Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: French |
FrenchAdjective1. Of or pertaining to France or the people of France; "French cooking"; "a gallic shrug". Noun1. The Romance language spoken in France and in countries colonized by France. 2. The people of France. 3. United States sculptor who created the seated marble figure of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. (1850-1931). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "French" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Etymology: French \French\ (fr[e^]nch), adjective. [Anglo-Saxon frencisc, Late Latin franciscus, from Latin Francus a Frank: compare to Old French franceis, franchois, fran[,c]ois, French fran[,c]ais. See Frank, a., and compare to Frankish.]. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The franc is the name of several currency units. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription francorum rex ("King of the Franks") on early French coins, or from the French franc, meaning "free".
Franc 1 French franc 1991 1 Belgian franc 1996 1 Luxembourg franc 1990 1 Monaco franc 1978 1 Swiss franc 1978 Countries which use francs include Switzerland and most of the Francophone countries of Africa. Before the introduction of the Euro, francs were also used in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, while Andorra and Monaco accepted the French franc as legal tender. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes.
The franc was originally a French gold coin of 3.87g minted in 1360 on the occasion of the release of king John II ("the good"), held by the English since his capture at the Battle of Poitiers four years earlier. It was equivalent to one livre [pound] tournois of 20 sous, a standard money of account.
Though abolished as a legal currency by Louis XIII in 1641 in favour of the gold louis or ecu, the term franc (along with livre) continued to be used in common parlance.
The franc was re-established as the national currency by the French revolutionary Convention in 1795 as a decimal unit of 4.5g of fine silver (theoretically slightly less than the livre of 4.505g, though the new coin was set in 1796 at 1.0125 livres, reflecting in part the past minting of sub-standard coin).
With the creation of a gold franc in 1803, gold and silver-based units circulated interchangeably on the basis of a 1:15.1 ratio between the values of the two metals (bimetallism).
The conquest of most of western Europe by Revolutionary and Napoleonic France led to the franc's wide circulation. Following independence from the kingdom of the Netherlands, the new kingdom of Belgium in 1832 adopted its own franc, equivalent to the French one, followed by Luxembourg in 1848 and Switzerland in 1850. Newly-unified Italy adopted the lira on a similar basis in 1862.
In 1865 France, Belgium, Switzerland and Italy created the Latin Monetary Union (to be joined by Greece in 1868): each would possess a national currency unit (franc, lira, drachma) worth 4.5g of silver or .290322g of gold (fine), all freely exchangable at a rate of 1:1. In the 1870s the gold value was made the fixed standard, a situation which was to continue until 1914.
World War I severely undermined the French franc's strength, as war expenditure, inflation and postwar reconstruction financed partly through the printing of ever more money reduced the franc's puchasing power by 70% in 1915-1920 and a further 43% in 1922-1926. After a brief return to the gold standard (1928-1936) the currency was allowed to resume its slide, until it was worth in 1959 less than a fortieth of its 1936 value.
In January 1960 the franc was revalued at 100 existing francs. Old franc pieces continued to circulate as centimes (none of which were minted for the first two years), 100 of them making a nouveau franc (the abbreviation NF was used for some time). Inflation continued to erode the currency's value but at a greatly reduced rate comparable to other countries, so that at its abolition in February 2002 the new franc was worth less than an eighth of its original value.
Many people continued using old francs, anciens francs as a unit; large sums such as lottery prizes were often given in centimes, since these are equivalent to the old franc. This usage continued right up to its abolition in 2002, with speculation as to whether older people would carry the factor of 100 conversion through to the Euro, the scaled-down version being called, naturally, the Euro ancien.
Belgium experienced similar depreciation and an abrupt collapse of confidence in 1926, leading to the introduction of a new gold currency for international transactions, the Belga of 5 francs, and the country's withdrawal from the monetary union, which ceased to exist at the end of the year. The 1921 monetary union of Belgium and Luxembourg survived, however, forming the basis for full economic union in 1932.
From January 1, 1999, the French franc was set at .152449 euro, the currency which replaced it entirely between January 1 and February 17, 2002. The Belgian franc, similarly fixed at .024789 euro, ceased to exist on February 28. 2002. The Swiss franc, which appreciated significantly against the new European currency in April-September 2000, remains one of the world's strongest currencies, worth today around two-thirds of a Euro.
Fourteen African countries use the franc CFA (in west Africa, Communauté financière africaine; in equatorial Africa, Coopération financière en Afrique centrale), originally (1945) of 1.7 French francs and then from 1948, 2 francs (from 1960: .02 new franc) but after January 1994 worth only .01 French franc. Therefore, from January 1999, 1 CFA franc is equivalent to .00152449 euro.
A separate (franc CFP) circulates in France's Pacific territories, worth . 0084 euro (formerly .055 French franc).
See also:
- CFP Franc
- Special settlement currencies
- UIC Franc
- Gold-Franc
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Franc."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French Republic, or France, is a country located in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra, and Spain. It is a founding member of the European Union.
République Française
France has no national coat of arms; see Marianne (In Detail)
National motto: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité
(French, Liberty, Equality, Brotherhood)Official language French Capital Paris Largest City Paris President Jacques Chirac Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin Area
- Total
- % waterRanked 47th
547,030 km² ¹
0.26%Population
- Total (2003)
- DensityRanked 20th
60,180,529 ¹
110/km²Currency Euro², French euro coins Time zone UTC +1 (CET) National anthem La Marseillaise Internet TLD .FR¹ Calling Code 33¹ (1) Data for European (metropolitan) France
(2) Prior to 1999: French franc
History
Main article: History of FranceThough the French monarchy is often dated to the 5th century, France's continuous existence as a separate entity begins with the 9th-century division of Charlemagne's Frankish empire into an eastern and a western part. The eastern part can be regarded the beginnings of what is now Germany, the western part that of France.
Charlemagne's descendants ruled France until 987, when Hugh Capet, Duke of France and Count of Paris, was crowned King of France. His descendants, starting with the Capetian dynasty, ruled France until 1792, when the French Revolution established a Republic, in a period of increasingly radical change that began in 1789.
Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II, France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank as a dominant nation-state. Since 1958, it has constructed a presidential democracy (known as the Fifth Republic) that has not succumbed to the instabilities experienced in earlier more parliamentary regimes.
In recent decades, France's reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of the Euro in January 1999.
Today, France is at the forefront of European states seeking to exploit the momentum of monetary union to advance the creation of a more unified and capable European political, defense and security apparatus.
It is also one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Politics
Main article: Politics of FranceThe constitution of the Fifth Republic was approved by public referendum on September 28 1958. It greatly strengthened the authority of the executive in relation to Parliament. Under the constitution, the president is elected directly for a 5-year (originally 7-year) term. Presidential arbitration assures regular functioning of the public powers and the continuity of the state. The president names the prime minister, presides over the cabinet, commands the armed forces, and concludes treaties.
The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) is the principal legislative body. Its deputies are directly elected to 5-year terms, and all seats are voted on in each election. Senators are chosen by an electoral college for 9-year terms, and one-third of the Senate is renewed every 3 years. The Senate's legislative powers are limited; the National Assembly has the last word in the event of a disagreement between the two houses. The government has a strong influence in shaping the agenda of Parliament.
See also:
- Constitution of France
- President of France
- List of Prime Ministers of France
- List of Foreign Ministers of France
Regions & Departments
Main articles: Département, List of regions in FranceFrance has 26 regions (French: région), which are further subdivided into 100 départements. The departments are numbered (mainly alphabetically) and this number is used in e.g. postal codes and vehicle number plates.
- Alsace
- 67 Bas-Rhin
- 68 Haut-Rhin
- Aquitaine
- 24 Dordogne
- 33 Gironde
- 40 Landes
- 47 Lot-et-Garonne
- 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques
- Auvergne
- 03 Allier
- 15 Cantal
- 43 Haute-Loire
- 63 Puy-de-Dôme
- Basse-Normandie
- 14 Calvados
- 50 Manche
- 61 Orne
- Bourgogne (Burgundy)
- 21 Côte-d'Or
- 58 Nièvre
- 71 Saône-et-Loire
- 89 Yonne
- Bretagne (Brittany)
- 22 Côtes-d'Armor
- 29 Finistère
- 35 Ille-et-Vilaine
- 56 Morbihan
- Centre
- 18 Cher
- 28 Eure-et-Loir
- 36 Indre
- 37 Indre-et-Loire
- 41 Loir-et-Cher
- 45 Loiret
- Champagne-Ardenne
- 08 Ardennes
- 10 Aube
- 51 Marne
- 52 Haute-Marne
- Corse (Corsica)
- 2A Corse-du-Sud
- 2B Haute-Corse
- Franche-Comté
- 25 Doubs
- 39 Jura
- 70 Haute-Saône
- 90 Territoire-de-Belfort
- Haute-Normandie
- 27 Eure
- 76 Seine-Maritime
- Ile-de-France
- 75 Paris
- 77 Seine-et-Marne
- 78 Yvelines
- 91 Essonne
- 92 Hauts-de-Seine
- 93 Seine-Saint-Denis
- 94 Val-de-Marne
- 95 Val-d'Oise
- Languedoc-Roussillon
- 11 Aude
- 30 Gard
- 34 Hérault
- 48 Lozère
- 66 Pyrénées-Orientales
- Limousin
- 19 Corrèze
- 23 Creuse
- 87 Haute-Vienne
- Lorraine
- 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle
- 55 Meuse
- 57 Moselle
- 88 Vosges
- Midi-Pyrénées
- 09 Ariège
- 12 Aveyron
- 31 Haute-Garonne
- 32 Gers
- 46 Lot
- 65 Hautes-Pyrénées
- 81 Tarn
- 82 Tarn-et-Garonne
- Nord-Pas-de-Calais
- 59 Nord
- 62 Pas-de-Calais
- Pays-de-la-Loire
- 44 Loire-Atlantique
- 49 Maine-et-Loire
- 53 Mayenne
- 72 Sarthe
- 85 Vendée
- Picardie
- 02 Aisne
- 60 Oise
- 80 Somme
- Poitou-Charentes
- 16 Charente
- 17 Charente-Maritime
- 79 Deux-Sèvres
- 86 Vienne
- Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
- 05 Hautes-Alpes
- 06 Alpes-Maritimes
- 13 Bouches-du-Rhône
- 83 Var
- 84 Vaucluse
- Rhône-Alpes
- 01 Ain
- 07 Ardèche
- 26 Drôme
- 38 Isère
- 42 Loire
- 69 Rhône
- 73 Savoie
- 74 Haute-Savoie
- Départements d'outre mer (DOM)
(Overseas departments), each of them being a département and a region at the same time:
- 971 Guadeloupe
- 972 Martinique
- 973 French Guiana
- 974 La Réunion
- Collectivités territoriales (Territorial Collectivities):
- 975 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
- 976 Mayotte
- Pays et Territoires d'outre-mer (PTOM) (Overseas Countries and Territories):
- 986 Wallis and Futuna
- 987 French Polynesia
- 988 New Caledonia (pays d'outre mer from 1998)
- French Southern and Antarctic Territories (including France's Antarctic claim)
The departments are further subdivided into 342 arrondissements.
The overseas departments are former colonies outside France that now enjoy a status similar to European or metropolitan France. They are considered to be a part of France (and the EU) rather than dependent territories, and each of them is a region at the same time.
The overseas territories and countries form part of the French Republic, but do not form part of the Republic's European territory or the EU fiscal area. They continue to use the French Pacific Franc as their currency, which was unaffected by the French franc's replacement by the Euro in 2002.
The territorial collectivities have an intermediate status between overseas department and overseas territory.
France also maintains control over a number of other small islands in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, including Bassas da India, Clipperton Island, Europa Island, Glorioso Islands, Juan de Nova Island, Tromelin Island. See Islands controlled by France in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
Geography
Main article: Geography of FranceFrance possesses a large variety of landscapes, ranging from coastal plains in the north and west, where France borders the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, to the mountain ranges in the south (the Pyrenees) and the southeast (the Alps), of which the latter contains the highest point of Europe, the Mont Blanc at 4810 m.
In between are found other elevated regions such as the Massif Central or the Vosges mountains and extensive river basins such as those of the Loire River, the Rhone River, the Garonne and Seine.
- National parks (France)
Economy
Main article: Economy of FranceFrance's economy combines extensive private enterprise with substantial, but declining, government intervention. Large tracts of fertile land, the application of modern technology, and subsidies have combined to make France the leading agricultural producer in Western Europe.
The government retains considerable influence over key segments of infrastructure sectors, with majority ownership of railway, electricity, aircraft, and telecommunication firms. It has been gradually relaxing its control over these sectors since the early 1990s. The government is slowly selling off holdings in France Telecom, in Air France, and in the insurance, banking, and defense industries.
France joined 11 other EU members to launch the euro on January 1 1999, with euro coins and banknotes completely replacing the French franc in early 2002.
See also: List of French companies
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of FranceThe official language is French, with several local languages (Basque, Breton, Catalan, Corsican, Dutch (Flemish), German (Alsatian), Occitan), but the French government and school system discouraged the use of any of them until recently. The regional languages are now taught at some schools, though French remains the only official language in use by the government, local or national.
Religion
Following from the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, France guarantees freedom of religion as a constitutional right. A 1905 law instituted the separation of Church and State and prohibited the government from recognizing, salarying or subsidizing any religion. In the preceding situation, established 1801-1808 of the Concordat, the State used to support the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, the Calvinist Church and the Jewish religion and provided for public religious educations in those religions (for historical reasons, this situation is still current in Alsace-Moselle).
The French government does not keep statistics as to religion.
The 1995 CIA World Factbook lists the religion of France as: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim (North African workers) 1%, unaffiliated 6%.
However, in a 2003 poll 41% said that the existence of God was "excluded" or "unlikely". 33% declared that "atheist" described them rather or very well, and 51% for "Christian". When interrogated about their religion, 62% answered Roman Catholic, 6% Muslim, 2% Protestant, 1% Jewish, 2% "other religions" (except for Orthodox or Buddhist, which were negligible), 26% "no religion" and 1% declined to answer. The discrepancy between the number of "atheists" and the number of "without religion" may be attributed to people who nominally belong to a religion, perhaps out of social pressure or custom, but do not actually believe in it.
See also: Islam in France
Holidays Date English Name Local Name Remarks January 1 New Year's Day Jour de l'An
- Easter Pâques Sunday, date varies - Easter Monday Lundi de Pâques Monday, date varies May 1 Labour Day Fête du Travail May 8 Victory Day 1945 Victoire 1945 End of WWII - Ascension Day Ascension Thursday, date varies - Pentecost Pentecôte Seventh Sunday after Easter July 14 Bastille Day Fête Nationale National Day August 15 Assumption Assomption November 1 All Saints Day Toussaint November 11 Veterans Day Armistice 1918 End of WWI December 25 Christmas Day Noël
Miscellaneous topics
Description of the flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), white, and red; known as the drapeau tricolore (Tricolor Flag); the design and colors are similar to a number of other flags, including those of Belgium, Chad, Ireland, Côte d'Ivoire, and Luxembourg; the official flag for all French dependent areasThe foundation of France may be dated to 486 (unified by Clovis I).
The national holiday is the Fête Nationale (National Day), celebrating the Taking of the Bastille, July 14 (1789), often referred to as Bastille Day in English.
The capital and most populous city, Paris, is home to the Eiffel Tower, a tower of girdered steel constructed in 1889.
The Palace of Versailles is the number one tourist destination in France followed by the great châteaux of the Loire Valley.
