Geography
1) What French city hosts an annual film festival (usually in May) that previews new films of all genres from around the world?
Cannes
2) What is the capital of Senegal?
Dakar
3) What French city’s name is derived from the Greek word, “nike” which means victory?
Nice
4) Which body of water is to the west of France?
The Atlantic Ocean
5) What is the highest mountain in France?
Mont Blanc
6) Name the river that runs through Paris. It is the second longest river in France.
the Seine (La Seine)
7) What city in the Ivory Coast is known as the “Paris” or “melting pot” of Africa?
Abidjan
8) What are the names of two Caribbean, French overseas departments?
Martinique and Guadeloupe
9) What is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?
Kinshasa
10) What is the second largest city in France?
Marseille
11) Brussels is the capital of what French-speaking country?
Belgium
12) Name the francophone country located between Liberia and Ghana.
Ivory Coast (La Côte d’Ivoire)
13) From where does most of France’s olive oil come?
Provence
14) Name the largest lake in Central Europe located in Switzerland.
Lake Geneva
15) What mountains border France and Spain?
Pyrenees
16) What is the capital of Congo?
Brazzaville
17) What francophone island is south of France in the Mediterranean Sea?
Corsica (La Corse)
18) What French-speaking country in Europe has four official languages?
Switzerland
19) Which is the longest river in France?
The Loire
20) What is La Côte d’Azur ?
French Riviera
21) Name the French-speaking country on the western border of Rwanda.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (République Démocratique du Congo)
22) Name the biggest winter carnival in the world.
Le Carnaval de Quebec
23) What francophone country is west of the Dominican Republic?
Haiti
24) What is the capital of Switzerland?
Bern
25) Name the overseas department and region of France on the North Atlantic Coast of South America.
French Guiana
26) What is the capital of Mali?
Bamako
27) What is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris?
Montreal
28) Name the capital of Haiti.
Port-au-Prince
29) Paris is the capital of what French-speaking country?
France
30) Name the only Canadian province that has a predominantly French-speaking population.
Quebec
31) What is the capital of Togo?
Lomé

32) Name the French-speaking island off the coast of South Africa.
Madagascar

 

