#if wc wiki ages are to be believed

[airoarts]

Leader and deputy

[Image description: a digital painting of Squirrelstar and Ivypool from Warriors. Squirrelstar is a small dark red cat with green eyes, standing in front of the much taller Ivypool, a gray tabby-and-white cat with blue eyes and many battle scars. The background is dark blue. end ID]

[notquitedailyamy]

To be franc...

Those of you who know me will likely be aware of my Francophile tendencies. I was lucky enough to be brought up believing that Milners road-tripping en masse (we are a densely populated family) to the South of France was the reciprocal of “summer holidays”.

These excursions were always excruciatingly last-minute, consistently chaotic, and of immeasurable comedic value. They have provided me with anecdotes to look back and laugh at for a lifetime (and the necessary ammunition to win the school Holiday Diary Competition EVERY frikkin year).  

Before my siblings and I were introduced to the art of travelling lightly

To give you an idea: top of the list of Things to Pack was always superglue... The knight in shining armour that night when an ornamental china vase was knocked off its perch in our rented gîte and smashed into three gazillion pieces so that the rest of the holiday became Project: Meticulously-Stick-Vase-Back-Together-So-That-Nobody-Will-Ever-Know. The fairy godmother that fated afternoon when my Dad’s trip au WC culminated in him being catapulted across the bathroom floor still on the loo seat. At least the latter calamity took only one lot of 24 hours to re-adhere. I won’t mention that both incidents occurred at the same location within the space of a week. I will not.

Anyway, I have subsequently always had a soft spot for L’hexagone and the french ways, and I went on to study french through school and into university (NB yes only into university, never made it out the other side thanks to that other calling I’m still hoping one day I can convince concerned relatives counts as an advisable career choice). Now still, I like to read in french, plug into Radio France Inter while I’m driving, and delve into french cinema in a bid to keep up what I have learned, and stay vaguely in the loop of what I've long since found to be such a wonderfully unique and rich culture.

Over the years, I’ve been enchanted to discover some of the more quirky traits of the country, its traditions and people. These have mostly only served to increase my francophilia. When recently I was tickled to learn that in France it is illegal for any man or woman to name their pig “Napoleon”, I had the idea to investigate and compile my own little ode to the country’s characterful culture, comprising some of the more left field facts and largely unheralded titbits of info...

1   -  There is not a single stop sign in Paris

Up until 2012 there was ONE, situated at the exit of a construction yard. Now - nothing. A newsletter issued by Paris police deemed stop signs unnecessary as priority should always be given to the right in the city centre.

2   -  You can marry the dead

If you can prove the deceased party’s intent (e.g. posted wedding banns), and the family of the deceased approves. An impressive 3 out of 4 posthumous marriage requests are accepted. 

3   -  The Statue of Liberty was a present

She was constructed by Gustave Eiffel (yup - different colossus, same guy), and gifted by the people of France to to the people of the US to mark their independence.

4   -  It’s illegal to call your pig Napoleon

Out of respect for the revered head of state.

5   -  It’s illegal to kiss on trains

This law was introduced in 1910, to prevent delays caused by last minute platform pouting.

6   -  20 min King

Louis XIX managed 20 minutes before abdicating, making him the world’s shortest reigning monarch.

7   -  Home to oldest human

Her name was Jeanne Calment, and she made it to the hitherto unparalleled age of 122 years 164 days.

8   -  Home to luckiest human

And, if a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records is proof enough, that’s a fact. The former president and historical icon (and one of my favourite figures to study) Charles de Gaulle survived no less than 32 assassination attempts in his time.

9   -  Taking back the After Hours

French law gives workers the “right to disconnect” once the working day is done. They are free to ignore all business emails, calls and the like, at least until 9am tomorrow.

10   -  Vive the carrier pigeon

The french army is the only in Europe with carrier pigeons still within its ranks. They’re kept close to Paris, intended for communicative purposes should apt catastrophe strike.

11   -  Change? If you’re lucky

Traders are not legally obliged to give change; the law states it is the customer who must provide the exact money.

12  -  They get their Zzz’s

The french are the biggest sleepers of the developed world, averaging 8.83 hrs.

13  -   Most visited country in the world

...with more than 90 million yearly tourists. And priority is to the right in Paris guys, dontcha know?

14  -   Most Nobel Prize for Lit. winners in the world

To date, the only Nobel Prize category where the US doesn’t come out on top is Literature. From Sully Prudhomme to Patrick Modiano, France has won sixteen. Sartre declined his.

15  -   Most time zones in the world

With overseas territories spread across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as South America, France claims twelve different time zones.

16   -   Transgressive Trousers

Back in 1800, a law was passed prohibiting women from dressing like men. This law was only recently readdressed, and until January 2013, women could still officially be arrested for wearing trousers.

17   -   Rampant Roundabouts

With 30,000 plus, France lays claim to more than half the world’s roundabouts.

18   -   We could’ve been more than neighbours

Facing German threat in 1940, the UK and France briefly considered becoming one - a single nation with common citizenship and a single parliament. Recent events put the final nail in that coffin didn’t they...

Et pour la SuSo: “Chienne de vie” by Zoufris Maracas // Listen here.

References

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/07/tourists-queue-sweltering-french-heat-amid-record-number-visitors/

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/paris/articles/10-unbelievable-french-laws-you-need-to-know/

https://thefactfile.org/france-facts/

https://www.swedishnomad.com/facts-about-france/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/bullo/things-you-might-not-know-about-france

https://www.thelocal.fr/20121004/paris-only-has-one-stop-sign-police

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posthumous_marriage

https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/02/technology/france-office-email-workers-law/index.html