugeot, and Citroën manufacture?
automobiles
What product is the city Reims known for?
champagne
Port-Salut, Camembert, Gruyère, Neufchâtel, and Pont-l'Évêque are varieties of what French product?
cheese
During what meal would French people be most likely to eat an omelet?
dinner
What French expression refers to a feeling of reliving an experience?
déjà vu
What are the 4 main ingredients in a quiche Lorraine?
eggs, cheese, bacon, milk
What cheese dish is popular in the Savoie region of France?
fondue
What kind of milk is used in chèvre cheese?
goat's milk
Put the following courses in order as they would be served during a French dinner: fromage, hors d'oeuvre, café, plat principal, dessert, salade.
hors d'oeuvre, plat principal (main course), salade, fromage (cheese), dessert, café (coffee)
Where is nearly every French king from the 10th to the 18th century buried?
in the Basilica of Saint Denis
Where were most of the French kings crowned?
in the cathedral at Reims
What is the geometric nickname of France?
l'Hexagone (the Hexagon)
What is the period of dances, parades and parties before Lent called?
le Carnaval
What is the exam that French students must take to complete high school?
le baccalauréat
What is the French nickname for their national flag?
le tricolore
What product is the city of Evian known for?
mineral water
Where does the Tour de France always end?
on the Champs-Elysées in Paris
Where are French children taught to keep their hands during dinner?
on the table
What product is the city of Grasse known for?
perfume
What product is the city of Limoges known for?
porcelain
Rather than hang stockings, what do French children put out for Santa?
shoes
What are escargots?
snails
Where is Vincennes, France?
southeast suburb of Paris
Around what famous monument do twelve Parisian avenues meet and form a star?
the Arc de Triomphe
What body of water borders France to the west?
the Atlantic Ocean
Millions of skeletons were transported from overcrowded cemeteries to this network of quarries beneath Paris, which served as the headquarters of the Resistance during World War II:
the Catacombes
What is the name of the high-speed train that runs between Paris and London?
the Eurostar
What body of water borders France to the south?
the Mediterranean Sea
What mountain range separates France from Spain?
the Pyrenees
What is the river that runs through Paris?
the Seine
What is the oldest part of the University of Paris, founded in 1257?
the Sorbonne
The architect of the Eiffel Tower also built the base for what monument in the US?
the Statue of Liberty
What was the symbol of the French kings?
the fleur de lis
What is the French equivalent for the bald eagle?
the rooster (le coq)
What is the name of the French presidential residence in Paris?
the Élysée palace
When the French count with their hands, which finger represents one?
their thumb