People
33) What French songstress was known as “The Little Sparrow” and became a musical icon of France during World War II?
Edith Piaf
34)  What French artist is famous for his paintings of Tahiti?
Paul Gauguin
35) Who designed the Louvre Pyramids?
I. M. Pei
36)  Who wrote Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea?
Answer: Jules Verne
37) What famous post-impressionist Dutch painter settled in Arles, France in 1888?
Vincent Van Gogh
38) What French explorer claimed the area that is now Quebec, Canada for France during the 1530’s?
Jacques Cartier
39) What Frenchman is the leading explorer of sea life?
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
40)  Name the author of  Le Petit Prince.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
41) What was Coco Chanel’s profession?
Fashion designer
42) Name the French sculptor who is best known for the following works: “The Gates of Hell”, “the Thinker”, and “The Age of Bronze”
Rodin
43) Who is the current president of France?
François Hollande
44) Name the Frenchman who created a system of reading for the visually impaired.
Louis Braille
45) True or False. René Descartes was a writer, philosopher and mathematician
True
46) What French explorer established Quebec in 1608?
Samuel de Champlain
47) Who invented the process of pasteurization?
Louis Pasteur
48) Who wrote Jean de Florette?
Marcel Pagnol
49) Name the former NBA player who built a hospital in his native country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Dikembe Mutombo
50) Name one of the most celebrated African musicians in history known for his mix of Senegalese mbalax.
Youssou N’Dour
51) Who created one of the best known Impressionist works:” Danse at the Moulin de la Galette”?
Pierre –Auguste Renoir
52) Name the entrepreneur and designer who became the personal box maker and packer of Napoleon Bonaparte’s wife, Josephine in 1852.
Louis Vuitton
53) What French-speaking recording artist sang Disney’s hit song “Beauty and the Beast” which won a Grammy and an Oscar?
Celine Dion
54) Name the Senegalese poet, teacher, and statesman who became the first president of Senegal in 1960, and a major proponent of the concept of Negritude.
Leopold Senghor
55) What Haitian American author is known for her critically acclaimed work, Breath, Eyes, Memory?
Edwidge Danticat
56) As a child, what French-speaking fashion designer enjoyed making intricate paper dolls, and by his early teens he was designing dresses for his mother and sisters?
Yves Saint Laurent
57) What French fashion designer was taught to sew in orphanages, and later became famous for her timeless designs, trademark suits, and little black dresses?
Coco Chanel
58) What Senegalese historian and doctor wrote the following work in French: The African Origin of Civilization: Myth or Reality?
Cheikh Diop
59) What French actress has the leading role in the following movies: “Amelie”, “The DaVinci Code”, and “A Very Long Engagement”?
Audrey Tautou
60) What French president served in World War I and II and later became president of the Fifth Republic?
Charles de Gaulle
61) Who wrote The Count of Monte Cristo?
Alexandre Dumas
62) Which French scientist was the first person to earn two Nobel Prizes in science?
Marie Curie
63) What was the profession of Jacques Cartier?
Explorer
64) What did Monet, Manet and Renoir have in common?
Impressionistic painters
65) Name the French emperor who died in exile on an island called St. Helena.
Napoleon Bonaparte
66) Ousmane Sow is a Senegalese…
a) archeologist  b) sculptor (correct)  c) fashion designer  d) musician
67) Who won the French national figure skating title nine times and the European figure skating title five times?
Surya Bonaly
68) Name the group of people who live in many francophone countries that preserve history through storytelling, music, and dance.
griots
69) Who gave the name to the impressionist movement with his painting: Impression: soleil levant?
Claude Monet
70) Who helped design the Statue of Liberty as well as the most popular monument in France?
Gustave Eiffel
71) Who wrote Beauty and the Beast?
Jean Cocteau
72) What was the profession of Edith Piaf?
Singer
73) Who wrote Les Pensées?
Blaise Pascal
74) What artist was born in Limoges in 1841 and is best known for painting landscapes and people using the soft style characteristics of impressionist painters?
Renoir
75) What famous artist from Spain lived in Le Bateau Lavoir (in Paris) from 1904 to 1909?
a) Pablo Picasso (correct) b) Francisco de Goya c)Miguel de Cervantes d) Marco Polo
76) Who was the Maid of Orleans?
Joan of Arc
77) At the age of seventeen who liberated the city of Orleans from the English during the Hundred Years War?
Joan of Arc
78) Who was the husband of Marie Antoinette?
Louis XVI
79) Who won the Nobel Prize for physics in 1903?
Marie and Pierre Curie
80) Of which king was the Man in the Iron Mask supposedly
the twin brother?
Louis XIV
81) Who is considered the greatest writer of fables in France?
Jean de la Fontaine
82) Due to rheumatoid arthritis which badly deformed his hands, what painter did some of his late works sitting in a wheelchair with brushes tied to his wrists?
Renoir
83) Who was Louis Lumière?
The man who invented moving pictures
84) Who was the first president of the Ivory Coast after it gained independence from France in 1960?
Felix Houphouët-Boigny
85) Who was Louis Renault?
Founder of Renault autos
86) Who was known for his most famous work, the 90-volume La Comédie Humaine?
Honoré de Balzac

Culture
87) In how many countries is French an official language?
33
88) What is considered the most comprehensive French dictionary?
Le Grand Robert
89) When do French people celebrate the Epiphany?
The first Sunday in January
90) By law, how many weeks are French employees entitled of vacation?
Five
91) What cake is eaten throughout the Christmas season that is shaped like a log and made of chocolate and chestnuts?
Bûche de Noël
92) What is the name of the tax on products in France?
TVA
93) In what month does the Tour de France take place?
July
94) What is the nickname of the French flag?
Le tricolore
95) Name the system of measurement created by the French during the French Revolution in 1789.
Metric System
96) How many free television stations are available in France?
Five
97) True or False: Advertising for alcohol, cigarettes, and the majority of medication is allowed in France.
False
98) About how many people visit France each year?
75 million
99) What sport is played at Le Tournoi de Six Nations?
rugby
100) What is the most popular sport in Quebec?
Ice Hockey
101) When is France’s national holiday?
July 14th
102) Who celebrates La Fete de Saint Catherine on November 25?
Unmarried women
103) How many times each year do big fashion houses present their collections in Paris?
Twice (2)
104) True or False: French people must give their signature after using a carte bleue.
False
105) What is a carte bleue?
A bank card used similarly like a debit card
106) What is Paris’ nickname?
“The City of Lights”
107) What sport takes place each year at Roland-Garros stadium?
tennis
108) How many years is a presidential term in France?
Five
109) In what month do most French people take their vacation?
August
110) At what age can French people retire if they starting working at 18 years old?
60
111) What do French children put in front of the fireplace on Christmas in hopes that Père Noël will fill them with gifts?
Their shoes

