Question 1: Miriam Makeba (1932 - 2008) was a naturalised French citizen of South African origin. What is she best known for?

• Discovered the atom at the start of the 20th century. Entombed at the Panthéon in Paris
• Engaged in the struggle against apartheid and the first South African singer (Pata, Pata) to win a Grammy Award
• A journalist, screenwriter, writer and politician, co-founder of the Express, and two times Secretary of State
• A French poet and writer

Question 2: What is meant by the principal of "Fraternity" in France?

• Employers should always employ a native-born French person first (if available), before anyone of different ethnicity
• This principal applies specifically to discrimination on the basis of origin, religion or sex - which is forbidden
• The principal that French companies are solely responsible for funding the social security system.
• General solidarity amongst citizens - illustrated by the social security system, founded in 1945 and financed by companies and those in employment

Question 3: When was the French Civil Code, which defines the legal rights and duties of French citizens, established?

• The 21st March 1804 by the emperor Napoleon who prepared the code with a commission of four eminent jurists including Louis-Joseph Faure
• The 1st October 2016 when contract case law was codified into the Civil Code
• The 1st of March 1994
• The 3rd of June 1810

Question 4: Which of the following statements is correct?

• The President of the French Republic is elected by universal suffrage for five years. He/she appoints the Government, headed by the Prime Minister, from the party winning the majority in the legislative elections
• The Parliament, composed of the National Assembly and the Senate, votes on laws and controls the Government. Members of the National Assembly are elected every five years in legislative elections.
• Justice is exercised by the magistrates, settling disputes between individuals or companies, and between citizens and the administration. Offences against the law are punished by imprisonment or via other penalties set out in statute.
• All of the above

Question 5: Name a fourth principal of the French Republic?

• Charity (la Charité) - assisting those who are ill, disabled, or very poor
• Military Defence - that the principals of the French Revolution should, if necessary, be defended by force
• Secularism (la laïcité - the principle of separation of civil society and religious society.)
• Religion - all citizens must declare their religious beliefs in a regular census

Question 6: What are the responsibilities of the French Government?

• Management of nursery and primary schools, sports and cultural activities, street maintenance and the registration of births, marriages and deaths
• Management of colleges, child protection, assistance to the elderly
• Management of public transport, vocational training, the construction and maintenance of high schools (les lycées)
• Determination of national policy

Question 7: When was the social security system, financed by French businesses and workers, established?

• 1958
• 1875
• 1789
• 1945

Question 8: What does the date of the 8th of May represent?

• The start of the First World War in 1914
• The end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945
• The opening of the Estates General in 1789 marking the start of the French Revolution
• The annual Labour Day celebration (la Fête du Travail)

Question 9: Who founded the current French institutions of the 5th Republic in 1958?

• Henri Giraud (1879 - 1949)
• Marshal Pétain (1856 – 1951)
• Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (1902 – 1947)
• Charles de Gaulle (1890 - 1970)

Question 10: Which of the following relates to the 5th Century AD?

• The Lascaux Cave paintings (prehistoric period)
• The arrival of the Romans and Latin culture (period of antiquity)
• Joanne of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) - the young peasant who liberated a part of the French territory occupied by the English during the 100 years war
• Clovis: the King who unified the kingdoms of France and adopted Christianity

Question 11: When did the European Union's bill of rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, become legally binding in France?

• In 1992 via the Maastricht Treaty (the Treaty on European Union)
• In 1957 via the Treaty of Rome
• 1 January 2002
• 1 December 2009 when the Lisbon Treaty, signed 13 December 2007, came into force.

Question 12: Name a famous French singer:

• Édith Piaf
• Albert Camus
• Simone de Beauvoir
• Auguste Rodin

Question 13: When did France give up the French Franc for the Euro?

• In 1992 via the Maastricht Treaty (the Treaty on European Union)
• In 1957 via the Treaty of Rome
• 1 January 2002
• 1 December 2009 when the Lisbon Treaty, signed 13 December 2007, came into force

Question 14: Joseph Kessel (1898 - 1979) was a naturalised French citizen of Argentinian origin. What is he best known for?

