Bumper Christmas quiz for winter nights

WITH a dash of festive cheer, Andrew Whittaker, who compiled the book Speak the Culture: France, has created a double whammy of French quiz questions.

So alongside some teasing challenges about all things France, there are some with a taste of Christmas thrown in, so we have a bit of Père Noël alongside Edith Piaf.

The list of questions is below, alongside a .pdf that you can print off and take away with you, and feel free to hand them out at a get-together or similar event.

Plus there are many more questions to tackle in the French quiz archive.

Speak the Culture: France Quiz Questions for December

Q. Which French ruler was crowned Holy Roman Emperor on Christmas Day in AD 800?
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Q. Which prestigious French literary prize did Afghan-born writer Atiq Rahimi win in November for his novel Syngué Sabour?
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Q. Which electronic music duo broke new ground with their debut album, Homework, recorded in 1997?
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Q. At Christmas, what is le Réveillon?
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Q. Who have the French Socialist party elected as their new leader, amid claims of ‘voting irregularities’?
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Q. The French usually have turkey or capon for the main course of the Christmas meal, but what is the Yuletide shellfish of choice, often eaten as a starter?
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Q. Which German, permanently in sunglasses, is chief couturier at fashion house Chanel, and has been since 1983?
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Q. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was built after which series of conflicts?
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Q. Who is the French character that accompanies St Nicholas on his Christmas rounds, spanking children who haven’t been as good as they might have been?
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Q. Which 61 year old English singer, adopted by the French as one of their own back in the 1960s, recently released the album Enfants d’Hiver?
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Q. A fragment of staircase from the original Eiffel Tower sold recently at auction for over half a million euros, but in which decade was the tower built?
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Q. Name the actress who won an Oscar in 2008 for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in the film La Vie en Rose.
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Q. Which region of France produces the brandy Armagnac?
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Q. What is the Sapin de Noël?
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Q. Which French composer wrote Le carnaval des animaux in 1886?
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Q. Which American state was named after a French king in 1682?
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Q. Plus Belle la Vie, a blockbusting soap opera that draws over six million viewers each weekday night, is set in which city?
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Q. Which 19th century author wrote the epic series of novels entitled La Comédie humaine?
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Q. Who is Cyril Lignac?
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Q. Who painted fields of poppies near the village of Argenteuil (now a Parisian suburb) in the 1870s?
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Q. Bertrand Cantat has resumed his singing career after being released from prison, having served five years for the manslaughter of his girlfriend. With which popular French band is he the lead singer?
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Q. What is the PTT?
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Q. How many régions are there in France; and how many départments?
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Q. Who redesigned the street layout of central Paris under Napoleon III, creating the city’s wide elegant boulevards?
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Q. British children leave stockings by the fireplace for Father Christmas. What do French children leave?
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Download the Speak the Culture: France Quiz Questions and Answers for December (.pdf) or read in-page below.