112) What is the name of an outdoor restaurant in the Ivory Coast?
a maquis
113) Name the French information service available to people even if they don’t have a modem or computer.
Minitel
114) What takes place on the first day of summer in France?
a world-renowned music festival (La Fête de la musique)
115) What is the grading scale for French schools?
0-20
116) What are the colors of French traffic lights?
green, red and orange
117) Give the name for a traditional fish soup made with Mediterranean fish and shellfish.
bouillabaisse
118) In Senegal, what beverage is rarely drunk at breakfast, but rather at the end of a meal?
tea
119) How many times do report cards come out in French schools?
three
120) Name the game that players throw several steel balls to be the closest to a smaller wooden ball.
pétanque
121) What is the French equivalent of the American Oscar?
César
122) What is the age for getting a driver’s license?
18
123) True or False. The French government encourages families to have children by offering monetary incentives to large families to help with education and other expenses.
True
124) What is the national dish of the Ivory Coast?
foutou
125) La Jaconde is the French name for what famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci?
The Mona Lisa
126) Poulet Yassa is a specialty dish from what French-speaking country?
Senegal
127) True or False. Post offices in France often offer financial services similar to those at a bank.
True
128) How many times are French stores allowed to have items of sale?
two
129) What is a Bateau Mouche?
A tourist boat on the Seine River
130) True or False: In many French homes, the toilet is in a room separate from the bathroom.
True
131) When is France’s Labor Day?
May 1
132) What small francophone country is between Ghana and Benin?
Togo

133) True or False: In a French house, the floor above the street level is the second floor.
False.
134) What is a gite?
A French holiday home that is available for rent.
135) Name the organization founded in 1971 by French doctors that delivers medical care to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, malnutrition in more than 70 countries.
Doctors without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières)
136) In which had do French people hold their fork while eating?
Left
137) What do French boys and girls do when they meet or say goodbye.
Kiss on the cheeks
138) What form of you would a person use when addressing a person you don’t know on a first-name basis?
Vous
139) Name the youth center that many French cities have that allow children to engage in a variety of activities and sports.
La Maison des jeunes et de la culture
140) Name the French comic book hero that was created in 1959 by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
Astérix
141) What do French people do when they leave each other?
Shake hands
142) What is the largest airline in France?
Air France
143) What do French people use to measure the temperature?
the Celsius scale
144) What is the TGV?
a high speed electric train that runs at 186 mph.
145) What is the official motto of Quebec?
Je me souviens. (I remember)
146) In Senegal, what craft and art is created when the maker draws patterns with hot wax on a white cotton cloth which is later dyed and waxed several times?
Batik
147) In Senegal, where French is the official language, it is a common custom to greet a person in what language first.
Arabic
148) What is the Sorbonne?
A university in Paris
149) What is the name of the modern circus troupe created by Guy Laliberte in Quebec in 1984?
Cirque du Soleil
150) True or False. French people say “hello” every time they see a person.
False.
151) Name the mascot of the Carnaval de Quebec.
Bonhomme Carnaval

152) Give the name for a traditional West African outfit?
boubou
153) What color does the Tour de France’s overall race leader race leader wear?
Yellow
154) Name the system of time used to for schedules for school, movies and stores.
24-hour system (l’heure officielle)
156) Where do many French people go on Christmas Eve?
Midnight mass
157) True or False: In France, placing your hand in your lap while eating is considered polite.
False
158) What is the motto of France?
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
159) Le Bûche de Noël is …
a) a mountain
b) a cake (correct)
c) a museum
d) Santa Claus
160) Name the French cheese known as the “king of cheese”.
Brie
161) What grading scale is used in French schools?
0-20
162) 90% of the people in Senegal are affiliated with this religion?
Islam
163) When do many adults open their Christmas gifts?
Christmas Eve
164) True or False: Clothing sizes are not different in France and Senegal.
False
165) What sporting event will host 200 cyclists covering over 2,300 miles in just 23 days?
Le Tour de France
166) What do French people call a song or poem for children?
Comptine
167) In France, by law, restaurants automatically include a 15% tip.
True
168) What is the legal voting age in France?
18
169) What are santons?
Little clay figurines of the nativity scene
170) What do many grocery stores require of patrons to get a shopping cart?
A deposit
171) What is France’s population?
over 11 million
172) Wolof is a language spoken in what francophone country?
Senegal