• The only writer to receive the Goncourt prize twice: the first time in 1956 under his real name for The Roots of Heaven, the second in 1975 under the pseudonym Emile Ajar for Life Ahead.
• Reporter and novelist, elected a member of the Académie Française in 1962.
• A painter - one of the founders of abstract art
• Athlete and veteran of World War II, won the marathon at the 1956 Olympic Games

Question 15: Identify the correct, chronological list of French presidents of the Fifth Republic:

• Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, Emmanuel Macron
• Charles de Gaulle, Georges Pompidou, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Dominique de Villepin, François Hollande, Emmanuel Macron
• Charles de Gaulle, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Georges Pompidou, François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, Emmanuel Macron
• Charles de Gaulle, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Alain Poher, François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy, François Hollande, Emmanuel Macron

Question 16: Correctly identify 5 overseas French collectivities (empowered to make their own laws, except in certain areas reserved to the French national government)?

• Martinique (972), Guyane (973), La Réunion (974), Mayotte (975) and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (976)
• Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (976), Saint-Barthélemy (977), Saint-Martin (978), Wallis-et-Futuna (986) and Polynésie française (987)
• Guadeloupe (971), Martinique (972), Guyane (973), La Réunion (974) and Mayotte (975)
• La Réunion (974), Mayotte (975), Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (976), Saint-Barthélemy (977) and Saint-Martin (978)

Question 17: Who is Marianne?

• The French Queen at the time of the first French Revolution.
• An official Government symbol, introduced after the Second World War, marking the liberation of France
• A symbol of the French monarchy supplanted by the French Revolution
• A national symbol of the French Republic, a personification of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the Goddess of Liberty.

Question 18: When was the first flight of the Airbus A380 - the world's largest passenger airliner?

• 2012
• 2000
• 2018
• 2005

Question 19: Which legal document defines citizens' rights in France?

• The Declaration of the Rights of Man (La Déclaration des Droits de l’Homme et du Citoyen) dating from the French Revolution in 1789
• The Law of the 17th of May 2013 allowing same-sex marriage (Le mariage pour tous)
• The French law on secularity banning conspicuous religious symbols in schools, signed into law the 15th of March 2004 by Jacques Chirac
• The law of the 9th of December 1905 separating the Church and the State.

Question 20: Georges Charpak (1924 - 2010) was a naturalised French citizen of Polish origin. For what is he best known?

• Famous French poet, notably writing "Alcools et Calligrammes"
• Painter responsible for the painting of the ceiling of the Paris Opera
• Physicist, pioneer of biomedical imaging and the detection of particles and winner of the Nobel prize for physics in 1992.
• Grandson of an Italian merchant and fervent republican who helped France to recover after the defeat of The Franco-Prussian War. He was one of the fathers of the Third Republic

Question 21: Léon Gambetta (1838 - 1882) was the son of an Italian merchant. For what is he best known?

• Famous French poet, notably writing "Alcools et Calligrammes"
• Painter responsible for the painting of the ceiling of the Paris Opera
• Nobel Prize winning physicist, pioneer of biomedical imaging and the detection of particles.
• Fervent republican who helped France to recover after the defeat of The Franco-Prussian War in 1870. He was one of the fathers of the Third Republic

Question 22: Which of the following relates to the 18th Century AD?

• Henri IV who gave protestants leave to practice their religion via the Edict of Nantes
• Molière the most famous French playwright who lived at the tim of Louis XIV (author of the Miser, l’Avare) (the modern epoch)
• Reign of Louis XIV: known as the Sun King, head of an monarchy, Louis XIV established a powerful and centralized state in Paris
• Clovis: the King who unified the kingdoms of France and adopted Christianity

Question 23: Name a famous French novelist:

• Victor Hugo
• Paul Cézanne
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
• Edgar Degas

Question 24: Which fundamental freedoms are guaranteed by the principal of "Liberty" in the French Republic?

• Freedom of thought, belief, expression and assembly (liberté de pensée, de croyance, de s’exprimer, de se réunir)
• The freedom of expression - even to spread insults, defamation, hate-speak or deny crimes against humanity (such as the Second World War Holocaust)
• The freedom of the press and the right to a free education (guaranteed by laws in the 1880's)
• The right to a free eduction separated from religious beliefs (l'école laïque)

Question 25: When was the death penalty banned in France?