Principal cities include:
Other towns of interest include:
- Aix-en-Provence, Ajaccio, Albi, Amiens, Angers, Angouleme, Bastia, Belfort, Besançon, Bordeaux, Brest, Caen, Calais, Cannes, Carcassonne, Charleville-Mézières, Clermont-Ferrand, Colmar, Dijon, Dunkerque, Evreux, Grenoble, La Rochelle, Le Havre, Le Mans, Lille, Limoges, Lyon, Marseille, Metz, Montpellier, Mulhouse, Nancy, Nantes, Nice, Nîmes, Orléans, Paris, Perpignan, Poitiers, Quimper, Reims, Rennes, Roubaix, Rouen, Saint-Étienne, Saint-Nazaire, Strasbourg, Tarbes, Toulon, Toulouse, Tourcoing, Tours and Valence.
- Abbeville, Albertville, Aurillac, Brive, Cahors, Chamonix, Chatellerault, Chinon, Deauville, Dieppe, Digne-les-Bains, Dole, Domremy, Dreux, La Baule, Mende, Mont-de-Marsan, Montauban, Pau, Perigueux, Rodez, Saint-Gaudens, Saint-Tropez, Saumur, Sete, Soissons and Vichy.
See also
- Communications in France
- Transportation in France
- Military of France
- List of universities in France
- Foreign relations of France
- Tourism in France
- History of French Imperialism
- Marianne
International rankings
- Human Development Index, 2003: 17th (out of 175)
- world-wide press freedom index Rank 11 out of 139 countries
External links
- Official site of the Office of the French President - The Elysée Palace
- Official site of the Office of the French Prime Minister - Main governmental site
- Assemblée Nationale - The French National Assembly
- Sénat - The French Senate
- Official site of the French civil service - Contains many links to various administrations and institutions
- Tourism in France
- French aviation pioneers: first flight, first powered flight, first powered heavier-than-air flight
European Union:
Austria | Belgium | Denmark | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Ireland
Italy | Luxembourg | Netherlands | Portugal | Spain | Sweden | United KingdomCountries acceding to membership on May 1, 2004:
Cyprus | Czech Republic | Estonia | Hungary | Latvia | Lithuania | Malta | Poland | Slovakia | Slovenia
Countries of the world | Europe | Council of Europe simple:France zh-cn:%E6%B3%95%E5%9B%BD zh-tw:法國
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "France."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
When the word French is capitalized, it can have these meanings:
The uncapitalized french can have these meanings:
- From or related to France The French city of Paris has many fine restaurants.
- The French language Many citizens of Luxembourg are able to speak French.
The word also appears in many short phrases such as french doors, french horn, french toast, etc., coined to imply origination in or association with France, not necessarily accurately. Another application of the word French is in words like French pictures (early pornographic images) and French letters (an early English euphemism for condoms), and french kiss (the open mouth kind).
- To cut into strips for cooking in the French style (also known as: to julienne), e.g., frenched carrots. The term french fries is a further simplification from this meaning applied specifically to potatoes.
- To remove fat and meat from the tips of a bone-in chop or roast, e.g., frenched rack of lamb
There are similar expressions in France, but referring to England. The "French cream" (a sweet milky sauce for desserts like cakes) is called in French "crème anglaise" (English cream). In the same way condoms used to be called "capotes anglaises" (English overcoats) and "to take French leave" translates as "filer à l'anglaise".
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet. It uses the standard 26 letters:A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - X - W - Y - Z
A special combination is almost always ligatured:
&OElig
Some words differ by only 'oe' vs 'œ' ligature, but since in modern computer-based typesetting the ligature has fallen out of use, this no longer presents a comprehension problem.
Notes:
- 'W' is rarely used except in loanwords or regional words, 'Ou' is used to represent the /w/ sound;
- vowels are A, E, I, O, U, sometimes Y;
- semi-vowels are Y, rarely W (except regionally, for instance in Belgium);
- used diacritic marks are acute (´), grave (`), circumflex (^), diaeresis (¨), and the cedilla. The most frequent combinations are: à é è ù ç â ê î ô û ë ï ü. The diacritics have no impact on alphabetical order.
See also
- Alphabets derived from the Latin
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French alphabet."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French established colonies across the New World in the 17th century. They were developed to export sugar and furs among other products.
North America
Explorers and settlers from France settled in what is now Canada, the Mississippi Valley and along the Gulf coast in what is now Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana founding the cities of Quebec, Montreal, Detroit, Michigan, St. Louis, Missouri, Mobile, Alabama, Biloxi, Mississippi, and New Orleans, Louisiana.The first French attempt at colonization was in 1598 on Sable Island, southeast of present Nova Scotia. This colony went unsupplied and the 12 survivors returned to France in 1605. The next and first successful colony was Acadia founded in 1603 with its town of Port Royal, now Annapolis.
The French were very interested in the fur trade and purchased fur from and formed alliances with Native American tribes such as the Huron and Ottawa. They actively engaged in warfare with the traditional enemies of the Hurons and Ottawas, the Iroquois.
France once held vast possessions in North America including the Mississippi and St. Lawrence river valleys. The colony of Louisiana was founded in 1699. However, as a result of the French and Indian War, all French territory on the North American continent was divided between the British and the Spanish. The sole exception was the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon off the Canadian coast, retained as a fishing outpost. The French were able to briefly regain some of the Spanish possessions in North America during the Napoleonic Era. However, because France did not have the navy to resupply its North American holdings and because France did not want its possessions to fall into the hands of the British, Napoleon sold Louisiana to the United States, a sale referred to as the Louisiana Purchase. The only remaining French possession in North America is Saint Pierre and Miquelon.
Caribbean Islands
Haiti, called Saint Dominique by the French, was first settled in 1625 with French rights confirmed by the Spanish in the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. It became independent of France in 1804.
Martinique first settled by the French in July 1635 by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, a noble from Normandy. It remains a French overseas department.
Guadeloupe including the islands of St. Barthélemy, St. Martin, Les Saintes, La Désirade, Marie-Galante and Guadeloupe was settled by the French about 1635 after an unsuccessful Spanish attempt at colonization. It remains a French overseas department. Guadeloupe and Martinique were captured by the British during the French and Indian War from 1759 to 1763. The French regained the islands at the end of the war in exchange for giving Great Britain rights to their Canadian lands.
Saint Lucia was founded by the French in 1650. It changed hands between the British and French 14 times before 1814, after which it remained in British hands.
Grenada was founded in 1650 and remained a French colony until 1762 when it was captured by the British during the Seven Years War. It was recaptured by the French in 1779 during the American Revolutionary War but returned in 1783 in Treaty of Paris.
Tobago was a French colony before being captured by the British in 1762.
South America
French Guiana was first settled by the French in 1604. It remains an overseas department of France.
See also:
- European colonization of the Americas,
- French and Indian Wars
- French colonial empire
- New France
Reference
- The French Founders of North America and Their Heritage, Sabra Holbrook, Atheneum, New York, 1976, hardback, ISBN 0-689-30490-0
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French colonization of the Americas."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
French cuisine is characterized by buttery, creamy sauces, cheeses and wines. Despite France's history of centralization (Paris), French cuisine has several regional influences: cuisine from western France is characterized by butter and pork; Provençal cuisine (from the southeast) uses a lot of olive oil, herbs, and vegetables; and eastern French recipes are strongly influenced by German cuisine.Famous French dishes include:
Desserts:
- Frog legs (well-known, but unusual and somewhat old-fashioned)
- Coq au Vin
- Tartiflette (a Savoyard gratin with potatoes, Reblochon cheese, cream and pork)
- French breads
- Cheeses
Specialties by region/city:
- Crème brûlée
- Crêpes
- Chocolate Mousse (Mousse au chocolat)
- Pastries
- Mille-feuilles
- Alsace:
- Choucroute (sauerkraut with sausages and potatoes)
- Alps
- Raclette
- Fondue savoyarde
See also:
- Brittany:
- Crêpes
- Burgundy:
- Escargots de Bourgogne (snails Burgundy)
- Fondue bourguignone
- Lorraine:
- Quiche lorraine
- Marseille:
- Bouillabaisse (Soupe de poissons, or fish soup)
- Nimes:
- Brandade de morue
- Normandy:
- Tripes à la mode de Caen (tripes, Caen style)
- Provence:
- Ratatouille
- Southwest:
- Cassoulet (a dish made with beans and tender sausages)
- Foie gras (creamed duck or goose liver)
- Le Tourin (soup)
- Cuisine, Haute cuisine
- Antoine Careme
- Auguste Escoffier
- List of recipes
- List of French cheeses
- Larousse Gastronomique
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French cuisine."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
See also: list of chess openingsThe French Defence is an opening in chess. It is characterised by the opening moves 1. e4 e6 (see algebraic notation) and in the vast majority of cases this is followed up with 2. d4 d5, giving the following position:
The defence has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for black in the early stages. Black often gains counter-attacking possibilities on the queen-side while white tends to concentrate on the king-side.
The defence is named after a match played by correspondence between the cities of London and Paris in 1834 (although earlier examples of games with the opening do exist). It has since become one of the most popular defences to 1. e4. Players including Viktor Korchnoi, Wolfgang Uhlmann and Nigel Short have been particularly fond of it. More recently, the defence has featured strongly in the opening repertoire of Evgeny Bareev and Teimour Radjabov (who used it to defeat Garry Kasparov in early 2003, thus becoming the first player born since Kasparov took the world championship in 1985 to beat him).
General considerations
Whatever variation of the opening is played, certain themes tend to recur in the French Defence. A pawn formation similar to this one occurs in several of the main variations where neither the d nor the e pawns are exchanged:
Black has more space on the queen-side (see chess terminology) so tends to focus on that side of the board. He often plays ...c5 to attack white's pawn chain at its base, and this move, as well as ...f6 can help to free his position, which is somewhat cramped.
White, on the other hand, usually tries to exploit his extra space on the king-side where he can sometimes create a mating attack. White tries to do this in the Alekhine-Chatard attack, for example. Another example is the following line of the Classical French: 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 0-0 8. Nf3 c5 9. Bd3
White is focussing on the h7 pawn. In many openings, black would have a knight on f6 defending this square, but here it has been pushed away by e5. A possible continuation sees white sacrifice this bishop with 9... cxd4 10. Bxh7+ Kxh7 11. Ng5 when black must give up his queen to avoid being mated with 11... Qxg5 12. fxg5 dxc3. Black has three minor pieces for the queen, which in theory is a straight swap, but his king is vulnerable and white has good attacking chances.
One of black's main problems in the French Defence is his queen's bishop which is blocked in by his own pawn on e6. The bishop can be next door to useless for the early part of the game, and unless black makes some effort to free it (usually with the pawn breaks ...c5 and ...f6), it can remain that way for the whole game. An often cited example of the potential weakness of this bishop is Tarrasch - Teichmann, San Sebastian 1912, in which the following position was reached after 15 moves of a Classical French:
Here black is reduced to complete passivity. White will probably try to trade off black's knight, which is the only one of his pieces that has any scope. Although it might be possible for black to defend this position and hold on for a draw, it is not easy and, barring any mistakes by white, black will have no chance of an attack. In Tarrasch - Teichmann, white won after 41 moves. However, this is pretty much as bad as the French Defence gets for black - normally black has compensatory counterplay.
Following the opening moves, the game almost always continues 2. d4 d5. This leaves white's e4 pawn attacked. He has several main options - he can exhchange the pawn off with 3. exd5, he can push the pawn forwards with 3. e5, or he can defend the pawn with either 3. Nd2 or 3. Nc3.
3. exd5 exd5 - the Exchange Variation
The exchange variation has the repuatation of being safe for white, but rather dull. Because of the symmetrical pawn structure there is no imbalance in the game, and the open e-file encourages the exchange of pieces. White maintains an advantage because he moves first, but draws are common in this line, and it is generally thought that if white seriously wants to play for a win, he must choose a different move.
3. e5 - the Advance Variation
3. e5 is the advance variation. It was regarded as the best continuation by Aaron Nimzowitsch, and, although not so popular as other continuations in modern play, is still seen quite often. The game usually continues with a sequence focusing on white's d4 pawn: 3... c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3, after which both 5... Bd7 and 5... Qb6 are common.A trap which many beginners fall into in the 5... Qb6 line is 6. Bd3 cxd4 7. cxd4 Nxd4 8. Nxd4 Qxd4 9. Bb5+ winning the black queen. Black should play 7... Bd7 instead to prevent this. White may decide to sacrifice his d pawn anyway by continuing 8. 0-0 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. Nc3 (this is known as the Milner-Barry Gambit after Stuart Milner-Barry).
3. Nd2 - the Tarrasch Variation
3. Nd2 is the Tarrasch variation, named after Siegbert Tarrasch. This move was particularly popular during the late 1970s and early 1980s when Anatoly Karpov used it to great effect. It is still played today, though not as often as it once was.The move differs from 3. Nc3 in several respects: it doesn't block the path of white's c pawn, which means he can play c3 at some stage to support the d4 pawn; and it avoids the Winawer Variation because 3... Bb4 can be met with 4. c3 when black has wasted a move (he has to retreat his bishop).
The most critical line is generally regarded to be 3... c5 4. exd5 exd5, which usually leads to black having an isolated queen's pawn (this is both an advantage because of the open lines it gives black, and a disadvantage because an isolated pawn is weak as it cannot be protected by other pawns and so must be protected by pieces instead).
If black wants to avoid the isolated queen's pawn, he can instead continue 3... Nf6, which leads to positions more akin to the Classical variation.
3. Nc3
3. Nc3 can be thought of as the main line of the French. Black has three main options, 3... dxe4 (the Rubinstein variation), 3... Bb4 (the Winawer variation) and 3... Nf6 (the Classical variation).
3... dxe4 - the Rubinstein Variation
This move, named after Akiba Rubinstein is seen as somewhat passive but not necessarily bad.
3... Bb4 - the Winawer Variation
This variation, named after Simon Winawer, is one of the main systems in the French. For a good while around the middle of the 20th century, it was the most often seen move after 3. Nc3, but around the 1980s, the Classical Variation began to be revived, and has since become more popular....Bb4 pinss the c3 knight to the king, leaving the e4 pawn undefended. White has the option of playing a gambit with 4. a3 or 4. Nge2 (the Alekhine Gambit), but usually moves his pawn into safety with 4. e5.
A typical continuation is 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3:
White has more space on the kingside, where black is even weaker than usual because he has traded off his dark-square bishop. White often plays Qg4 at some stage to put some pressure on that side of the board. Black has compensation, however, in the form of white's doubled c pawns, which are weak and liable to come under attack.
3... Nf6 - the Classical Variation
This is another major system in the French. White can continue with 4. e5, the Steinitz Variation (named after Wilhelm Steinitz) or can play 4. Bg5. This threatens e5 which would win the knight (it could not moved because it is pinned to the queen). The most usual reply at the top level is now 4... dxe4 (the Burn Variation, named after Amos Burn). This line can become quite imbalanced after the continuation 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 gxf6 (a variation played on several occasions by Alexander Morozevich), or can proceed down quieter lines with 5. Nxe4 Be7 6. Bxf6 Bxf6 (or 5... Nbd7 and 6... Nxf6).The main line was once 4... Be7. A normal continuation would then be 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7 7. f4 0-0 8. Nf3 c5, when white has a number of options including Bd3, Qd2 and dxc5. An alternative for white, the Albin-Chatard Attack, is not very popular at Grandmaster level, but is more often seen in amateur games. After 4... Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. h4 Bxg5 7. hxg5 Qxg5 8. Nh3 (Nf3 is also seen but less common), white has sacrificed a pawn in order to improve his attacking chances on the king side. The open h-file gives white another line to attack down, and he also gains time by attacking black's queen while developing pieces. Accepting the gambit in this way is not necessarily bad for black, but he can decide to decline it instead in a number of ways including 6... a6, 6... f6 and 6... 0-0.