173) True or False: In France, patrons have to bag their own groceries.
True
174) Souwere paintings, found in many French-speaking countries in Africa are made of what kind of material?
glass
175) What is the French national anthem?
La Marseillaise
176) True or False: In France, most students have to buy their own books.
True
177) Where can a person sit all day with only one or two drinks?
At a French café
178) What sporting event takes place in May and is one of four grand slam tournaments on the professional tennis calendar?
French Open
179) What is the most popular sport in France?
soccer or association football
180) What is the most important industry of Senegal?
fishing
181) True or False: French is an official language of more countries than Spanish.
True
182) Many French children are taught how to read using …
a) Boule et Bill (correct)
b) Le Petit Nicolas
c) le Petit Prince
d) Les Trois Mousquetaires
183) What kind of town is Rennes most known for…
a) tourist   b) industrial    c) fashion    d) university
184) What is the dominant religion or denomination in France?
Roman Catholicism
185) True or False. France provides universal health care for its citizens.
True
186) What is the third largest crop grown in France?
Grapes (for wine making)
187) When is the French Labor Day?
May 1
188) What is the name of the organization that regulates the French language?
Académie française
189) Name the videotext online services in France which is accessible through telephone lives?
Minitel
190) Where do most French people buy their bread: a supermarket or bakery?
A bakery
191) What is Breton?
A Celtic language similar to Cornish or Welsh
192) Milles-Bornes is a French…
a) game (correct)   b) hotel  c) mountain   d) city
193) Around what time do most young people finish school?
Five o’clock
194) What is the national bird of France?
The rooster

195) Lucky Luke, Tintin et Gaston Lagaffe and Astérix are French…
a) stores   b) fashion designers  c) comics  (correct) d) paintings
196) What unique thing is in a galette des rois?
A bean, or porcelain figure
197) French comes from what language?
Latin
198) True or False: Most French schools have sports teams.
False.
199) What is a Bateau Mouche? Tourist boat on the Seine
200) What is the color of the jersey for French national sports?
Blue
201) Name the five-day festival that showcases different types of traditional and contemporary creative expression that takes place in Breton every July.
Les Tombées de la nuit
202) In which hand do the French hold the fork while eating? Left
203) True or False: French children learn how to write block letters before learning how to write in cursive.
False
204) What is lute sénégalaise?
A traditional wrestling match and national sporting event in Senegal
205) True or False: France’s literacy rate is nearly 100%.
True
206) True or False: In many French homes, morning coffee is often served in a bowl.
True
207) What is “boules” or “pétanque”?
Lawn bowling
208) Who is Guignol?
A famous French puppet
209) During which month are the grapes gathered?
September
210) True or False: The lily (or fleur de lis) is the official national flower of France.
False
211) Name the transit system in Paris that is used by almost 1.4 billion travelers every year.
Metro

Monuments and Tourist Sites
212) Name the burial place for martyrs and famous French citizens which was built in Paris under the orders of King Louis XV and originally dedicated to Saint Genevieve as a church.
The Pantheon
213) What is the largest and most famous museum in France?
the Louvre
214) In Senegal, Le Parc nationale de Langue de Barbarie is a sanctuary for what kind of animal?
birds
215) Le Café de Flore, one of France’s most famous cafes is located in what French city?
a) Lille  b) Cannes  c) Marseille   d) Paris (correct)
216) What luxury hotel was built between 1893 and 1924 by the Canadian Pacific Railway?
a) Le Chateau Frontenac (correct)
b) la terrasse de Saint Denis
c) Le Petit Champlain
d) La chute Montmorency
217) What is the principal goal of Niokolo Koba National Park in Senegal?
To protect animals nearly extinct
218) Where can you visit a medieval walled city with a large gothic abbey built on a small granite outcrop?
Mont Saint-Michel
219) Name the cathedral located outside the Ile-de-France recognized for its architectural style and its remarkable stained-glass windows.
Notre Dame (de Chartres)
220) Les Deux Magots is a …

