More people in Africa speak French than in France itself.
12
In 1918, after the treaty of Versailles (end of WWI), the French Commander-in-chief said "This is not a peace. It is an Armistice for 20 years." 20 years and 65 days later, WWII happened.
31
In 1542, French aristocrat Marguerite De La Rocque survived being marooned for 2 years alone on a remote island off the coast of Quebec.
12
In Turkish, the bird we call a Turkey is called "Hindi" ("from India"). In India, it's called "Peru." In Arabic, the bird is called "Greek chicken"; in Greek it's called "French chicken"; and in French it's called "Indian chicken." The bird is indigenous to none of these places.
44
The six official languages of the United Nations are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish.
31
The French named one of their aircraft carriers after Ferdinand Foch, a man who once said "Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value".
10
The word 'mortgage' comes from a French law term that means 'death pledge'.
14