Alternatively, black can play 4... Bb4 (the Macutcheon Variation), when the main line continues 5. e5 h6 6. Be2 Bxc3 7. bxc3 Ne4 8. Qg4. This line is not so popular.
Early deviations
After 1. e4 e6 the usual continuation is 2. d4 d5, but white can try other moves. 2. b3 is sometimes played as a gambit (after 2... d5 3. Bb2 dex4), 2. d3 leads to a sort of King's Indian Defence with colours reversed, and 2. Qe2 and 2. Nf3 have also been tried.
ECO codes
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings includes an alphanumeric classification system for openings which is widely used in chess literature. Codes C00 to C19 are the French Defence, broken up in the following way (all apart from C00 start with the moves 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5):
- C00 - 1. e4 e6 early deviations
- C01 - 3. dxe5 (Exchange variation)
- C02 - 3. e5 (Advance variation)
- C03 - 3. Nd2 (C03-C09 are the Tarrasch variation)
- C04 - 3. Nd2 Nc6 4. Ngf3 Nf6
- C05 - 3. Nd2 Nf6
- C06 - 3. Nd2 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Bd3 c5 6. c3 Nc6 7. Ne2 cxd4 8. cxd4
- C07 - 3. Nd2 c5
- C08 - 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5
- C09 - 3. Nd2 c5 4. exd5 exd5 5. Nfg3 Nc6
- C10 - 3. Nc3 (includes the Rubinstein variation, 3... dxe4)
- C11 - 3. Nc3 Nf6 (includes the Steinitz variation, 4. e5, and the Burn variation, 4. Bg5 dxe4)
- C12 - 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Bb4 (Macutcheon variation)
- C13 - 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7
- C14 - 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Bxe7 Qxe7
- C15 - 3. Nc3 Bb4 (C15-C19 are the Winawer variation)
- C16 - 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5
- C17 - 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5
- C18 - 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3
- C19 - 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e5 c5 5. a3 Bxc3 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Nf3 and 7. a4
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French Defence."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The euro (EUR or €) is the common currency for most European nations within the European Union, including France. The euro coins have two different sides; one common, European side showing the value of the coin and one national side featuring a design chosen by the EU member state where the coin was minted. Each member state has one or more designs unique to that country.For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see Euro coins.
French euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. The minor series was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, the middle one by Laurent Jorio and the major two coins are by Joaquim Jimenez. All designs share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint as well as the letters "RF" for République Française (French Republic).
Depiction of French euro coinage | Obverse side € 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05 Portrait of Marianne, the
symbol of the French Rep.Portrait of Marianne, the
symbol of the French Rep.Portrait of Marianne, the
symbol of the French Rep.€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50 The sower, a theme carried
over from the former francThe sower, a theme carried
over from the former francThe sower, a theme carried
over from the former franc.€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge The edge lettering features
the number "2" six times
alternated with ** for a
total of 12 starsA stylised tree contained in
a hexagon with the motto
Liberté Egalité FraternitéA stylised tree contained in
a hexagon with the motto
Liberté Egalité Fraternité
- Belgian euro coins
- German euro coins
- Greek euro coins
- Spanish euro coins
- Irish euro coins
- Italian euro coins
- Luxembourg euro coins
- Dutch euro coins
- Austrian euro coins
- Portuguese euro coins
- Finnish euro coins
External links
- European Central Bank (www.euro.ecb.int)
- Banque de France (www.banque-france.fr)
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French euro coins."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French Grand Prix is a Formula One race held as part of FIA's annual Formula One automobile racing championship season.
Grand Prix motor racing originated in France and the French Grand Prix, open to international competition, is the oldest of the Grand Prix races. The first French Grand Prix was run on June 26, 1906 under the auspices of the Automobile Club de France in Sarthe with a starting field of thity-two automobiles.
The first World Championships were organized in 1925 with the French Grand Prix, the Italian Grand Prix, the Belgian Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The French Grand Prix has been part of the Formula One championships since its inception in 1950. Over the years, the annual competition has been held at various racetracks throughout France but since 1991 it has been held at its permanent home at the Circuit de Nevers-Magny Cours.
There is some doubt over the future of the race in 2004 due to financial problems.
Grand Prix Winners
- 1906 : Ferenc Szisz - (Hungary) Renault
- 1907 : Felice Nazzaro - (Italy) Fiat
- 1908 : Christian Lautenschlager - (Germany) Mercedes
- 1909 - 1910 : No competition held
- 1911 : Victor Héméry - (France) Fiat
- 1912 : Georges Boillot - (France) Peugeot L76
- 1913 : Georges Boillot - (France) Peugeot EX3
- 1914 : Christian Lautenschlager - (Germany) Mercedes
- 1915 - 1920 : No competition held due to World War I
- 1921 : Jimmy Murphy - (United States) Duesenberg
- 1922 : Felice Nazzaro - (Italy) Fiat 804
- 1923 : Henry Segrave - (England) Sunbeam
- 1924 : Giuseppe Campari - (Italy) Alfa Romeo
- 1925 : Robert Benoist and Albert Divo - (France) Delage 2L CV
- 1926 : Jules Goux - (France) Bugatti T39A
- 1927 : Robert Benoist - (France) Delage 1558
- 1928 : William Grover-Williams - (France) Bugatti T35C
- 1929 : William Grover-Williams - (France) Bugatti T35B
- 1930 : Philippe Etancelin - (France) Bugatti T35C
- 1931 : Louis Chiron and Achille Varzi - (Monaco / Italy) Bugatti T51
- 1932 : Tazio Nuvolari - (Italy) Alfa Romeo Tipo B P3
- 1933 : Giuseppe Campari - (Italy) Alfa Romeo
- 1934 : Louis Chiron - (Monaco) Alfa Romeo
- 1935 : Rudolf Caracciola - (Germany) Mercedes W25B
- 1936 : Jean-Pierre Wimille and Raymond Sommer - (France) Bugatti T57G
- 1937 : Louis Chiron - (Monaco) Talbot T150C
- 1938 : Manfred von Brauchitsch - (Germany) Mercedes W154
- 1939 : Hermann Müller - (Germany) Auto-Union D
- 1940 - 1946 : No competition held due to World War II
- 1947 : Louis Chiron - (Monaco) Talbot Monoplace C.39
- 1948 : Jean-Pierre Wimille - (France) Alfa Romeo 158
- 1949 : Louis Chiron - (Monaco) Lago-Talbot T26C
Formula One
- 1950 : Juan Manuel Fangio - (Argentina) Alfa Romeo
- 1951 : Luigi Fagioli and Juan Manuel Fangio - (Italy/Argentina) Alfa Romeo
- 1952 : Alberto Ascari - (Italy) Ferrari
- 1953 : Mike Hawthorn - (England) Ferrari
- 1954 : Juan Manuel Fangio - (Argentina) Mercedes-Benz
- 1955 : Competition cancelled
- 1956 : Peter Collins - (England) Lancia-Ferrari
- 1957 : Juan Manuel Fangio - (Argentina) Maserati
- 1958 : Mike Hawthorn - (England) Ferrari
- 1959 : Tony Brooks - (England) Ferrari
- 1960 : Jack Brabham - (Australia) Cooper-Climax
- 1961 : Giancarlo Baghelti - (Italy) Ferrari
- 1962 : Dan Gurney - (United States) Porsche
- 1963 : Jim Clark - (Scotland) Lotus-Climax
- 1964 : Dan Gurney - (United States) Brabham-Climax
- 1965 : Jim Clark - (Scotland) Lotus-Climax
- 1966 : Jack Brabham - (Australia) Brabham-Repco
- 1967 : Jack Brabham - (Australia) Brabham-Repco
- 1968 : Jacky Ickx - (Belgium) Ferrari
- 1969 : Jackie Stewart - (Scotland) Matra-Ford
- 1970 : Jochen Rindt - (Austria) Lotus-Ford
- 1971 : Jackie Stewart - (Scotland) Tyrrell-Ford
- 1972 : Jackie Stewart - (Scotland) Tyrrell-Ford
- 1973 : Ronnie Peterson - (Sweden) Lotus-Ford
- 1974 : Ronnie Peterson - (Sweden) Lotus-Ford
- 1975 : Niki Lauda - (Austria) Ferrari
- 1976 : James Hunt - (England) McLaren-Ford
- 1977 : Mario Andretti - ((United States) Lotus-Ford
- 1978 : Mario Andretti - (United States) Lotus-Ford
- 1979 : Jean-Pierre Jabouille - (France) Renault
- 1980 : Alan Jones - (Australia) Williams-Ford
- 1981 : Alain Prost - (France) Renault
- 1982 : René Arnoux - (France) Renault
- 1983 : Alain Prost - (France) Renault
- 1984 : Niki Lauda - (Austria) McLaren-TAG
- 1985 : Nelson Piquet - (Brazil) Brabham-BMW
- 1986 : Nigel Mansell - (England) Williams-Honda
- 1987 : Nigel Mansell - (England) Williams-Honda
- 1988 : Alain Prost - (France) McLaren-Honda
- 1989 : Alain Prost - (France) McLaren-Honda
- 1990 : Alain Prost - (France) Ferrari
- 1991 : Nigel Mansell - (England) Williams-Renault
- 1992 : Nigel Mansell - (England) Williams-Renault
- 1993 : Alain Prost - (France) Williams-Renault
- 1994 : Michael Schumacher - (Germany) Benetton-Ford
- 1995 : Michael Schumacher - (Germany) Benetton-Renault
- 1996 : Damon Hill - (England) Williams-Renault
- 1997 : Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari
- 1998 : Michael Schumacher - (Germany) Ferrari
- 1999 : Heinz Harald Frentzen - (Germany) Jordan-Mugen-Honda
- 2000 : David Coulthard - (Scotland) McLaren-Mercedes
- 2001 : Michael Schumacher - (Germany) Ferrari
- 2002 : Michael Schumacher - (Germany) Ferrari
- 2003 : Ralf Schumacher - (Germany) Williams BMW
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French Grand Prix."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The département of Guiana or French Guiana (French Guyane), is an overseas département (département d'outre-mer, or DOM) of France, located on the Caribbean coast of South America.
First settled by the French in 1604, French Guiana was the site of notorious penal settlements (see Devil's Island) until 1951. The European Space Agency launches its satellites from Centre Spatial Guyanais, Kourou.
The capital is Cayenne.
As part of France, French Guiana is part of the European Union, the largest part (in area) outside Europe and the only part outside Europe that is not an island.
From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified.
- History of French Guiana
- Geography of French Guiana
- Demographics of French Guiana
- Politics of French Guiana
- Economy of French Guiana
- Communications in French Guiana
- Transportation in French Guiana
- Military of French Guiana
- Foreign relations of French Guiana
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French Guiana."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Cajun, a variant of French, is spoken in some parts of Louisiana (that was a colony of France from 1682 to 1762, then, part of Spain (1762-1803) and finally, USA). There are French Canadian settlers in parts of northern New England, as well. More than 13 million Americans declare to have French ancestors, but only 1.5 million speak that language.See also:
- Bilingual education
- Chinese in the United States
- German in the United States
- Languages in the United States.
- Spanish in the United States
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French in the United States."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
French (la langue française) is one of the most important Romance languages, outnumbered only by Spanish and Portuguese. French is the 11th most spoken language in the world, spoken by about 77 million people as a mother tongue, and 128 million including second language speakers, in 1999. It is an official or administrative language in various communities and organizations (such as the European Union, IOC, United Nations and Universal Postal Union).
History
Although in the past many Frenchmen liked to refer to their descent from Gallic ancestors ("Nos ancêtres les gaulois"), very little Celtic influence seems to remain in the French of today. Most of the vocabulary is of Latin and Germanic (Frankish) origin.
Originally, many dialects and languages were spoken throughout contemporary French territory (among them were several langue d'Oïl dialects, like Picard, Valon, etc.), Occitan dialects (Gascon, Provençal, etc.), Breton, Basque, Catalan, Low German, etc., but over time the dialect of the Ile-de-France (the region around Paris), Francien, has supplanted the others and has become the basis for the official French language. The earliest text in French is the Oath of Strasbourg from 842; the period of the language up to around 1300 is called Old French, which after 1300 turned into Middle French, and ultimately, Modern French. Old French became a literary language with the chansons de geste that told tales of the paladins of Charlemagne and the heroes of the Crusades. By the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts, in 1539 King Francis I made French the official language of administration and court proceedings in France, ousting the Latin that had been used before then.
The worldwide use of French
French is an official language in the following countries:
country native speakers population pop. dens. area (rough est.) (July 2003 est.) (/km²) (km²) France (Metropolitan) 60,000,000 60,180,600 105 547,030 Democratic Republic of the Congo 55,225,478 24 2,345,410 Canada 6,700,000 32,207,000 3 9,976,140 Madagascar 16,979,900 - 587,040 Côte d'Ivoire 16,962,500 - 322,460 Cameroon 15,746,200 - 422,277 Burkina Faso 13,228,500 - 274,200 Mali 11,626,300 - 1,240,000 Senegal 10,580,400 - 196,190 Belgium 4,000,000 10,290,000 - 30,510 Rwanda 7,810,100 - 26,338 Haiti 7,527,800 - 27,750 Switzerland (millions) 7,318,638 - 41,290 Burundi 6,096,156 - 27,830 Togo 5,429,300 - 56,785 Central African Republic 3,683,600 - 622,984 Republic of the Congo 2,954,300 - 342,000 Gabon 1,321,500 - 267,667 Comoros 632,948 - 2,170 Djibouti 457,130
- 23,000 Luxembourg 454,157 - 2,586 Guadeloupe 442,200 - 1,780 Martinique 390,200 - 1,100 Vanuatu 200,000 - 12,200 Seychelles 80,469 - 455 Although not official, French is the major second language in the following countries.
country population pop. dens. area (July 2003 est.) (/km²) (km²)
Algeria 32,810,500 - 2,381,440 Tunisia 9,924,800 - 163,610 Mauritius 1,210,500 - 2,040 Morocco 31,689,600 - 446,550 Also, there are some French-speakers in Egypt, India (Pondicherry), Italy (Aosta Valley), Laos, Mauritania, United Kingdom (Channel Islands), United States of America (mainly Louisiana & New England) and Vietnam.
La Francophonie is an international organization of French-speaking countries and governments.
Historically, for nearly 300 years French was also the language of the ruling classes and commerce in England, from the time of the Norman Conquest until 1362, when the use of English was resumed.
French Phonemes
French spelling is by no means phonetic. Terminal consonants have often become silent in most dialects, unless followed by a vowel sound (liaison) or silent altogether (e.g., "et" is never pronounced with the ending "t"). In many words, the "n" and "m" become silent and cause the preceding vowel to become nasalized (i.e. pronounced with the soft palate extended downward so as to cause the air to leave through the nostrils instead of through the mouth). Furthermore, French words tend to run together when spoken, with ending consonants often being chained to the start of the next word.