1. Garden
2. Museum
3. Café (Correct)
4. Ice skating ring

221) Located in Aix-en-Provence, what tourist site was where the Romans originally built their baths and where you can now see remains of Roman villas?
Le parc des Thermes
222) What is the oldest French city in West Africa? It was also the first capital of Senegal.
Saint-Louis
223) Name the theme park near Poitier that features modern visual technology in a futuristic setting.
Futuroscope
224) What museum in Paris is over 800 years old?
The Louvre (le Louvre)
225) In 1806, Napoleon ordered the construction of what famous French monument?
a) Le Louvre
b) L’Arc de Triomphe (correct)
c) Les catacombs
d) Le pendule de Foucault
226) Name the Parisian monument that was the tallest in the world when it was built in 1889.
The Eiffel Tower (La tour Eiffel)
227) Where is the most famous Roman arena in France?
Nîmes
228) Name the place in the 18th century where thousands of bones were buried after being removed from overcrowded cemeteries.
Les catacombes
229) Name the tourist spot in Quebec that contains the southernmost tip of the band of boreal forest that circles the northern hemisphere from Quebec through Scandinavia and Siberia to Alaska.
Le parc de la Jacques-Cartier
230) Give another name for Le Centre Pompidou.
Beaubourg
231) Name the large clock that was built by a physician in 1851 to show the rotation of the sun on its axis.
Le pendule de Foucault
232) What is the architectural style of the Cathedral of Notre Dame?
Gothic

233) Where can you ride the roller coaster, Space Mountain: Mission 2 in France?
Disneyland Paris
234) Located in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, name the largest basilica in the world.
the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace
235) Name this popular forest known for cycling, horseback riding and rock climbing.
Fontainebleau
236) Where is the Hall of Mirrors?
Versailles

History
237) When was the first day Euros were used in France?
January 1, 2002
238) Why did the French give the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
As a celebration of both the union’s victory in the American Revolution, and the abolition of slavery.
239) In the late 19th and early 20th century, what important group of people live or worked near the “place du Tertre”?
a) doctors                               d) artists (correct)
b) politicians
c)fashion designers
240) What year did the French Revolution start?
Answer: 1789
241) What was France called when the Romans invaded?
Gaul
242) What state in the United States was once a French colony?
Louisiana
243) What is interred at the base of the Arc de Triomphe?
The remains of an unknown soldier for World War 1
244) Who first settled Paris around the third century B.C.?
Celtic Gauls
245) What was the Bastille?
A prison
246) Around what year did the Gauls migrate from the Rhine Valley to what is now France and northern Italy?
1500 B.C.
247) When did the French start colonizing Africa?
1642
248) What marked the start of the French Revolution?
The taking of the Bastille Prison
249) When was the province of Quebec created?
1763
250) True or False: Mardi Gras is only celebrated in Paris each year.
False
251) The French Revolution marked the end of what kind of government in France?
Monarchy
252) Who controlled Paris from 52 B.C. to the 5th century?
The Romans
253) What gift did France give to the United States in 1886?
Statue of Liberty
254) The French were driven out of this country in Southeast Asia in 1954?
Vietnam
255) What is the official date of the Louisiana Purchase?
1803
256) Where does France get its name?
From the Francs
257) When was Paris made the capital of Gaul, France’s former name?
508 A.D.
258) During World War II, what country invaded France in 1940?
Germany
259) During World War II, what year did Germany invade France?
1940
260) In 1980, the first separatist referendum was created for this Canadian province?
Quebec
261) In what year did Haiti become officially independent from France?
1804
262) When did the Romans begin their conquest of Gaul (modern day France)?
125 B.C.
263) What French King invaded England in 1066?
William, the Conqueror
264) The head of this statue was displayed at the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878?
The Statue of Liberty
265) By what year had most of francophone Africa gained independence?
1960
266) Who was the first emperor of the French Republic?
Napoleon Bonaparte

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bibliography

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