I’ve compiled a French Christmas quiz every year since 2011. To see the others, click here.

First, I’d like to wish all my readers a very Happy Christmas.

Now, here’s something to keep you Francophiles occupied after the turkey and Christmas pud, or whatever you eat on Christmas Day. Below are 20 questions about France with multiple choice answers. There is more than one right answer in some cases.

I’ll post up the answers on 27^th December so you’ve got Boxing Day to work on them. I’m not offering a prize – virtue is its own reward, after all. And the Internet has rather spoiled things by providing easy access to the answers. But beware – they aren’t always the correct ones. Some, but not all, of the answers can be found on this blog.

Please try it first without recourse to the Internet, unless you get really stuck.

1. In which country was the actor Yves Montand born?

a)    Belgium
b)    France
c)    Italy
d)    Monaco

2. Which of the following actors never played Commissaire Maigret?

a)    Bruno Cremer
b)    Jean Gabin
c)    Philippe Noiret
d)    Lino Ventura

3. What is a baguette?

a)    A conductor’s baton
b)    A lady of easy virtue
c)    A ring
d)    A type of loaf

4. Of the seven Presidents of the 5^th Republic, how many have been socialists?

a)    None
b)    One
c)    Two
d)    Three

5. Who is reputed to have said, ‘How can you govern a nation that has two hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?’

a)    David Cameron
b)    Winston Churchill
c)    Charles de Gaulle
d)    François Mitterand

6. Which is France’s third largest city in terms of population?

a)    Bordeaux
b)    Marseille
c)    Lyon
d)    Toulouse

7. How tall was Napoleon Bonaparte?

a)    4’ 11”
b)    5’ 2”
c)    5’ 5”
d)    5’ 7”

8. How tall is President Sarkozy?

a)    4’ 11”
b)    5’ 2”
c)    5’ 5”
d)    5’ 7”

9. Which is France’s most recently-established département?

a)    Mayotte
b)    Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
c)    Tarn-et-Garonne
d)    Territoire de Belfort

10. How many monarchs named Louis have ruled France?

a)    Seventeen
b)    Eighteen
c)    Nineteen
d)    Twenty

11. Which singer played the lead role, Etienne Lantier, in the film version of Zola’s ‘Germinal’?

a)    Jacques Brel
b)    Claude François
c)    Johnny Hallyday
d)    Renaud

12. What is the main ingredient of the dish ‘cacasse a cul nu’?

a)    Guinea fowl
b)    Offal
c)    Potatoes
d)    Truffles

13. How many countries does France border?

a)    Six
b)    Eight
c)    Ten
d)    Twelve

And, for an extra brainteaser, can you name them?

14. On which of the following trees does mistletoe seldom grow in France?

a)    Apple
b)    Black poplar
c)    Cherry
d)    Oak

15. Which southern French city is known as ‘the pinkest of the pink cities’?

a)    Avignon
b)    Nîmes
c)    Montauban
d)    Toulouse

16. What do the French celebrate on 14^th July every year?

a)    The Battle of Austerlitz
b)    La Fête de la Fédération in 1790
c)    President Sarkozy’s official birthday
d)    The storming of the Bastille in 1789

17. Of which European principality is the French President the co-ruler?

a)    Andorra
b)    Liechtenstein
c)    Monaco

18. How did shepherds in the Landes area get about before 4x4s?

a)    By bicycle
b)    On foot
c)    On horseback
d)    On stilts

19. Which item of clothing are French women forbidden to wear by law?

a)    Berets
b)    Socks
c)    Ties
d)    Trousers

20. When did French women get the right to vote?

a)    1918
b)    1944
c)    1945
d)    1964

Have fun!

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