***Season’s Greetings to All My Readers***
I’ve compiled a French Christmas quiz every year since 2011. To see the others, click here.
Welcome to the fifth edition of the Life on La Lune French Christmas Quiz, an internationally-renowned cultural tradition. Here’s something to exercise your brain cells once you’ve exercised your digestion: 20 questions on aspects of French culture, politics, history, gastronomy, geography, etc. Three multiple choice answers are given for each question – but beware, there are some trick questions.
The rules:
- Try to answer without using the internet if you can – it doesn’t always give the right answer. You are, however, authorised to search this blog for some of the answers.
- Please don’t post up your answers in the comments section below – it spoils it for everyone else.
- Don’t take it too seriously; it’s all in fun.
- There are no prizes – simply the warm glow of self-righteousness that comes from doing something other than eating and drinking over Christmas.
- I will provide the correct answers on Wednesday 30th December, so you have a week to puzzle over it.
Have fun.
- What is “la main de Fatima” (the hand of Fatima)?
a) A curse
b) A style of door knocker
c) A type of French pastry
2. What is a “pet de nonne”?
a) A type of French pastry
b) A blessing
c) A prayer stool
3. What is “une jalousie”?
a) A chastity belt
b) A type of window shutter
c) An item of underwear
4. What is someone doing if they “fait chabrot”?
a) Dunking a biscuit in their tea/coffee
b) Drinking the dregs of the soup mixed with wine directly from the plate
c) Being obstinate
5. To what or whom does or did the nickname “La Veuve” refer?
a) The champagne, Veuve Clicquot
b) The guillotine
c) Yvonne de Gaulle, Charles de Gaulle’s widow
6. What is “une truffe”?
a) An edible fungus
b) A dog’s nose
c) A chocolate
7. Which village did French people elect as their favourite in 2015?
a) Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val (Tarn-et-Garonne)
b) Saint-Emilion (Gironde)
c) Ploumanac’h (Côtes-d’Armor)
8. Which river in SW France was described after flooding in 1930 as “une des rivières les plus terribles de France.” (one of the most terrible rivers in France)?
a) The Aveyron
b) The Lot
c) The Tarn
9. What proportion of the surface area of France is actually situated outside France métropolitaine (mainland France + Corsica)?
a) 12%
b) 17%
c) 21%
10. After Ile de France (Paris and surrounding area), which of the new regions of France from 1st January 2016 will have the largest population?
a) Aquitaine-Limousin-Poitou-Charentes
b) Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
c) Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
11. Which film was shot in the village of Bruniquel?
a) The Hundred Foot Journey
b) Jean de Florette
c) Le Vieux Fusil
12. For which industry was la Forêt de Grésigne once noted?
a) Glass blowing
b) Iron smelting
c) Pottery making
13. How many of Eleanor of Aquitaine’s children became king of England?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
14. In 1209, during the Albigensian crusade, who is reputed to have answered when asked how they would distinguish between heretics and faithful in the conquered city of Béziers, “Kill them all. God will recognise His own”?
a) Arnaud Amaury, Abbot of Cîteaux
b) Simon de Montfort
c) King Philippe II of France
15. Which famous work of art was sheltered at the Abbaye de Loc Dieu (Aveyron) for a time during World War II?
a) Rodin’s “The Kiss”
b) Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”
c) Leonardo’s “Mona Lisa”
16. Which French president of the 5th Republic died in office?
a) Charles de Gaulle
b) François Mitterrand
c) Georges Pompidou
17. Which French political party was renamed “Les Républicains” in 2015?
a) Modem
b) Parti Communiste Français
c) UMP (Union pour un mouvement populaire)
18. Which famous Parisian hotel will reopen in 2016 after several years of renovations?
a) The Crillon
b) The George V
c) The Ritz
19. Who said, “The French are Italians in a bad mood.”
a) Winston Churchill
b) Gérard Dépardieu
c) André Gide
20. What name is forbidden by law to be given to a pig in France?
a) The name of the current president
b) Napoléon
c) Pétain
***Bonnes fêtes à tout le monde***
Copyright © 2015 Life on La Lune, all rights reserved
Life on La Lune 
Great fun – thanks for putting that quiz together!! Am looking forward to the answers!!
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Glad you enjoyed it. Answers on Wednesday!
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Bookmarked for perusing over the holiday! And from up here in the not so cold Cantal, I wish you a very very happy Christmas full of whatever you wish for and empty of strife 🙂
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I hope you enjoy the quiz if you decide to have a go. It’s amazingly mild down here, too, and not a drop of rain yet in December, which is unheard-of. A happy and peaceful Christmas to you too. 🙂
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And a Merry Christmas to you and your family too. I’m trying to recapture (remember?) all those French Christmas traditions I grew up with. My late father was French Canadian. Our surname is Perrin and the first Perrin came to Nouvelle France in 1756 as a soldier to save the colony from the British. He was from Escatalens, Tarn-et-Garonne, not far from you I gather. Then, the surname was Paren/Parent – it evolved into Perrin over here. I’ve done my research into the Escatalens area and it’s a place I simply must visit one day. The entire area. How fortunate you are live there. Again, Merry Christmas, Lynn Perrin Ayres, Ontario, Canada
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Merry Christmas to you too, Lynn. I was interested to read about your family history. Funnily enough, I met an American lady a couple of years ago, whose ancestor came from a village near us and went to Canada as a soldier – and stayed. I’ve never been to Escatalens, since it’s in the SW of Tarn-et-Garonne and we are in the NE, but now I’m interested to find out more about it. It’s not far from Montech, about which I wrote a post a couple of years back, since it has an interesting water slope by the canal that bypasses several of the locks. Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://vanessafrance.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/the-water-slope-at-montech-a-technical-one-off/
I hope you visit the area one day. I’m sure you’ll find it fascinating.
Season’s Greetings, Vanessa
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To you as well, Life on la Lune, joyeux Noël et une très bonne année !
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Pareillement!
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