• 1981
• 1991
• 2001
• 1971

Question 26: Which is the longest river in France?

• The Seine
• The Garonne
• The Rhône
• The Loire

Question 27: Georges Moustaki (1934 - 2013) was a naturalised French citizen of Italian/Greek origin. What is he best known for?

• A singer in the 1960's. A French great
• The father of volcanology who made his discipline known to the general public
• A journalist famous and TV presenter famous for programs such as Intervilles and his commentaries on the Tour de France, Olympics and Eurovision Song Contest
• A painter - one of the founders of abstract art

Question 28: What is the name of the French national anthem, written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle?

• La Marianne
• La Marseillaise
• La Tricolore
• La Marseille

Question 29: Which of the following relates to the 15th Century AD?

• The Lascaux Cave paintings (prehistoric period)
• The arrival of the Romans and Latin culture (period of antiquity)
• Joanne of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc) - the young peasant who liberated a part of the French territory occupied by the English during the 100 years war
• Clovis: the King who unified the kingdoms of France and adopted Christianity

Question 30: Place these French writters in their correct historical order:

• Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Molière, François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Victor Hugo
• Victor Hugo, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Molière, François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, Denis Diderot
• Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Molière, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot, François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire
• Victor Hugo, François-Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Denis Diderot

Question 31: Romain Gary (1914 - 1980) was a naturalised French citizen of Russian origin. What is he best known for?

• The only writer to receive the Goncourt prize twice: the first time in 1956 under his real name for The Roots of Heaven, the second in 1975 under the pseudonym Emile Ajar for Life Ahead.
• Reporter and novelist, elected a member of the Académie Française in 1962.
• A painter - one of the founders of abstract art
• Athlete and veteran of World War II, won the marathon at the 1956 Olympic Games

Question 32: When was the third republic formed?

• 1830
• 1848
• 1875
• 1885

Question 33: Who was Maximilien de Robespierre?

• A high-ranking French civil servant and resistance fighter who died in 1943
• A French politician, guillotined in 1794, and one of the main figures of the French Revolution
• A military general, resistance fighter, first president of the 5th Republic and French writer, died 1970
• President of the Republic 1981 - 1995 (voted to abolish the death penalty), died 1996

Question 34: Which of the following relates to the 17th Century AD?

• Henri IV who gave protestants leave to practice their religion via the Edict of Nantes
• Molière the most famous French playwright who lived at the time of Louis XIV (author of the Miser, l’Avare) (the modern epoch)
• The philosophers of the Enlightenment: Rousseau, Voltaire and Diderot whose works promoted tolerance and the freedom of thought
• The French Revolution

Question 35: When was the French law authorising abortion, prepared by Simone Veil, passed?

• 1985
• 1965
• 1995
• 1975

Question 36: What does the date of the 1st of May represent?

• The start of the First World War in 1914
• The end of the Second World War in Europe in 1945
• The opening of the Estates General in 1789 marking the start of the French Revolution
• The annual Labour Day celebration (la Fête du Travail)

Question 37: Who initiated the civil unrest and French general strikes of May 1968 which affected French society for decades afterwards?

• The National Student Union
• Workers at the South Aviation plant near the city of Nantes
• Students at the Nanterre campus of the University of Paris
• Workers at the Renault manufacturing complexes in the Seine Valley

Question 38: Which of these are from the same 17th Century epoch?

• Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, a.k.a. Molière, the Sun King (Louis XIV)
• Clovis, Henri IV
• Clovis, Jeanne d'Arc
• Clovis, the occupation by the Romans

Question 39: Correctly identify the 5 overseas departments and regions of France (with exactly the same status as France's mainland regions)?

• Martinique (972), Guyane (973), La Réunion (974), Mayotte (975) and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (976)
• Saint-Barthélemy (977), Saint-Martin (978), Wallis-et-Futuna (986), Polynésie française (987) and Nouvelle-Calédonie (988)
• Guadeloupe (971), Martinique (972), Guyane (973), La Réunion (974) and Mayotte (975)
• La Réunion (974), Mayotte (975), Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon (976), Saint-Barthélemy (977) and Saint-Martin (978)

Question 40: Approximately how many French communes are there?

• 101
• 36,000
• 18
• 12