Are you moving to France or already a resident of France? Well, whatever the situation is, I bet you don’t know the majority of the interesting facts about France. From having the honor of the world’s oldest living human to be the world’s most visited country, let us start a trip to the most dazzling facts about France.

Most Popular Destination for Tourists

France is known as one of the most visited destinations for tourists. In 2016, the country had 82.6 million international visitors, and it was around 7 million more than Spain as well as the USA. Of course Paris and Disneyland are the major attractions for visitors; however, the French Riviera, Alsace, and the beautiful wine regions are also a focus of attention.

French Inventions

Some of the most famous inventions are also French, as some notable ones are the hot air balloon, stethoscope, pasteurizer, and the parachute. Aren’t these ones of the most interesting facts about France that it has invented these beneficial things?

Recently, one particular famous French invention is a cell phone camera, which developed in 1997 by Philippe Kahn.

Roundabouts in France

In the list of interesting facts about France, here is another one. Do you have any idea how many roundabouts are there in France? Well, more than half of the roundabouts of the whole world are in France. Isn’t it funny?

Largest Country in the EU

Do you have any idea why France is sometimes called “the hexagon”? France in the EU is the largest country with 551,000 sq km area, and it is nearly a fifth of the sum area of the EU. France is sometimes called the hexagon because it has six sides shape. Forests covered around a quarter and only Finland and Sweden have more.

King for 20 Minutes

France has credit for the shortest period King or queen, which was Louis XIX. Technically, he can say himself a king of France, and he was a King for the shortest period of only 20 minutes. He was renounced from the throne and never ruled the country again.

Marry a Dead Person

Do you want to marry someone who died? Well, in France you are allowed to marry a dead person only in exceptional cases. Is it one of the scary facts about France? Don’t fright, let me explain it. French law permits you to marry posthumously, only if you prove that the dead person intended to marry before his/her death. You have to take permission from the president of France in this case. In 2017, the most recent case appeared in which a gay policeman’s partner gunned down on Champs-Elysees of Paris by a jihadist was allowed to marry his partner posthumously.

Male Impotence a Crime

In the 17th century, if a man was unable to get an erection, it was considered a crime. Based on it a woman has the right to apply for divorce. Whereas, if a married woman reported impotence of her husband, then he had to prove the opposition in front of the panel of experts. In case if he failed (which is really common), the man could get a second chance to prove by having intercourse with his wife in front of a judge. But later on, in 1677 this law was banned. Well, it was quite one of the shocking as well as interesting facts about Spain.

Women Can’t Wear Pants

After reading an obscene fact, here is another one. In France, women are not allowed to wear pants as long as they have a permit to carry pants. It shows how unequal society used to be in the past. This law was introduced in the 19th century, and luckily it is not implemented.

Banned Supermarkets

In 2016, France had a history of banning supermarkets from throwing out unsold food items. If foods are not sold, then they have to donate the food to food banks or charities instead of throwing out. It was a really civilized law as well as one of the interesting facts about Spain.

Same-Sex Marriage is Legal

On 18 May 2013, President Francoise Holland signed the bill into law, and France happened to the ninth country in Europe and 14th in the list that legalizes same-sex marriage. Polls showed that around 50 French people supported gay marriage, which tells that not everyone was excited about it. Later on, thousands of so-called family valued people came into roads in protest. It was one of the interesting facts about France, indeed.

Final Thoughts

Although, all the above-mentioned interesting facts about France showed numerous sides of Spain history and culture, however as time changes culture changes as well. Rules, laws, and history as well change in a way. Keep on revolving around the globe in search of facts!