Funny Facts About France

1) The youngest person to win the Tour de France cycling race was 19 year old, Henri Cornet in 1904. Do you think they let him keep his stabilisers on?

2) In 1930 Louis-Antoine became King Louis XIX of France in what was the shortest ever reign by a monarch. He took the throne for just 20 minutes before abdicating!

3) In November 2010, the Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame De L’Annonciation became the oldest female group to get into the UK album charts with ‘Voices: Chant From Avignon’. The French nuns with an average age of 60 got to number 24, ahead of albums by Lady Gaga, Eminem and the Beatles!

4) It seems that French people go from strength to strength in their old age. In 2002 Francois Frenandez  and Madeleine Francineau became the oldest couple ever to marry, at the ages of 96 years 290 days and 94 years 201 days, respectively. This really sets the standard for waiting for the right person!

5) A French wine, Chateau d’Yquem (1811), became the most expensive white wine ever when it was sold for $117,000 (£75,000) in 2011. Can you make mine a spritzer please? Put some ice and a slice in there for me?

6) In France it is illegal to call a pig ‘Napoleon’. However, you can call them ‘sausages’, ‘bacon’ or ‘pork chops’ which all seem much more appropriate. They can’t understand!

7) The bikini was invented at the same time by two different French designers. Jacques Heim and Louis Reard both claim to have designed the two-piece bathing suit during roughly the same period. I am sure all men would agree, it doesn’t matter who it was, it just matters that it happened. Thanks and congratulations to both of you for making the world a better place!

8) Jeans were invented in France from the fabric denim, which is short for ‘De Nimes’, the place where it was first made. So the French are responsible for jeans … but who is responsible for men wearing skinny jeans? Come on, own up, you have a lot to answer for!

9) There are 365 different types of cheese that come from France, one for every day of the year. Did they invent Cheese in a Can though? NO THEY DIDN’T!

10) The French health system is generally regarded as the best in the world. However, it is also very common for medication, even for minor illness like a common cold, to be prescribed as a suppository. I think I would rather have a cold!

We hope you enjoyed those, please feel free to browse around the rest of the site where we have many more fun facts for you to enjoy!