Rounded
i y u
e 2 o
E 9 O
a A
E~9~o~
ã
Note: /A/ is for many speakers no longer a phoneme. Whether /@/ (Schwa) is a phoneme of French is controversial. Some see it as an allophone of /9/
Plosives
/p, b/
/k, g/
/t, d/
Fricatives
/s, z/
/f, v/
/S, Z/
Nasals
/m, n, n_j/ For some speakers, /n_j/ is probably /n/ + /j/
Lateral
/l/
Vibrant
/r/ (Uvular trill)
Semi-vowel
/j/
Some common phrases
See also:
- French: français /frA~ sE/ ("fron-seh")
- hello: bonjour /bO~ Zur/ ("bon-zhoor")
- good-bye: au revoir /o r@ vwar/ ("o-ruh-vwar")
- please: s'il vous plaît /sil vu plE/ ("seel voo pleh")
- thank you: merci /mEr si/ ("mair-see")
- you're welcome: de rien /dœ riE~/ ("deu ryeh") (France); bienvenue /bjE~v@ny/ ("byeh-venew") (Quebec)
- that one: celui-là ("sull-wee la") or celle-là /s@ la/ ("cell-la")
- how much?: combien /kO~ bjE~/ ("kom-bee-an")
- English: anglais /A~ glE/ ("ahng-gleh")
- yes: oui /wi/ ("wee")
- no: non /nO~/ ("non")
- I'm sorry: Je suis désolé ("zhuh swee day-so-lay")
- I don't understand: Je ne comprends pas /Z@~ co~'pRA~ 'pa/ ("zhuh nuh comprahn pa")
- Where is the toilet?: Où sont les toilettes? /u sO~ lE twa lEt/ ("ooh song lay twa-let")
- Cheers (toast to someone's health): A votre santé /sA~te/ ("a votr(uh) sahn-TAY")
- Do you speak English?: Parlez-vous anglais ? /par lE vu A~ glE/ ("parlay voo ahng-glay") OR "Vous parlez anglais ?" /vu par lE A~ glE/ ("voo parlay ahng-lay")
- Académie Française
- French phrases used by English speakers
- French proverbs
- Common phrases in different languages
- Verlan
Grammar
The verb
There are three main verb categories, verbs ending in -er, -ir and -re.
French verbs are commonly conjugated in five simple tenses and five compound tenses. They are also conjugated in the "literary" or "historic" tenses, each of which have a commonly used equivalent tense. These literary tenses are used often in literature and history. There are two simple literary tenses and three compound literary tenses.
The commonly used simple tenses are: the present tense (le présent), the imperfect (l'imparfait), the future (le futur), the present subjunctive (le subjonctif) and the present conditional (le conditionnel).
The commonly conjugated compound tenses are the perfect (le passé composé), the pluperfect (le plus-que-parfait), the future perfect (le futur antérieur), the imperfect subjunctive (le subjonctif passé) and the past conditional (le conditionnel passé).
The perfect is the tense in common use used to describe actions that were started and completed in the past. The imperfect is the tense used to describe actions that were ongoing or continuous in the past or to describe habitual or repetitive action. The present and past subjunctives are used to describe doubt, emotions, possibilities and events which may or may not occur.
The simple literary tenses are the simple past or past historic (le passé simple), replaced in ordinary language by the perfect tense, and the imperfect subjunctive (l'imparfait du subjonctif), replaced in ordinary language by the present subjunctive.
The compound literary tenses are the past anterior (le passé antérieur), usually replaced by the pluperfect; the pluperfect subjunctive (le plus-que-parfait du subjonctif), usually replaced by the past subjunctive; and a second form of the past conditional.
Of the literary tenses, only the past historic tends to be used commonly any more. While grammatical distinctions were lost when the literary tenses fell out of common usage, the distinctions were not important enough for confusion to result.
Aside from these tenses, there is an imperative, a participle, and the infinitive, each of which can be inflected for tense (present and past), although the past imperative is quite rare.
Compound tense auxiliary verbs
In French, all compound tenses are formed with an auxiliary verb (either être "to be" or avoir "to have"). Most verbs use avoir as their auxiliary verb. The exceptions are sixteen commonly used verbs of motion and all reflexive verbs.
The distinction between the two auxiliary verbs is important for the correct formation of the compound tenses and is also essential to the agreement of the past participle.
The past participle
The past participle is used in French as both an adjective and to form all the compound tenses of the language. When it is used as an adjective, it follows all the regular agreement rules of the language, but when it is used in compound tenses, it follows special agreement rules.
-er verbs form the participle by changing the -er ending to -é, -ir verbs by changing -ir to -i, and -re verbs by changing to -u. Therefore, the past participle of parler, "to speak", is parlé; for finir, "to finish", fini, and for vendre, "to sell", vendu.
The rules of agreement for past participles differ for avoir verbs and être verbs (see "Compound tense auxiliary verbs"). For avoir verbs, the past participle does not agree with the subject unless the direct object comes before the verb, either in the form of a pronoun or a relative clause using que.
For the sixteen commonly used être verbs, the past participle always agrees with the subject. For reflexive verbs, the past participle generally agrees with the subject, unless there is a direct object to the reflexive verb.
Legal issues
France
France mandates the use of French in official government publications, education (though these dispositions are often ignored) and legal contracts; avertisements must bear a translation of foreign words. Contrary to a myth common in the American and British media, France does not prohibit the use of foreign words in Web pages or any other private publication, which would anyway contradict constitutional guarantees on freedom of speech.
Canada
French is one of Canada's two official languages, with English; various provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms deal with the right of Canadians to access services in French. By law, the federal government must operate and provide services in both English and French; proceedings of the Parliament of Canada must be translated into both English and French; and all Canadian products must be labelled in both English and French.French is an official language of New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut, and is the sole official language of Quebec. The Quebec government enforces certain laws regarding the status of French in the province, including requirements for the use of French in businesses of a certain size; precedence of French-language outdoor signs over English-language ones in commercial settings; and requirements for French-language education for children. Policy regarding the French language in Quebec is the department of the Office québécois de la langue française.
Varieties of French
- Belgian French
- Québécois French
- Acadian French
Languages derived from French
- Haitian Creole
- Michif
External links
- Académie Française
- French Pronunciation
- Ethnologue report for French
- Beginning French Vocabulary
- Free online resources for learners
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French language."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
French literature is literature written by French authors or literature written in the French language.
Fine examples include
- The writings of Michel de Montaigne, "inventor" of the essay form.
- The Fables of La Fontaine.
- The Red And The Black by Stendhal.
- Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais.
- Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac.
- Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert.
- Germinal by Emile Zola.
- Stephane Mallarme
- André Malraux
- Denis Diderot
- Jean Racine
- Pierre Loti
Literary criticism
- Roland Barthes
- Jacques Derrida
- Jean-Francois Lyotard / Jean-François Lyotard
- Julia Kristeva
- Jacques Lacan
Poetry
- Parnassian
See also:
List of French language poets, List of French language authors
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French literature."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French national football team won the FIFA World Cup once in 1998, when France was the host of the event. The team is generally considered to be one of the stronger sides to participate in international football.France's national football association is called the Fédération Française de Football, and is a member of UEFA.
Honors
- World Cupss (1) - 1998
- European Championship (2) - 1984, 2000
Famous Players
- Michel Platini
- Zinédine Zidane
- Marcel Desailly
- Laurent Blanc
- Raymond Kopa
- Just Fontaine
- Didier Deschamps
- Eric Cantona
- Christian Karembeu
- Fabien Barthez
- Thierry Henry
- Bixente Lizarazu
- Patrick Vieira
- Robert Pires
- Lilian Thuram
- David Trezeguet
- Sylvain Wiltord
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French national football team."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French Open (or the Roland Garros) tennis tournament, held from the middle of May to the beginning of June in Paris, France, is the second of the world's Grand Slam in tennis tournaments. The tournament started on 1891 and has been held every year since.
The most unique characteristic of the French Open is the red clay surface, one which alters the ball's bounce and the player's approach to the match.
Year held Singles Men Singles Women 2003
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
1995
1994
1993
1992
1991
1990
1989
1988
1987
1986
1985
1984
1983
1982
1981
1980
1979
1978
1977
1976
1975
1974
1973
1972
1971
1970
1969
1968
1967
1966
1965
1964
1963
1962
1961
1960
1959
1958
1957
1956
1955
1954
1953
1952
1951
1950
1949
1948
1947
1946
1945
1944
1943
1942
1941
1940
1939
1938
1937
1936
1935
1934
1933
1932
1931
1930
1929
1928
1927
1926
1925
Juan Carlos Ferrero
Albert Costa
Gustavo Kuerten
Gustavo Kuerten
Andre Agassi
Carlos Moya
Gustavo Kuerten
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Thomas Muster
Sergi Bruguera
Sergi Bruguera
Jim Courier
Jim Courier
Andres Gomez
Michael Chang
Mats Wilander
Ivan Lendl
Ivan Lendl
Mats Wilander
Ivan Lendl
Yannick Noah
Mats Wilander
Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg
Guillermo Vilas
Adriano Panatta
Bjorn Borg
Bjorn Borg
Ilie Nastase
Andres Gimeno
Jan Kodes
Jan Kodes
Rod Laver
Ken Rosewall
Roy Emerson
Tony Roche
Fred Stolle
Manuel Santana
Roy Emerson
Rod Laver
Manuel Santana
Nicola Pietrangeli
Nicola Pietrangeli
Mervyn Rose
Sven Davidson
Lew Hoad
Tony Trabert
Tony Trabert
Ken Rosewall
Jaroslav Drobny
Jaroslav Drobny
Budge Patty
Frank Parker
Frank Parker
Joseph Asboth
Marcel Bernard
Yvon Petra
Yvon Petra
Yvon Petra
Bernard Destremau
Bernard Destremau
not held
Don McNeill
Don Budge
Henner Henkel
Gottfried von Cramm
Fred Perry
Gottfried von Cramm
John Crawford
Henri Cochet
Jean Borotra
Henri Cochet
Rene Lacoste
Henri Cochet
Rene Lacoste
Henri Cochet
Rene Lacoste
Justine Henin-Hardenne
Serena Williams
Jennifer Capriati
Mary Pierce
Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Iva Majoli
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Steffi Graf
Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Martina Navratilova
Chris Evert
Martina Navratilova
Hana Mandlikova
Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Virginia Ruzici
Mima Jausovec
Sue Barker
Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Margaret Smith Court
Billie Jean King
Evonne Goolagong
Margaret Smith Court
Margaret Smith Court
Nancy Richey
Francoise Durr
Ann Haydon Jones
Lesley Turner
Margaret Smith
Lesley Turner
Margaret Smith
Ann Haydon
Darlene Hard
Christine Truman
Zsuzsi Kormoczy
Shirley Bloomer
Althea Gibson
Angela Mortimer
Maureen Connolly
Maureen Connolly
Doris Hart
Shirley Fry
Doris Hart
Margaret Osborne dupont
Nelly Landry
Patricia Todd
Margaret Osborne
not held
not held
not held
not held
not held
not held
Simone Mathieu
Simone Mathieu
Hilde Sperling
Hilde Sperling
Hilde Sperling
Margaret Scriven
Margaret Scriven
Helen Wills Moody
Cilly Ausem
Helen Wills Moody
Helen Wills
Helen Wills
Kea Bouman
Suzanne Lenglen
Suzanne Lenglen
External link
- Roland Garros official website
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French Open."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The French Revolution is a period in the history of France covering the years 1789-1799, in which the monarchy was overthrown and radical restructuring was forced upon the Roman Catholic Church.
Causes
France in 1789 was still one of the richest and most powerful nations in Europe. Other than Britain and the Netherlands the French people had more freedom and less chance of arbitrary punishment than in any other nation in Europe. The King of France, Louis XVI was overthrown in a popular rebellion, caused by a variety of reasons:
- the absolutist system of government
- rampant discourse on enlightenment ideals
- an unmanageable debt
- the system of taxation
- food scarcity
Absolutism
The French system of absolute monarchy mingled with a large and growing middle class that had absorbed the ideology of equality and freedom of the individual, brought about by such philosophers as Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Turgot, and other theorists of the Enlightenment. They attacked the undemocratic nature of the government, pushed for freedom of speech, challenged the Catholic Church, and the prerogatives of the nobles. There was virtually no representation for the lower and middle classes in government and the French parliament (Estates-General) had not met since 1614.
Economics
Debt
This was compounded by the long running fiscal crisis of the French government. Extravagant expenditures by Louis XIV on luxuries such as Versailles were compounded by heavy expenditures on the Seven Years War and the American War of Independence. This put France deeply into debt; Britain too had a great of debt from these conflicts, but Britain had a far more advanced fiscal structure to deal with it. There was no counterpart to the Bank of England in France in 1789 and there was also far less ready capital in France as it was nearly as much a trading nation as was Britain.
Taxation
Unlike the trading nation France could not rely almost solely on tariffs to generate income. While average tax rates were higher in Britain the burden on the people was greater in France. Taxation relied on a system of internal tariffs separating the regions of France, this prevented a unified market from developing in the country. Taxes such as the extremely unpopular gabelle were contracted out to private collectors who were permitted to raise far more than the government requested. These systems led to an arbitrary and unequal collection of many of France's consumption taxes.The system also excluded the nobles and the clergy from having to pay taxes. The tax burden was thus paid by the peasants and the professional and business classes. These groups were also cut off from most positions of power in the regime.
Other Causes
Feudalism
These problems were compounded by the remnants of feudalism which gave nobles a number of rights, such as large hunting preserves, that annoyed the rest of the population.
American Influence
France had played a deciding role in the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) sending its navy and troops to aid the revolting colonists. During this time there was much contact between the Americans and the French, and revolutionary ideals spread between the groups.
Food Scarcity
These problems were all compounded by a great scarcity of food in the 1780s. Different crop failures in the 1780s caused these shortages, which of course led to high prices for bread. Perhaps no cause more motivated the Paris mob that was the engine of the revolution more than the shortage of bread. The poor conditions on the countryside had forced rural residents to move into Paris, and the city was overcrowded and filled with the hungry and disaffected. The peasants suffered doubly from the economic and agricultural problems.
History
During the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI different ministers tried to tax the nobles. Such measures encountered much resistance from the parlements (law courts), which the nobility dominated. When in 1788 all attempts had failed, King Louis XVI decided to summon a meeting of the Estates-General, the first since 1614, which he scheduled for May 1789. The King tried to make the Estates meet in a modern way but the parlements decided that the Estates-General would meet in the same way as it met in 1614: in different chambers for every class. But society had changed. The bourgeoisie had grown in the last 200 years and money lay in their hands. Now they had the chance to seize the power they wanted to have.Right from the beginning the Estates-General were divided about what to do. Instead of discussing the taxes of the king, they began to discuss the way in which decisions should be made. The Third Estate wanted the Estates to meet as one body and vote per person, not per class. When the King doubtfully rejected this idea, the members of the Third Estate declared themselves the National Assembly, the true representatives of the people. In the Tennis Court Oath, they swore that they wouldn't disperse until France had a new constitution.
Under the influence of conservative nobles the king decided to send troops to Versailles to disperse the Assembly. The people saw this as a provocation and the poor labourers of Paris attacked the Bastille.
The storming of the Bastille prison on July 14th, 1789, is commemorated today as Bastille Day. Although only seven prisoners were released -- four forgers, two lunatics, and a dangerous sexual offender -- it became a potent symbol of all that was hated of the ancien régime. After this violent act nobles started to flee the country.
