30 fascinating facts about France: Food, history, culture & more!  

Itching to learn some fascinating facts about France? The Paris Teachers Club has you covered! 

France is a captivating country, rich in history, culture and endless surprises that all combine to make it the most visited destination in the world! 

This week on the Paris Teachers Club blog, we’ve listed 30 of the most fascinating facts about France for you. From history to food, lifestyle to landmarks, we bet you didn’t know quite a few of these fascinating facts about France! 

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1. France is the most popular destination in the world, 218 million international visitors flew into France in 2019!

2. France has almost 3500km of coastline and many of its beaches are world famous. 

3. Paris’ Louvre is the most visited museum in world. 8 million people a year visit the museum.

4. The national motto of France is “Liberté, Égalitié, Fraternité.”

5. France is the largest country in the EU. 

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6. The French economy is the sixth largest in the world. 

7. The most common names in France are Jean, Marie and Michel. 

8. France is home to 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

9. There are 40,000 chateaux across France! 

10. 19% of the population of France live in its capital, Paris. 

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11. There are 308 Metro stations in the city of Paris. 

12. France has one of the best education systems in the world, and 99% of the population over 15 years of age is literate. 

13. The French national anthem is called “La Marseillaise” and it was written in 1792. 

14. About 88% of the population of France speak French. 

15. Paris’ Gare du Nord is Europe’s busiest railway station. 

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16. Mainland France is divided into 13 administrative regions. 

17. French women walk an average of 7500 steps per day, and 65% of French people walk briskly seven days a week. 

18. The most popular coffee in France is “un café”, a single shot espresso. 

19. The average French person eats 3,558 calories per day.

20. France’s national day is July 14th, Bastille Day. 

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21. It rains 171 days of the year in Paris. 

22. 25,000 tonnes of snails are eaten each year in France. 

23. The French sleep almost 9 hours a night on average, making them one of the world’s biggest sleepers. 

24. Paris is home to over 6000 public libraries. 

25. Full time employees in France have one of the most generous annual leave schemes in the world, with 25 days off on average per year. 

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26. In 1993, “Le Décret Pain” was instated. This “bread law” dictated strict requirements for how bakers across France must make and sell “Pain Maison” – or homemade bread.

27. France has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. 

28. France is one of 13 “Romance languages” that evolved from Latin. 

29. France has one of the lowest retirement ages in the world. Currently, the statutory age of retirement is 62. 

30. When French became the national language of France in 1539, only 20% of the population spoke it. 

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Did you learn a new fact about France?

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