France is a country of unique traits and traditions and has a long and varied history. Each week I will be writing a short post about some interesting facts to learn. In week 1, we will be looking at the people and the French lifestyle.- French people do the 'social kiss' to introduce each other (between man and woman,) to greet each other between family and friends, even between men who have a close friendship. The number of kisses varies according to the region, from 1 (in the tip of Brittany) to 4 (e.g. Paris and most of the North), usually it is 2.
- French people have the highest female and third highest male life expectancy in the European Union.
- 20% of the French people live in the Parisian region.
- Although French language is direct descent of Latin, French people have some of the most diversified genetic make-up in Europe, with genes inherited from the Celts, the Basques, the Romans, the Franks and the Normands, which explains the wide physical diversity in French facial traits, as well as hair and eye colour.
- According to Graham Robb in his book The Discovery of France, there were hundreds of small, autonomous republics within France until the 18th or 19th century. Some were autonomous hamlets that didn't pay tax at all and were almost completely isolated from the rest of France.
- Until the early 20th century at least two thirds of the French population was rural and most people lived in communities less than 100 people. Few people knew anything a dozen mile beyond their place of birth, and few identified themselves with France as a country.
- The French are the world's biggest consumers of psychotropic drugs. About a fourth of the population admits having taken anti-depressant or tranquilisers over the past year.
Do you know any interesting facts about the people and the culture of France that I haven't listed on here? Please let me know by writing a comment!
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