In August the Assembly abolished feudalism and published the Declaration of the Rights of Man; in 1790, the Civil Constitution of the Clergy was passed, confiscating the Church's French land holdings and making it a department of state. New paper money was introduced in that same year, causing high inflation. The King tried to flee in June 1791 to join the nobles in exile, but his flight to Varennes did not succeed. He reluctantly accepted the new constitution in September 1791, which made France a constitutional monarchy. The king had to share power with the elected National Assembly, but he still retained his royal veto and the ability to pick ministers.
New factions emerged such as the Feuillants (constitutional monarchists), Girondins (liberal republicans) and Jacobins (radical revolutionaries). The King, the Feuillants and the Girondins wanted to wage war. The King wanted war to become popular or be defeated: both actions would make him stronger. The Girondins wanted to export the Revolution through Europe. France declared war on Austria (April 20, 1792) and Prussia started participating on the Austrian side a few weeks later. The French Revolutionary Wars had begun.
The Franco-Prussian Battle of Valmy that took place on September 20, 1792 was the first significant military engagement of the French Revolutionary Wars. Although heavy rain prevented a conclusive resolution, the superiority of French artillery was evident. Nonetheless, fighting went badly and prices rose sky-high. In August 1792 a mob assaulted the Royal Palace in Paris and arrested the King. On September 21, 1792 monarchy was abolished and a republic declared. The French Revolutionary Calendar commenced.
The legislative power in the new republic was vested in the National Convention, while the executive power was vested in the Committee of Public Safety. The Girondins became the most influential party in the Convention and on the Committee.
On January 21, 1793 King Louis was executed with a Convention majority of 361 to 360 (only 1 vote!). The execution caused more wars with European countries.
When war went badly, prices rose and the sans-culottes (poor laborers and radical Jacobins) rioted and counter-revolutionary activities began in some regions. This caused the Jacobins to seize power through a parliamentary coup. The Committee of Public Safety came under the control of Maximilien Robespierre. The Jacobins unleashed the Reign of Terror. Thousands of innocent people found the death under the guillotine after accusations of counter-revolutionary activities. In 1794 Robespierre had ultraradicals and moderate Jacobins executed, so eliminating popular support. On July 27, 1794, the French people revolted against the excesses of the Reign of Terror in what had become known as the Thermidorian Reaction. It resulted in Robespierre and several other leadings members of the Committee of Public Safety being deposed and executed by moderate Convention members.
In 1795 a new constitution was drafted, which installed the Directoire. The executive power became vested in five directors who were annually appointed by a bicameral parliament (500 representatives and 250 senators). The new regime met with opposition from remaining Jacobins and royalists. Riots and counter-revolutionary activities were suppressed by the army. In this way the army and its successful general, Napoleon Bonaparte gained much power.
On November 9, 1799 Napoleon staged a coup which led to his dictatorship and eventually to his proclamation as emperor, which brought the specifically republican phase of the French Revolution to a close.
See also
- French Revolutionary Calendar
- French Revolutionary Wars
- Timeline of the French Revolution
Further reading
- Chronicle of the French Revolution - (1989) By Jean Favier, Director of the French Archives in Paris, France with Anik Blaise, Serge Cosseron, and Jacques Legrand in cooperation with more than 35 historians/authors
External links
- The French Revolution - a fictive diary, written for students
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French Revolution."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
French-Canadian is a term that refers to a francophone inhabitant of Canada. Francophone Canadians may be found across Canada, although the largest concentration of French speakers is to be found in Quebec (95%). Roughly 23% of Canadian citizens are French-speaking and 25% are of French descent. Not all French-speakers are of French descent, especially in modern-day Quebec.The French were among the first Europeans to colonize Canada. (See French colonization of the Americas.) Their colonies of New France stretched across what today are the Maritime provinces, southern Quebec and Ontario, as well as the entire Mississippi River Valley. The first permanent European settlement in Canada was at Quebec City. The territories of New France were Canada, Acadia, and Louisiana. The inhabitants of Canada called themselves the Canadiens, the inhabitants of Acadia, the Acadiens, and the inhabitants of Louisiana, the Louisianais.
After the 1760 British conquest of New France in the French and Indian War, the French Canadian population remained important in the life of the colonies.
The British, who had gained Acadia by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), deported 75% of the Acadian population to other British colonies at the beginning of the French and Indian War. The French Canadians escaped this fate in part because of the capitulation act that made them British subjects. It took the 1774 Quebec Act for them to regain the French civil law system, and in 1791 French Canadians in Lower Canada were introduced to the British parliamentarianism system when an elected Legislative Assembly was created.
The Legislative Assembly having no real power, the political situation degenerated into the Patriotes Rebellion of 1837 to 1838, after which Lower Canada and Upper Canada were unified. One of the motivations for the union was to limit French Canadian political power. After many decades of British immigration, the Canadiens became a minority in the Province of Canada in the 1850s.
French Canadian contributions were essential in securing responsible government for the Canadas and in undertaking Canadian Confederation. However, over the course of the late 19th and 20th centuries, French Canadians' discontent grew with their place in Canada. (See Quebec, History of Canada and Politics of Canada.)
Since 1968 French has been one of Canada's two official languages. It is the sole official language of Quebec and one of the official languages of New Brunswick, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
A number of distinct groups of French Canadians may be identified. The largest is the Quebecois, the majority of whom no longer self-identify as Canadien-français (French Canadians). Others include:
and there are smaller populations in every other province, territory, and the United States. The Acadians and Métis are usually not classified as French Canadians, but as distinct francophone peoples. Aside from the Acadians and the Cajuns, most francophones of North America are from Quebec or France.
- Franco-Albertains;
- Franco-Ontariens;
- Franco-Manitobains;
- Fransaskois;
Francophone cultures are an integral part of Canadian culture and Canadian literature.
Many French Canadians are the descendants of the King's Daughters.
The dialects of French spoken in Canada are quite distinctive compared to those of France. See Canadian French.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "French-Canadian."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Poets who have written in the French language:
Surrealist Poets
- Guillaume Apollinaire
- Charles-Pierre Baudelaire
- Octave Crémazie
- Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux
- Jean Chapelain
- René Char
- Chrétien de Troyes
- Paul Claudel
- Jean Cocteau
- Jean Daurat
- Christine de Pisan
- Pontus de Tyard
- Joachim du Bellay
- Antoine Héroet
- Louise Labé
- François de Malherbe
- Stéphane Mallarmé
- Clément Marot
- Henri Michaux
- Jacques Prévert
- Raymond Queneau
- Pierre de Ronsard
- Victor Hugo
- Melin de Saint-Gelais
- Saint-Denys Garneau
- Maurice Scève
- Léopold Senghor
- François Villon
- Vincent Voiture
- Robert Wace
Symbolist Poets
- Louis Aragon
- André Breton
- René Daumal
- Paul Éluard
See also: French literature, List of French language authors, List of French novelists, List of French people, List of Canadians
- Charles Baudelaire
- Tristan Corbière
- Jules Laforgue
- Comte de Lautréamont
- Stéphane Mallarmé
- Gérard de Nerval
- Arthur Rimbaud
- Paul Valéry
- Paul Verlaine
- Émile Nelligan
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of French language poets."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
French language television channels include the following :
- AB1 - Private
- Arte - Public Franco/German (see also List of German language television channels)
- Euronews - in seven languages
- RTBF - Public, Belgium
- RTL9 - Private
- TSR1 - Public, Switzerland
- TSR2 - Public, Switzerland
- TV5 - global diffusion of national programming by France 2, France 3, RTBF, TSR, TéléQuébec, Arte
France
- State Channels
- TF1 - Private
- France 2 - Public
- France 3 - Public
- France 5 - Public
- M6 - Private
- Canal+ - Private
- Digital Channels
- Cartoon Network (French Language)*, * some may be broadcast outside France.
Belgium
(see also: List of television stations in Belgium)
- Terrestrial Channels:
- La Une
- La Deux
Canada
(and the Americas)
- See also: List of Canadian television channels
See also: Lists of television channels
- Terrestrial Channels
- Société Radio-Canada (SRC) - Public
- Réseau de l'Information - Public
- TVA - Quebec-based private network.
- Télévision Quatre Saisons (TQS) - Quebec-based private network.
- Tele-Quebec, educational channel run by the Quebec government.
- TFO - Ontario public channel
- Digital channels
- Ecran - movie channel
- RDS - French speaking sports channel
- Vrak - family/children
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of French language television channels."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Famous French or French-speaking/writing people
Actors/Actresses
- Isabelle Adjani
- Renée Adorée
- Anouk Aimée
- Antonin Artaud, actor, playwright, poet, essayist
- Fanny Ardant
- Jean-Pierre Aumont
- Daniel Auteuil
- Charles Aznavour
- Brigitte Bardot
- Emmanuelle Béart
- Jean-Paul Belmondo
- Charles Berling
- Sarah Bernhardt
- Juliette Binoche, Academy Award for role in The English patient
- Bourvil
- Charles Boyer
- Guillaume Canet
- Capucine
- Leslie Caron
- Maurice Chevalier
- Aurore Clément
- Claudette Colbert
- Alain Delon
- Julie Delpy
- Catherine Deneuve
- Gérard Depardieu
- Fernandel
- Louis de Funès
- Jean Gabin
- Annie Girardot
- Judith Godrèche
- Eva Green
- Isabelle Huppert
- Irène Jacob
- Valérie Kaprisky
- Virginie Ledoyen
- Marcel Marceau
- Sophie Marceau, Princess Isabelle in Braveheart, a "Bond" Girl
- Jean Marais
- Miou-Miou
- Mistinguett
- Yves Montand
- Jeanne Moreau
- Michèle Morgan
- Michel Piccoli
- Pierre Richard
- Jean Rochefort
- Emmanuelle Seigner
- Simone Signoret
- Audrey Tautou
- Jean-Louis Trintignant
- Marie Trintignant
- Michael Vartan
- Hervé Villechaize
Architects
- Le Corbusier
- Étienne-Louis Boullée
- Fontaine architect
- Hector Guimard
- Charles Percier
- Claude Nicolas Ledoux
- Eugène Viollet-le-Duc
Authors
See also: French language authors, French language poets, French novelists
- Marcel Achard -- playwright and scriptwriter
- Jean Anouilh -- 20th century dramatist
- Guillaume Apollinaire -- (born Russian) poet
- Honoré de Balzac -- realist author
- Henri Barbusse
- Charles Baudelaire, 19th century poet
- Pierre Beaumarchais, comedy playwright
- Simone de Beauvoir -- 20th century author
- Henri Bergson -- Nobel Prize Winner
- Georges Bernanos
- Tristan Bernard
- Pierre Boulle
- Albert Camus -- existentialist author
- Louis-Ferdinand Céline -- 20th century author
- Aimé Césaire-- 20th century author
- René Char, 20th century poet
- François-René de Chateaubriand
- Jean Cocteau -- 20th century poet and playwright
- Colette-- 20th century author
- Benjamin Constant
- Pierre Corneille -- classicist playwright
- Alexandre Dumas, père, Author
- Alexandre Dumas, fils -- Playwright/author
- Marguerite Duras - 20th century novelist
- Paul Eluard
- Frantz Fanon -- 20th century author, psychiatrist
- Léon-Paul Fargue
- Georges Feydeau
- Alain Finkielkraut - essayist
- Gustave Flaubert -- realist author
- Anatole France
- Marie de France -- poet
- Romain Gary
- Jean Genet
- André Gide, Nobel Prize Winner
- Jean Giraudoux
- Françoise Giroud
- Victor Hugo -- novelist, poet, and playwright
- Eugène Ionesco
- Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
- Jean de La Fontaine
- Leconte de Lisle -- parnassian poet
- Alphonse de Lamartine
- Stéphane Mallarmé -- poet
- André Malraux
- Pierre de Marivaux - playwright
- Clément Marot -- poet
- Guy de Maupassant novelist
- François Mauriac - Roman Catholic writer
- Prosper Mérimée - 19th century novelist
- Jean Baptiste Poquelin dit Molière -- 17th century comedic playwright and actor
- Alfred de Musset -- 19th century poet
- Anaïs Nin
- Marcel Pagnol
- Charles Péguy -- 20th century poet
- Charles Perrault -- Mother Goose Tales
- Saint-John Perse
- Christine de Pizan, historian, poet, philosopher
- Jacques Prevert -- 20th century poet
- Marcel Proust -- novelist
- François Rabelais -- Renaissance writer
- Jean Racine -- classicist playwright
- Pauline Reage, novelist
- Arthur Rimbaud -- symbolist poet
- Edmond Rostand -- neo-romantic playwright
- Jean-Jacques Rousseau -- author
- Marquis de Sade -- erotic and philosophic author
- George Sand -- feminist author
- Madame de Sévigné
- Madame de Staël
- Antoine de Saint-Exupery , humanist author and aviators.
- Stendhal -- novelist (born Henry Beyle)
- Paul Valéry -- 20th century poet
- Paul Verlaine -- symbolist poet
- Jules Verne -- novelist
- Boris Vian -- 20th century author
- Alfred de Vigny -- 19th century poet
- Jean-Marie Arouet dit Voltaire -- Enlightenment author, deist/agnostic philosopher
- Émile Zola -- naturalist author
Aviators
- Clément Ader
- Jacqueline Auriol
- Louis Blériot
- Henry Farman
- Georges Guynemer
- Jean Mermoz
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, humanist author and aviators.
Composers
- Georges Auric
- Hector Berlioz
- Georges Bizet -- composer of Carmen
- Pierre Boulez -- avant garde composer
- Marc Antoine Charpentier
- François Couperin
- Claude Debussy -- Impressionist composer
- Paul Dukas -- composer of The Sorcerer's Apprentice
- Gabriel Fauré
- César Franck -- also considered Belgian
- Reynaldo Hahn
- Pierre Henry -- writer of musique concrete and electronic music
- Jean-Michel Jarre
- Maurice Jarre -- film music composer
- Michel Legrand
- Jean François Lesueur
- Jean Baptiste Lully, court composer to Louis XIV
- Darius Milhaud
- Jacques Offenbach -- noted for his operettas
- Francis Poulenc
- Jean Philippe Rameau
- Maurice Ravel
- Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle -- composer of "La Marseillaise", French National Anthem
- Edmond Roussel
- Camille Saint-Saëns
- Erik Satie composer of Musiques d'ameublement
- Pierre Schaeffer -- inventor of musique concrete
- Les Six -- group of composers
- Germaine Tailleferre
- Charles-Marie Widor
Criminals
For Collaboration with Nazi Germany see also the politicians section.
- Jules Bonnot
- Henri Désiré Landru -- serial killer
- Jacques Mesrine
- Maurice Papon -- politician and war criminal
- Marcel Petiot -- serial killer
- Paul Touvier -- The only Frenchman convicted of crime against humanity
Dancers
- Roland Petit
- See Moulin Rouge and Folies Bergeres
Economists
- Alain Lipietz -- green economist
Fashion
- Liliane Bettencourt, majority owner of L'Oreal, wealthiest person in France
- Coco Chanel -- fashion designer
- Edouard de Givenchy
- Christian Dior -- fashion designer
- Jean-Paul Gaultier
- Madame Grey
- Daniel Hechter -- inventor of ready-to-wear
- Paul Poiret
- Yves Saint-Laurent -- fashion designer
Fictional characters
- Asterix, Obelix and Idefix (René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo) -- Gaul warriors
- Tintin (Hergé) -- Belgian reporter
- Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan (Alexandre Dumas) -- Musketeers of the King of France
- Cyrano de Bergerac (Edmond Rostand) -- not fictional but there's no better category ;)
- Rastignac (Honore de Balzac) -- The most ambitious man in Paris?
- The Man in the Iron Mask -- Not fictional either, but who know who he was?
- Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie) -- a Belgian private detective.
Filmmakers
- Jean-Jacques Beineix
- Luc Besson
- Bertrand Blier
- Robert Bresson
- André Cayatte
- Jean Cocteau
- Jacque Cousteau -- inventor of the modern aqua lung
- Jacques Demy
- Abel Gance
- Jean-Luc Godard
- Patrice Leconte
- Claude Lelouch
- Louis Malle
- André Malraux
- Georges Méliès
- Maurice Pialat
- Roman Polanski
- Jean Renoir
- Alain Resnais
- Alain Sarde
- Jacques Tati
- François Truffaut, director
- Roger Vadim -- director
Humorists
- Coluche
- Francis Blanche
- Pierre Dac humorist and Resistance worker
- Pierre Desproges
Monarchs
See also French monarchs, members of the French Royal Families
- Charlemagne
- Henri IV
- Louis XIV, the Sun King -- King of France
- Louis XVI -- King of France when the Revolution started.
- Marie Antoinette -- Austrian born Queen of France, wife of Louis XVI.
- Napoléon Bonaparte and Joséphine de Beauharnais -- Emperor and Empress of France
- Napoleon III -- Président and Emperor
Musicians, singers
- Charles Aznavour
- Josephine Baker, American born entertainer
- Jane Bathori, opera singer
- Barbara
- Michel Berger
- Georges Brassens
- Manu Chao
- Dalida
- Damia
- Marie Dubas
- France Gall
- Serge Gainsbourg
- Jean-Jacques Goldman
- Georgius
- Stéphane Grappelli -- jazz musician
- Johnny Hallyday -- France's Elvis
- David Hallyday
- Kiki -- "Queen of Montparnasse"
- Claudine Longet
- Luis Mariano
- Félix Mayol
- Mireille Mathieu
- Mistinguett
- Pierre Perret
- Edith Piaf
- Tino Rossi
- Alain Souchon
- Charles Trénet
- Sylvie Vartan
- Pauline Garcia-Viardot - opera singer & composer
Painters
- François Boucher
- Pierre Brissaud
- Gustave Caillebotte
- Paul Cézanne
- Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot
- Gustave Courbet
- Thomas Couture
- Jacques Louis David
- Edgar Degas
- Eugène Delacroix
- Robert Delaunay
- André Derain
- Marcel Duchamp
- Suzanne Duchamp
- Henri Fantin-Latour
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Antonio de La Gandara
- Paul Gauguin
- Jean-Baptiste Gros
- Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
- Charles de La Tour
- Georges Lacombe
- Fernand Léger
- Edouard Manet
- Henri Matisse
- Claude Monet
- Gustave Moreau
- Berthe Morisot
- Francis Picabia
- Camille Pissarro
- Nicolas Poussin
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
- Georges Seurat
- Nicolas de Staël
- Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
- Maurice Utrillo
- Suzanne Valadon
- Horace Vernet
- Jacques Villon
- Philippe Watteau
Philosophers
- Jean Le Rond d'Alembert
- Pierre Bourdieu, sociologist
- Julien Benda
- Henri Bergson
- Jean de Crèvecoeur
- Gilles Deleuze
- Jacques Derrida
- René Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
- Denis Diderot -- Enlightenment author and atheist philosopher
- Elisabeth Bourdiau de Fontenay
- Michel Foucault
- Vladimir Jankelevitch
- Etienne de La Boétie -- philosopher and politician
- Marcel Légaut - christian philosopher
- Jean de Léry -- corsaireand ethnologist, anti-racism acivist
- Emmanual Lévinas
- Gabriel Marcel -- philosopher
- Maurice Merleau-Ponty -- existentialist philosopher
- Michel de Montaigne -- philosopher essayist
- Montesquieu, political philosopher
- Emmanuel Mounier -- philosopher
- Blaise Pascal -- scientist, Christian philosopher and author
- Paul Ricoeur
- Jean-Paul Sartre -- existentialist philosopher
- Michel Serres
- Simone Weil
Politicians
See also: Prime Ministers of France, Presidents of France
- Pierre Badinter -- lawyer, statesman and anti death sentence activist
- Léon Blum
- José Bové -- anti-globalization activist
- Marcel Cachin -- founder of the daily periodic L'Humanité
- Jacques Chirac
- Samuel de Champlain -- 1st governor of Canada
- Georges Clemenceau
- Gaspard de Coligny
- Bertrand Delanoë
- Jacques Delors
- Félix Faure, President of France who died of a heart attack while making love to his mistress
- Charles de Gaulle
- Valéry Giscard d'Estaing
- Guizot, Prime Minister
- Gisèle Halimi lawyer and feminist activist
- Jean Jaurès, politician, pacifist
- Lionel Jospin
- Bernard Kouchner -- founder of Medecins du Monde and other "French Doctors"
- Jean-Marie Le Pen
- Alain Lipietz -- green economist
- Pierre Mendès-France -- Lawyer and Statesman
- Honoré Mirabeau
- François Mitterrand -- Lawyer and Statesman
- Jean Monnet
- Henri Philippe Pétain -- Head of Vichy France
- Jean-Pierre Raffarin -- Prime Minister of France since 2002
- Victor Schoelcher -- anti-slavery activist
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
- Maurice Thorez
- Dominique Voynet -- Physician and Green politician
Resistance workers
See also French Resistance
- Raymond Aubrac (born 1914), statesman
- Lucie Samuel-Aubrac(born 1912), human rights activist
- Eliane Plewman (1917-1944), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Robert Benoist (1895-1944), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Denise Bloch (1915-1945), SOE operative: King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, Legion of Honor, French Resistance Medal
- Andrée Borrel (1919-1944), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Madeleine Damerment (1917-1944), SOE operative: Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Médaille combattant volontaire de la Résistance
- Marie Louise Dissard
- William Grover-Williams (1903-1945), SOE operative, champion race car driver
- Cecily Lefort (1900-1945), SOE operative: Croix de Guerre
- Jean Moulin (1899-1943), statesman
- Christian Pineau(1904-1995), statesman
- Pierre Mendès-France (1907-1982), lawyer, statesman
- Germaine Ribière
- Elise Rivet (1890-1945), nun executed by Nazis for aiding the resistance
- Lilian Rolfe (1914-1945), SOE agent executed by the Nazis
- Odette Sansom (1912-1995), SOE operative: George Cross, MBE, Legion of Honor
- Suzanne Spaak, Belgian-born agent: "Red Orchestra" intelligence network; executed 1944
- Violette Szabo (1921-1945), SOE operative: George Cross, Croix de Guerre
- Jean-Pierre Wimille (1908-1949), SOE operative, champion race car driver
Scientists
- Louis Agassiz -- geologist
- André-Marie Ampère -- scientist
- François Arago -- physicist, astronomer (and also politician)
- Jean Baptiste Biot -- physicist
- Jean-Charles de Borda -- mathematician, physicist, political scientist
- Louis de Broglie -- 1929 Physics Nobel Prize winner.
- Lazare Nicolas Marguerite Carnot -- physicist
- Augustin Louis Cauchy -- mathematician
- Jean-François Champollion -- egyptologist
- Emilie du Chatelet -- 18th century mathematician
- Georges Charpak -- physicist, Nobel price winner
- Marquis de Condorcet -- philosopher, mathematician and political scientist
- Charles-Augustin de Coulomb -- physicist, mathematician, engineer
- Jacques Cousteau, Marine scientist
- Joseph Cugnot
- Irène Joliot-Curie -- scientist
- Marie Curie -- scientist
- Pierre Curie -- scientist
- Guillaume Delisle, cartographer
- René Descartes -- scientist and philosopher
- Girard Desargues -- mathematician
- Georges Duby -- historian
- Pierre de Fermat -- mathematician
- Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier -- mathematician and physicist
- Pierre Gassendi -- philosopher mathematician
- Pierre-Gilles de Gennes -- physicist, Nobel prize winner
- Evariste Galois -- mathematician
- Frédéric Joliot -- scientist
- Joseph Louis Lagrange -- mathematician
- Pierre-Simon Laplace -- mathematician and physicist
- Antoine Lavoisier
- Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist
- Antoine Lévi-Leblond -- physicist
- Albert Matthiez -- historian
- André Michaux -- botanist and explorer
- Jules Michelet -- historian
- Abraham de Moivre -- mathematician
- Theodore Monod -- naturalist and theologian
- Claude Mossé -- (Ms), historian
- Denis Papin
- Louis Pasteur -- scientist
- Blaise Pascal -- mathematician and philosopher
- Étienne Pascal -- mathematician
- Henri Poincaré -- scientist
- Simeon Poisson -- mathematician and physicist
- Jean Rostand
- Albert Soboul -- historian
- Jean-Pierre Vernant -- historian
- Pierre Vidal-Naquet -- historian and Civil Rights activist
- Pierre Vilar, historian
- Christophe Victor -- geographer
- Paul-Emile Victor -- ethnologist
Sculptors
- Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
- César
- Camille Claudel
- Raymond Duchamp-Villon
- Jean Antoine Houdon
- Georges Lacombe
- Auguste Préault
- Auguste Rodin
- Niki de Saint-Phalle
Sportsmen and -women
- Louis Acaries -- boxer, former world title challenger, now promoter
- Jacques Anquetil -- cyclist
- Fabien Barthez -- football player
- Louison Bobet -- cyclist
- Surya Bonaly - figure skater
- Philippe Candeloro - figure skater
- Eric Cantona -- football player
- Georges Carpentier -- world champion boxer
- Marcel Cerdan -- world champion boxer
- Eugene Criqui -- world champion boxer
- Emile Delahaye -- race car pioneer
- Marcel Desailly -- Ghana born French citizen, football player
- David Douillet -- judo
- Laurent Fignon -- cyclist
- Thierry Henry -- football player
- Bernard Hinault -- cyclist
- Constant Huret -- cyclist
- Olivier Jacque -- motorcycle rider
- Rene Jacquot -- boxer, underdog who became world champion
- Laurent Jalabert -- cyclist
- Jean-Claude Killy -- skier
- Suzanne Lenglen -- tennis player
- Bixente Lizarazu - football player
- Jeannie Longo -- cyclist
- Amelie Mauresmo -- tennis player
- Jose Meiffret -- cyclist
- Alain Mimoun -- athlete
- Antoine Monteiro -- boxer, lost to Santos Laciar for the world title
- Carole Montillet -- skier
- Yannick Noah -- tennis player
- Tony Parker -- Belgian born French citizen, NBA player
- Marie-José Perec -- athlete
- Mary Pierce-- Canadian born French citizen, tennis player
- Michel Platini -- football player
- Alain Prost -- automobile racer
- Marcel Thil -- world champion boxer
- Christophe Tiozzo -- world champion boxer
- Fabrice Tiozzo -- world champion boxer, Christophe's brother
- Patrick Vieira -- Senegal born French citizen, football player
- Jean-Pierre Wimille, race car driver
- Zinédine Zidane -- football player
Theologians
- Marie-Emile Boismard o.p.
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
- Jean Calvin
- Sebastian Castellion -- translator of the Bible
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Yves Congar o.p.
- André Gounelle
- Pierre Lagrange o.p. -- founder of the Ecole Biblique et Archeologique de Jérusalem
- Hubert Languet
- Maurice Leenhardt -- ethnologist, theologien
- Etienne Mennegoz
- Wilfred Monod
- Etienne Nodet o.p.
- Rachi de Champagne
- Pierre Teilhard de Chardin s.j.
- Auguste Sabatier
- Antonin Sertillanges o.p. -- founder of the Revue Thomiste
- Bernard Sesboué s.j.
Others
See also: List of people by nationality - List of Monegasque people, Catalans, Swiss, Belgians, Franco-Belgian comics
- Andre the Giant, professional wrestler
- Frédéric Bartholdi
- Paul Bocuse -- Chief cook
- André Citroen
- Charles Cros -- poet and inventor
- Jeanne d'Arc -- (Joan of Arc) warrior, Saint.
- Pierre de Coubertin -- initiator of the modern Olympic Games
- Bob Denard -- mercenary
- Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt
- Ninon de l'Enclos -- courtesan, patron of the arts
- Cavalier de la Salle -- explorer
- Alfred Dreyfus
- René Dumont -- agronomist engineer and sociologist and ecology activist
- Jules Dumont d'Urville
- Eleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours -- entrepreneur, founder of DuPont
- Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours -- entrepreneur
- Maurice Duverger -- jurist
- Gustave Eiffel -- engineer
- Marquis de la Fayette -- military leader in the American Revolution
- Ferdinand Foch -- general
- Paul Héroult -- inventor
- Claude de Jouffroy d'Abbans, designed the first steamship in 1783
- René Lalique -- artist
- Charles Leclerc -- general
- Jacques-Donatien Le Ray -- a "Father of the American Revolution"
- Auguste and Louis Lumière -- inventors
- Jean Paul Marat
- Marcel Mazoyer -- agronomist
- Montgolfier brothers -- balloonists
- Jean-Marie Pelt -- botanist
- Lionel Poilâne -- boulanger
- Elisée Reclus -- geographer and anarchist
- Maximilien Robespierre
- Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin -- magician, namesake of "Harry Houdini"
- Philippe Starck - designer
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of French people."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Here is a collection of French proverbs. Where an English proverb is equivalent, the English proverb is given. Otherwise, a literal translation is provided.
- À bon chat, bon rat. -- "A good cat, a good rat."
- À la guerre comme à la guerre. -- "All's fair in love and war."
- À la Sainte Catherine, tout arbre prend racine.
- Araignée du matin, chagrin; araignée du soir, espoir. - "A spider in the morning, anguish; a spider in the evening, hope."
- Avec des "si" on mettrait Paris en bouteille. -- "If wishes were horses, beggars would ride." ("With 'if's one could put Paris in a bottle.")
- C'est le ton qui fait la chanson. -- "It's the melody that makes the song."
- Cherchez la femme. -- "Look for the woman. " That is, a woman is probably at the heart of the quarrel.
- Comme on fait son lit on se couche. -- "You made your bed, now lie in it." ("As one makes one's bed, so one lies down.")
- La fin justifie les moyens. -- "The end justifies the means."
- La nuit, tous les chats sont gris. -- "All cats are grey in the dark."
- Les amis de nos amis sont nos amis. -- "Friends of our friends are our friends."
- Les fruits défendus sont les meilleurs. -- "Forbidden fruits are the best."
- Mieux vaut être seul que mal accompagné -- "Better to be seen alone than in bad company."
- On ne change pas une équipe qui gagne -- "If it isn't broken, don't fix it." ("One doesn't change a team that wins.")
- On ne peut avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre. -- "You can't have your cake and eat it." Literally, "One cannot have butter and the money from butter."
- On revient toujours à ses premiers amours. -- "One always returns to his first loves."
- Pas de nouvelles, bonne nouvelles. -- "No news is good news."
- Pierre qui roule n'amasse pas mousse. -- "A rolling stone gathers no moss."
- Qui vole un oeuf vole un boeuf. -- "Give him an inch and he'll take a mile." ("Who steals an egg, steals an ox.")
- Si tu veux la paix, prépare la guerre. -- "If you want peace prepare for war." Original in Latin by Scipio Africanus -- Si vis pacem para bellum.
- Tant va la cruche à l'eau qu'à la fin elle se brise. -- "Things break with repeated use." Literally, "The jug goes to water so often that at the end it breaks."
- Un "tiens" vaut mieux que deux "tu l'auras". -- "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." ("One 'here' is worth more than two 'you'll have it's.")
- Une hirondelle ne fait pas le printemps. -- "One lark doesn't make spring." Mia chelidón ouk ear poiei (Greek))
- Vive la différence. -- "Vive la difference."
- Au pays des aveugles les borgnes sont rois. -- "In the land of the blind, the one-eyed are king." Andhanam deshe kâna eva prabhavati. (Sanskrit))
Internal Links
- proverb
- Chinese proverbs
- English proverbs
- German proverbs
- Japanese proverbs
- Latin proverbs
- Polish proverbs
- Portuguese proverbs
- Spanish proverbs
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "List of French proverbs."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Military of France Military manpower Military age 18 years of age Availability males age 15-49: 14,619,317 (2000 est.) Fit for military service males age 15-49: 12,167,421 (2000 est.) Reaching military age annually males: 402,987 (2000 est.) Military expenditures Dollar figure $39.831 billion (FY97) Percent of GDP 2.5% (FY97)
Organization
The French armed forces are divided into four branches:They also include the following services:
- Army, including
- Foreign Legion
- Marine troops
- light aviation
- engineers
- Navy, including
- Naval Air
- naval fusiliers
- Air Force, including
- territorial Air Defense
- air fusiliers
- National Gendarmerie (military police force)
- General delegation to weaponry (defense procurement agency), military/civilian service, including
- the Direction of Naval Constructions
- supervision of some engineering schools (including École Polytechnique and École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées)
- Health service of the armies
- Service of fuels.
International stance
French military doctrine is based on the concepts of national independence, nuclear deterrence, and military sufficiency. France is a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and has worked actively with Allies to adapt NATO--internally and externally--to the post-Cold War environment. In December 1995, France announced that it would increase its participation in NATO's military wing, including the Military Committee (the French withdrew from NATO's military bodies in 1966 while remaining full participants in the alliance's political councils). France remains a firm supporter of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other efforts at cooperation. Paris hosted the May 1997 NATO-Russia Summit for the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security.Outside of NATO, France has actively and heavily participated in recent peacekeeping/coalition efforts in Africa, the Middle East, and the Balkans, often taking the lead in these operations. France has undertaken a major restructuring to develop a professional military which will be smaller, more rapidly deployable and better tailored for operations outside of mainland France. Key elements of the restructuring include reducing personnel, bases, and headquarters and rationalizing equipment and the armament industry. French active-duty military at the beginning of 2001 numbered approximately 446,000, of which nearly 35,000 were assigned outside of metropolitan France.
France places a high priority on arms control and non-proliferation. It supported the indefinite extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995. After conducting a final series of six nuclear tests, the French signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996. France has implemented a moratorium on the production, export, and use of anti-personnel landmines and supports negotiations leading toward a universal ban. The French are key players in the adaptation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe to the new strategic environment.
France is an active participant in the major supplier regimes designed to restrict transfer of technologies that could lead to proliferation of weapons of mass destruction: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Australia Group (for chemical and biological weapons), and the Missile Technology Control Regime. France has signed and ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention.
External links
- Official site of the French Ministry of Defense
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Military of France."
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Folk music
As Europe experienced a wave of roots revivals, France found its regional cultures reviving traditional music. Brittany, Limousin, Gascony, Corsica and Auvergne were among the regions that underwent a popularization of folk music.
Limousin
Limousin is known for its violin music, as well as the chabrette bagpipe. Eric Montbel is the biggest star of Limousin folk, while Françoise Etay, Jean Pierre Champeval, Olivier Durif, Valentin Clastrier, Pascal Lefeuvre and Trio Violon are also popular.
Corsica
Corsican polyphonic singing is perhaps the most unqiue of the French regional music varieties. Sung by male trios, it is strongly harmonic and occasionally dissonant. Modern groups include Canta u Populu Corsu, I Muvrini, Tavagna and Chjami Aghjalesi.
Gascony
One of the biggest stars of the French roots revival was Perlinpinpin Folc, whose Musique Traditionelle de Gascogne was a popular release that sparked interest in the traditional music of Gascony. The boha pipes are distinctive as well.
Central France
Central French bagpipe and hurdygurdy music is popular, having been recently given new life by performers like Eric Montbel, Philippe Prieur, Gilles Chabenat and Jean Blanchard.
Auvergne is known for cabrette bagpipes, and its legendary master Joseph Ruols. This is the instrument that became the basis for bal-musette music, which arrived in Paris by 1880 as a result of Auvergnat migration. The influence of Antoine Bouscatel led to bal-musette incorporating the Italian accordion, which soon came to dominate the music. This is the period that produced internationally known masters like Léon Chanal, Emile Vacher and Martin Cayla.
Brittany
Uniqely Celtic in character, Breton folk music has had perhaps the most succesful revival of its traditions, partially due to the result of Lorient, France's most popular music festival.
The documented history of Breton music begins with the publication of Barzaz-Breizh in 1839. A collection of folk songs compiled by Hersart de la Villemarqué, Barzaz-Breizh helped keep Breton traditions alive.
Couple de sonneurs, consisting of a bombarde and biniou, is usually played at festoù-noz celebrations. It is swift dance music and has an older vocal counterpart called kan ha diskan. Unaccompanied call-and-response singing was intersperesed with gwerz, a form of ballad.
Probably the most popular form of Breton folk is the bagad pipe band, which features native instruments like biniou and bombarde alongside drums and, in more modern groups, biniou braz pipes. Modern revivalists include Kevrenn Alre Bagad and Bagad Kemper.
Alan Stivell is perhaps the most influential folk-rock performer of continental Europe. After 1971's Renaissance of the Celtic Harp, Breton and other Celtic traditional music achieved mainstream success internationally. With Dan Ar Bras, he then released Chemins de Terre (1974), which launched Breton folk-rock. This set the stage for stars like Malicorne in the ensuing decades.
Pure folk of modern Brettany include harpists like Anne-Marie Jan, Anne Auffret and Myrdhin, while singers Kristen Nikolas, Andrea Ar Gouilh and Yann-Fanch Kemener have become mainstream stars. Instrumental bands, however, have been the most successful, including Gwerz, Bleizi Ruz, Strobinell, Sonerien Du and Tud.
Classical music
Some of the earliest manuscripts with polyphony are from 10th century French cities like Chartres and Tours. A group of musicians from the Abbey of St. Martial in Limoges are especially important, as are 12th century Parisian composers like Leonin and Perotin, from whence came the earliest motets. Secular music in medieval France was dominated by troubadours, jongleurs and trouveres, who were poets and musicians known for creating forms like the ballade and lai. The most famous was Adam de la Halle.
In the 14th century, Philippe de Vitry invented an improved system of musical notation and is sometimes said to have invented the isorhythmic motet. The motet was perfected by Guillaume de Machaut.
With the advent of the Renaissance, the musical capital of the French moved from Paris to Burgundy. Guillaume Dufay and Gilles Binchois were especially influential, and popular forms were highly evolved motets and the cyclic mass. French musical domination of Europe ended during the Renaissance, and Flemish and Italian musicians became more important. French composers include Pierre Certon and Jean Mouton. The French chanson became popular during this time, and was imported to Italy as the canzona.
With the arrival of Calvinism, music was greatly simplified. The only form allowed was singing French translations of the Psalms. Starting the with the 17th century, Italian and German opera was the most influential form of music, though French opera composers like Balthasar de Beaujoyeaux, Jean Philippe Rameau and Jean Baptiste Lully made in distinctive national style characterized by ballet, spoken dialogue and a lack of Italian recitative arias.
The Baroque period saw a flourishing of harpsichord music. Influential composers included Jacques Champion de Chambonnières and François Couperin. A composer named Rameau wrote on musical theory, especially in the subject of harmony and he also introduced the clarinet into his orchestras.
During the French Revolution and the subsequent Napoleonic wars, the Paris Conservatory was established and foreigners like Frederic Chopin flocked to France. The only major French composer of the time was Hector Berlioz.
In the late 1800s, pioneers like Georges Bizet, Jules Massenet, Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy revitalized French music. The subsequent 20th century saw neo-classical music flourish in france, especially composers like Albert Roussel, Erik Satie and Les Six, a group of musicians who gathered around Satie. Later in the century, Olivier Messiaen and Pierre Boulez proved influential and incorporated non-native influences.
Popular music
French popular music in the 20th century included singers like superstar Edith Piaf and more art-house musicians like Brigitte Fontaine. American and British rock and roll was also popular in the 1950s and 60s, and indigenous rock achieved some domestic success. Punk rock, heavy metal and, especially, electronic music, found some French listeners. In the latter genre, the French electro-pop band Air and techno artist Laurent Garnier found a wide audience in the late 1990s and early 2000s, both locally and internationally. Algerian rai also found a large French audience, especially Cheb Khaled. Moroccan chaabi and gnawa is also popular. American hip hop music was exported to France in the 1980s, and French rappers and DJs, like MC Solaar, also had some success. (see French hip hop).
References
- Krümm, Philippe and Jean-Pierre Rasle. "Music of the Regions". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 103-113. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Music of France."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| FR | English | French Republic | Geography, Law |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonym: FrenchSynonym: the French (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Amusement | Leapfrog, hop skip and jump; mother may I; French and English, tug of war; blindman's bluff, hunt the slopper, hide and seek, kiss in the ring; snapdragon; cross questions and crooked answers.; crisscross, hopscotch; jacks, jackstones, marbles; mumblety-peg, mumble-the-peg, pushball, shinney, shinny, tag; |
Avoidance | Beat a retreat; turn tail, turn one's back; take to one's heels; runaway, run for one's life; cut and run; be off like a shot; fly, flee; fly away, flee away, run away from; take flight, take to flight; desert, elope; make off, scamper off, sneak off, shuffle off, sheer off; break away, tear oneself away, slip away, slink away, steel away, make away from, scamper away from, sneak away from, shuffle away from, sheer away from; slip cable, part company, turn one's heel; sneak out of, play truant, give one the go by, give leg bail, take French leave, slope, decamp, flit, bolt, abscond, levant, skedaddle, absquatulate, cut one's stick, walk one's chalks, show a light pair of heels, make oneself scarce; escape; go away; (depart); abandon; reject. |
Freedom | Take a liberty; make free with, make oneself quite at home; use a freedom; take leave, take French leave. |
Neologism | Jargon, technical terms, technicality, lingo, slang, cant, argot; St. Gile's Greek, thieves' Latin, peddler's French, flash tongue, Billingsgate, Wall Street slang. |
Ornament | Garnish, polish, varnish, French polish, veneer, japanning, lacquer. |
Support | Bed, berth, pallet, tester, crib, cot, hammock, shakedown, trucklebed, cradle, litter, stretcher, bedstead; four poster, French bed, bunk, kip, palang; bedding, bichhona, mattress, paillasse; pillow, bolster; mat, rug, cushion. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: French |
| English words defined with "French": Canadian French ♦ French Academy, French Canadian, French foreign office, French Guinea, French Indochina, French lesson, French loaf, French Oceania, French Polynesia, French Riviera, French teacher, French window ♦ Langue d'oc French, Langue d'oil French ♦ Old French, Old North French. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "French": French Cream, French Leave, French of Stratford atte Bowe, French paradox ♦ Malherbe's Canons of French Poetry ♦ Pedlars' French. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | The French are glad to die for love (Moulin Rouge!; writing credit: Baz Luhrmann; Craig Pearce) It's a French revolution story (Singin' in the Rain; writing credit: Betty Comden; Adolph Green) It's called a french kiss (The Brady Bunch Movie; writing credit: Betty Thomas, written by Laurice Elehwany, Rick Copp, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner) We French lost our war in Indochina because we failed to learn about the people we sought to lead (M. Butterfly; writing credit: David Henry Hwang.) For the last week your son has been teaching twelfth grade French. He conducted a parent teacher interview yesterday and organized a field trip to a French bread factory in Trenton (Catch Me If You Can; writing credit: Frank Abagnale Jr.; Stan Redding) | |
Lyrics | Don't know much about the french I took (Wonderful World; performing artist: Herman's Hermits) It ain't the French Riviera ((It's Just) The Way That You Love Me; performing artist: Paula Abdul) French champagne ("Livin' La Vida Loca"; performing artist: Ricky Martin) Loosen off that pretty French gown (TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (Gonna Be Alright); performing artist: ROD STEWART) And serve you french toast again (If It Makes You Happy; performing artist: Sheryl Crow) | |
Clever | In Paris they simply stared when I spoke to them in French; I never did succeed in making those idiots understand their own language. (references; author: Mark Twain) I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time." So I ordered French toast during the Renaissance. (references; author: unknown) Aircraft Identification: If it's ugly, it's British; if it's weird, it's French; if it's ugly and weird, it's Russian. (references; author: unknown) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Excuse My French (1974) Exotic French Fantasies (1974) French Blue (1974) The French Love (1972) French Wives (1970) | |
Song Titles | Total Eclipse Of The Heart (performing artist: Nicki French) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
References |
| ||
Books |
| ||
Periodicals | |||
Theater & Movies |
| ||
Music |
| ||
High Tech |
| ||
Consumer Goods | |||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A display of high fat foods such as cheeses, chocolates, lunch meat, french fries, pastries, doughnuts, etc. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |  | (11) color slides show different types of bread. (4) two pieces of toasted white bread with a pat of melted butter, (1) two pieces of toasted white bread, (2) single slice of bread spread completely with butter, (1) french bread loaf with two pieces sliced off the end, (1) loaf of garlic bread, (2) single slice of garlic bread. Credit: Unknown photographer/artist. |
 | Sea turtles on French Frigate Shoal. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Measuring baseline with wooden rods French expedition to Peru. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Felix's Restaurant, showing the old French decorative ironwork. Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | French tuna purse seiner F/V KERGUELEN at Mahe, Seychelles. Note helicopter on flying bridge. It is used to visually search for schools of tuna. Credit: Fisheries. |
 | Diver observes French angelfish. Pomacanthus paru. Credit: National Undersea Research Program (NURP). |  | French angelfish looks larger than observing diver. Credit: National Undersea Research Program (NURP). |
 | French angelfish at the reef. 1987 Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Photo Contest entry. Credit: The Coral Kingdom. |  | A French Angelfish. Credit: Sanctuaries. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "French Quarter Houses" by Lisa Christine Tam Commentary: "Typical architectural details of houses in the French Quarter of New Orleans." | "French garden" by Yvan Lagarrigue Commentary: "This picture illustrates the begining of spring." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Play | Caption |
 | A string and French horn short introduction typical of a Hollywood film. |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Author | Quotation |
Charles V | I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse. |
Francis Bacon | The French are wiser than they seem, and the Spaniards seem wiser than they are. |
Friedrich Engels | Just as Marx used to say about the French "Marxists" of the late `seventies: "All I know is that I am not a Marxist." |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | Like a French poem is life; being only perfect in structure when with the masculine rhymes mingled the feminine are. |
Jean Jacques Rousseau | The English are predisposed to pride, the French to vanity. |
Napoleon Bonaparte | The French complain of everything, and always. |
| Every private in the French army carries a Field Marshall wand in his knapsack. | |
| Impossible is not a French word. It is a word fit only for the dictionary of fools. | |
William Shakespeare | Your old virginity is like one of our French withered pears: it looks ill, it eats dryly. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Author | Date | Quotation |
John Locke | 1690 | By this power indeed fathers oblige their children to obedience to themselves, even when they are past minority, and most commonly too subject them to this or that political power: but neither of these by any peculiar right of fatherhood, but by the reward they have in their hands to inforce and recompence such a compliance; and is no more power than what a French man has over an English man, who by the hopes of an estate he will leave him, will certainly have a strong tie on his obedience: and if, when it is left him, he will enjoy it, he must certainly take it upon the conditions annexed to the possession of land in that country where it lies, whether it be France or England. (Second Treatise of Government) |
Communist Manifesto | 1848 | They wrote their philosophical nonsense beneath the French original. (reference) |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | This manager shall be of French nationality. (reference) |
Winston S. Churchill | 1946 | Athens alone - Greece with its immortal glories - is free to decide its future at an election under British, American and French observation. ("Iron Curtain" Speech) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Tangled Tale | Carroll, Lewis | Here we simply double the French marks, and add as before |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | There is no French tomb |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | Some of the boys had then asked the priest if Victor Hugo were not the greatest French writer |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | If one may judge who rarely looks into the newspapers, nothing new does ever happen in foreign parts, a French revolution not excepted |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Avoid foods fried in oil such as chips, french fries, and doughnuts. (references) | |
In 1885, Joseph Meister was bitten by a rabid dog. His parents went to the famous French biologist Louis Pasteur. (references) | ||
Riegel, A.C., and French, E.D. Acute toluene induces biphasic changes in rat spontaneous locomotor activity which are blocked by remoxipride. (references) | ||
Business | Most popular are French and Austrian ski resorts. (references) | |
Product information in French is vital in Morocco. (references) | ||
Where no EU standard exists, French standards apply. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Vanuatu | The television station provides English and French news service three times weekly. (references) |
Rwanda | There were several privately owned newspapers, which publish weekly in English, French, or Kinyarwanda. (references) | |
Monaco | Stations that broadcast from the Principality operate in accordance with French and Italian regulations. (references) | |
Discrimination | Belgium | With Dutch, French, and German as official languages, the country has a complex linguistic regime, including language requirements for various elective and appointive positions. (references) |
Economic History | Mauritius | Most are in French. (references) |
Comoros | French and Arabic also are spoken. (references) | |
Human Rights | Suriname | There was one report of an extrajudicial killing in the town of Albina, on the border with French Guiana. (references) |
France | According to a 2000 report prepared for the Council of Europe, 65 percent of French prisons were overcrowded. (references) | |
Cameroon | In June police shot and killed Aliou Oumarou, a suspect in the May 28 murder of a French expatriate in a Yaounde pharmacy. (references) | |
Minorities | Andorra | Other sizable foreign groups include Portuguese, French, and British. (references) |
Morocco | Both French and Arabic are used in the news media and educational institutions. (references) | |
Senegal | Each group has its own primary language, although French and Wolof are used widely as secondary languages. (references) | |
Political Economy | ALGERIA | It is helpful to label products in French. (references) |
Djibouti | Djibouti is host to several thousand French military personnel. (references) | |
Armenia | Legal system: The constitution is based largely on the French strong presidential model. (references) | |
Political Rights | Mauritania | It also updated and published computer-based voter registration lists in French and Arabic. (references) |
Monaco | The Council of State is presided over by the Director of Judicial Services, usually a French citizen. (references) | |
Belgium | The existence of communities speaking Dutch, French, and German engenders significant complexities for the state. (references) | |
Trade | Senegal | Senegal's standards are derived from the French. (references) |
Cote D'ivoire | Standards usually follow French or European norms. (references) | |
Canada | The declaration must be in both English and French. (references) | |
Travel | Denmark | Many also speak German and some French. (references) |
Bulgaria | German and French are also widely spoken. (references) | |
Ghana | Very fancy French cuisine, cozy atmosphere. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Mali | The union representing salaried employees regularly participated in programs sponsored by French labor unions. (references) |
Senegal | One Senegalese and two French nationals of Senegalese origin were arrested and charged with organizing an international prostitution ring. (references) | |
Monaco | The legal minimum wage for full-time work is the French minimum wage plus 5 percent, which is approximately $6.30 (45.91 French francs) per hour. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DRAMATIST, n. One who adapts plays from the French. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Dennis Miller | Everyone in here has, at one time or another, been eating french fries in their car, dropped some, and actually dug into their crotch to find them and eat them. |
Rush Limbaugh | I don't see how we can tie our nation's well-being and its future security to the United Nations or the French or anyone else. |
Tony Blair | Well, I think it's very strong. In fact, I think it's remarkably strong, and you can see that from the pledge by Germany today, for example, of troops, by the fact that the French president was there with President Bush in solidarity today in Washington. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
John Adams | 1797-1801 | A few days before his arrival at Paris the French minister of foreign relations informed the American minister then resident at Paris of the formalities to be observed by himself in taking leave, and by his successor preparatory to his reception. |
James Monroe | 1817-1825 | As this claim rests on the same principle with others which have been admitted by the French Government, it is not perceived on what just ground it can be rejected. |
John Quincy Adams | 1825-1829 | Before the wars of the French Revolution such treaties had been consummated with the United Netherlands, Sweden, and Prussia. |
Andrew Jackson | 1829-1837 | The agent authorized to receive the money was instructed to inform the French minister of his readiness to do so. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "French" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 82.86% of the time. "French" is used about 9,671 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 82.86% | 8,014 | 1,206 |
| Noun (singular) | 9.29% | 898 | 7,958 |
| Noun (proper) | 7.85% | 759 | 9,024 |
| Total | 100.00% | 9,671 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "French" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| French | Last name | 26,000 | 442 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
| Country | Name | Country | Name |
| South Korea | Korea French Banking | United Kingdom | French Connection Group plc |
| (more examples...) |
Source: compiled by the editor from Icon Group International, Inc.
Expressions using "French": African or French marigold ♦ algerian who fought for the french rule ♦ broken french ♦ canadian French ♦ conversational french ♦ Daniel Chester French ♦ french Academy ♦ French acupuncture ♦ french and Indian War ♦ french back ♦ french barley ♦ french bean ♦ french beans ♦ French berry ♦ french blue ♦ french bracken ♦ french bread ♦ french bulldog ♦ French Camp ♦ french Canadian ♦ french capital ♦ French casement ♦ french chalk ♦ French Chippendale ♦ french classicism ♦ french Congo ♦ French cowslip ♦ french cuisine ♦ french door ♦ french doors ♦ french dressing ♦ french dressing for fruit salad ♦ french endive ♦ French fake ♦ French fold ♦ French foot ♦ french foreign office ♦ french franc ♦ french fried potatoes ♦ french fries ♦ french fritter ♦ french Guiana ♦ french Guinea ♦ French Gulch ♦ french heel ♦ french honeysuckle ♦ french horn ♦ french Indochina ♦ French Island ♦ french kiss ♦ french knot ♦ French lace ♦ French Lavendar ♦ french lavender ♦ French leave ♦ french lesson ♦ french letter ♦ French Lick ♦ french loaf ♦ french marigold ♦ French metal ♦ French mullet ♦ french Oceania ♦ french omelet ♦ french pancake ♦ French paradox ♦ french pastry ♦ french people ♦ french person ♦ French pie ♦ french plums ♦ french polish ♦ french Polynesia ♦ French purple ♦ French red ♦ french region ♦ french Republic ♦ French Republican calendar ♦ french Revolution ♦ French rice ♦ french Riviera ♦ french roll ♦ french roof ♦ French rule ♦ french rye ♦ French sash ♦ french seam ♦ French Settlemen ♦ French Settlement ♦ french sorrel ♦ french Southern And Antarctic Lands ♦ french spinach ♦ french Sudan ♦ french swiss ♦ french switzerland ♦ french teacher ♦ french telephone ♦ french toast ♦ French tub ♦ french turnip ♦ french ultramarine. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "French": french-accented, french-administered, French-affilated, french-appointed, french-arab, french-australian, french-backed, french-based, french-belgian, french-born, french-bred, french-british, french-brokered, french-built, french-canadian, French-canadians, french-chinese, French-cockney, french-created, french-derived, french-egyptian, french-english, french-established, french-european, french-fashion, french-financed, french-flavoured, french-foreign, french-fried, french-fried potatoes, french-fry, french-generated, french-german, french-greek, french-indian, french-influenced, french-inhaled, french-inspired, french-irish, french-italian, French-italian-russian, french-language, french-led, french-letters, french-lexified, french-made, french-manufactured, french-occupied, french-only, french-owned, french-polish, french-polished, French-provincial-style, french-published, french-romanian, french-run, french-sounding, french-soviet, french-spanish, french-speaker, french-speakers, French-speaking, french-style, french-supported, french-swiss, french-tailored, french-tasting, french-trained, French-us, french-window. | |
Ending with "French": all-french, anti-french, ex-french, half-french, non-french, pro-french, un-french, Us-british-french. | |
Containing "French": Anglo-french-german. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day | Expression | Frequency per Day |
french open | 9,304 | french lesson | 1,091 |
french | 6,305 | french polynesia | 1,028 |
french wine | 5,704 | french bulldog | 971 |
french dictionary | 3,323 | french maid | 960 |
french art | 3,027 | french connection | 947 |
learn french | 2,613 | french drain | 916 |
french english dictionary | 2,391 | french english translation | 878 |
french soap | 2,133 | french language | 865 |
french translation | 2,002 | english to french translation | 797 |
french champagne | 1,886 | french cheese | 776 |
french vacation | 1,628 | new orleans french quarter | 700 |
french translator | 1,545 | french food | 638 |
english french dictionary | 1,290 | french quarter | 619 |
french door | 1,288 | french book | 530 |
french kiss | 1,263 | french english translator | 529 |
french open tennis | 1,194 | french to english | 523 |
french country | 1,184 | french braid | 519 |
french revolution | 1,150 | french papeete polynesia tahiti | 502 |
french riviera | 1,148 | french kissing | 492 |
french recipe | 1,096 | french foreign legion | 476 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Translations for "French"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Afrikaans | Franse taal (French language), Frans (French language). (various references) | |
Albanian | franceze (frenchwoman), francez (frenchman, frog, gallic, gaul, parleyvoo), frëngjishte, frëngjisht (French language, in french), frëng (Frenchman, gaulish). (various references) | |
Arabic | فرنسي, اللغة الفرنسية, الشعب الفرنسي. (various references) | |
Asturian | Francés. (various references) | |
Breton | gall. (various references) | |
Bulgarian | френски език (gaulish, parleyvoo), френски (gallic, gaulish). (various references) | |
Cebuano | Pranses. (various references) | |
Chinese | 法語 , 法语, 法國 (France), 法文 . (various references) | |
Czech | francouzský (gallic), francouzština. (various references) | |
Danish | fransk (French language). (various references) | |
Dutch | Frans (French language). (various references) | |
Esperanto | franca lingvo (French language), franca. (various references) | |
Faeroese | franskur, franskt. (various references) | |
Finnish | ranskalainen (French|man, Frenchman). (various references) | |
French | français (French language, frenchman), langue française (French language). (various references) | |
French Canadian | français. (various references) | |
Frisian | Frânsk. (various references) | |
German | französisch (French language). (various references) | |
Greek | γάλλοσ (frenchman), γαλλικόσ (gallic), γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα (frenchwoman), Γαλλικά. (various references) | |
Hawaiian | frëngjisht (French language). (various references) | |
Hebrew | צרפתית, צרפתי (gallic). (various references) | |
Hungarian | francia (Frenchman, Frenchwoman, froggy, pout). (various references) | |
Icelandic | franskur, franska (French language). (various references) | |
Irish | Fraincis (French language). (various references) | |
Italian | francese (Frenchman, frenchwoman). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | フレコン化 (changing something to full remote control, flex, flextime, float, floater serve, floating, flooring, flora, flow, flow inflation, flowchart, French cancan, French dressing, French kiss, French sleeve, French toast, fresh, fresher, freshman, fret, fretless, friend, friendly, friends, friendship, frozen food, frozen yoghurt, newly hired career-track company employee, wooden floor), フランス窓 (FC, flamberge, flannel, flick, franchise, franchise chain, freak, free, free agent, free dial, free kick, free sex, free skating, free talking, free tax, free throw, free time, free trade, free weights, freedom, freesia, free-software, freestyle, freeware, freeway, freeze, freeze-dry, freezer, French window, frieze, one size fits all, one whose livelihood is provided by part-time work, refrigerator, toll-free number, young people subsisting on part-time work), 仏文 (French literature, French writing), 仏 (buddha, Buddhism, Buddhist image, merciful person, the dead). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | フレンチ , フランセ , ふつぶん (French literature, French writing), ふつ. (various references) | |
Korean | 프랑스 (France). (various references) | |
Malay | Perancis. (various references) | |
Manx | Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank. (various references) | |
Norwegian | fransk. (various references) | |
Papiamen | franses (French language, Frenchman), frances. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | enchfray.(various references) | |
Portuguese | francês (frenchman, gallic). (various references) | |
Provencal | francés. (various references) | |
Romanian | francezii, francezã (frenchwoman, parleyvoo), francez (frenchman, gallic, gaulish, parleyvoo), franţuzesc, franţuzeşte, limba francezã. (various references) | |
Russian | французский (gaulish). (various references) | |
Samoan | Falani (France). (various references) | |
Scottish | pulaidh (turkey cock: French poulet.). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | francuzi, francuski jezik, francuski. (various references) | |
Spanish | francés (French language, Frenchman, parleyvoo). (various references) | |
Swazi | sí-Fulentji. (various references) | |
Swedish | franska (French language, french loaf, french roll, parleyvoo), fransk (gallic). (various references) | |
Turkish | Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransızca, fransız (frog, gallic, gaul), fransa ile ilgili. (various references) | |
Ukrainian | французька мова (parleyvoo), французький. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | người đánh véc ni (french polisher), dầu đánh véc ni (french polish), bao chống thụ thai (french letter). (various references) | |
Welsh | Ffrengig. (various references) | |
Zulu | isiFulentshi (French language). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "French": frenched, frenches, frenchification, frenchifications, frenchified, frenchifies, frenchify, frenchifying, frenching. (additional references) | |
| |
"French" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: afrench, Faraneh, Farrenc, Ffrench, Firmenich, Franch, Franche, frech, Frenchie, Frenchly, Frenk, Friesch, Froech, Froinech, frynych, Rench, Rensch. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "French" (pronounced fre"nkh) |
| 4 | -r e" n kh | drench, entrench, retrench, trench, wrench. |
| 3 | -e" n kh | bench, clench, quench, stench, tench. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "c-e-f-h-n-r" | |
-2 letters: chef, fern, hern. | |
-3 letters: ern, feh, fen, fer, hen, her, rec, ref. | |
-4 letters: ef, eh, en, er, he, ne, re. | |
| Words containing the letters "c-e-f-h-n-r" | |
+2 letters: flincher, frenched, frenches. | |
+3 letters: archfiend, flinchers, franchise, frenchify, frenching. | |
+4 letters: archfiends, beachfront, chaffering, chamfering, chiffonier, franchised, franchisee, franchiser, franchises, greenfinch, henceforth. | |
+5 letters: beachfronts, chiffoniers, cliffhanger, enfranchise, flichtering, franchisees, franchisers, francophone, frenchified, frenchifies, furtherance, handcrafted, neckerchief, thenceforth. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Sounds 10. Quotations: Familiar 11. Quotations: Historic 12. Quotations: Fiction | 13. Quotations: Non-fiction 14. Quotations: Spoken 15. Quotations: Speeches 16. Usage Frequency | 17. Names: Frequency 18. Names: Company Usage 19. Expressions 20. Expressions: Internet | 21. Translations: Modern 22. Abbreviations 23. Acronyms 24. Derivations | 25. Rhymes 26. Anagrams 27. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
