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Embarrassing Chapters in French History

Guess these people, places, and things in French history that the country would probably rather forget.
Easily offended? Here are some more chapters to get mad about.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 16, 2020
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First submittedMay 3, 2018
Times taken17,071
Average score65.0%
Rating3.43
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Answer
This country is able to quickly overwhelm and defeat France in 1940
Germany
In a 1976 blind taste test, wines from this U.S. state are judged
superior to wines from France
California
Napoleon loses 95% of his army after invading this country
Russia
Thousands are beheaded for political crimes during this part of the French Revolution
Reign of Terror
A law makes it illegal for women to wear these (unless on a bicycle or horse).
It was finally repealed in 2012.
Pants
Slaves overthrow their French oppressors to establish this country in 1804
Haiti
France loses this colony in 1962 after a brutal eight year war
Algeria
This celebrated female fashion designer collaborates with the Nazis
Coco Chanel
France protects and celebrates this film director who drugged and raped a 13 year old girl
Roman Polanski
This violent song, advising listeners to "Let impure blood water our lands"
is made the national anthem
La Marseillaise
This general becomes President after a coup causes the collapse of the Fourth Republic in 1958
Charles de Gaulle
In 1415, France loses this battle against a much smaller English army, mostly peasant archers
Battle of Agincourt
In this last 19th century "affair", an innocent Jewish soldier is convicted of treason
Dreyfus affair
This soccer player head butts an opponent in the World Cup finals
Zinedine Zidane
France loses many of its North American colonies as a result of this 1756-1763 war
Seven Years' War
The "Rainbow Warrior", a boat owned by this environmental group, is sunk for protesting
French nuclear tests in pristine ocean waters
Greenpeace
The French are forced to withdraw from this peninsula after losing the
Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954
Indochina
French intellectuals such as Jacques Derrida forever ruin the humanities
with the invention of this nihilistic "ism"
Postmodernism
Painter Paul Gauguin likely spreads syphilis to the population of this tropical island
Tahiti
People wearing these type of vests protest after yet another tax increase
reduces the quality of life for French citizens still further
Yellow
DrWatson
+18
Level 72
May 3, 2018
Pardon my schadenfreude
HickoryRun
+15
Level 75
May 4, 2018
Algeria was a department not a colony of France. Thus it was actually a civil war in which Algeria ceded from the rest of France.
Arp2600
+18
Level 85
May 4, 2018
Algeria was a colony. Those departments (there were in fact 3) consisted of the French colons, not the native populations. Anyway, call it a civil war if you want, but it was a very nasty conflict.
Yukhan
+12
Level 50
Oct 1, 2018
Actually there were more than three departments. And there is absolutely no link between departments and the disparities between "colons" and "natives".

As a matter of fact Algeria was not a colony if you look on French administration. It had unequivocal different status from colonies.

That's why it has never been called a "war" but a "civil war".

But, again, speaking from former French point of view.

IrisIris
+8
Level 60
Aug 5, 2020
i'm half French, half Algerian, born and raised in France, and what you say is not true Yukhan. the Algerian war has never been called a civil war, and yes Algeria was colonized by France therefore it was a colony.
dunkinggandalf2
+9
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Of course Algeria was a colony! I know that it had legal status as départements, but that doesn't change that it was colonized and that the "indigenous" population was treated as a colonized people. Also, the "Algerian war" was never called a civil war, it was called "police peacekeeping operations", by those who were denying the freedom fighters any legitimacy.
AlexThirkell
+4
Level 73
Feb 28, 2021
RULE: Never believe any regular commenter who states something as if they know about it.
IsleAuHaulte
+12
Level 88
Jun 17, 2018
So someone wrote an Orwellian law that called a colony an integral part of a foreign power on another continent? The United States used doublespeak to call their colonies "protectorates", like invading, kicking people out and nuking their paradise islands was saving them from some evil force that might do something terrible to their homeland.
YellowJacket
+4
Level 77
Feb 28, 2021
Not always. It is only 460 miles from Marseilles to Algiers. It is much further from San Diego to Honolulu or from Paris to Cayenne. It is possible for something on a different continent to be an integral part of the original country. Morocco is 10 miles from Spain. It would not be uncommon for a country to control both sides of a major straight, like the Straights of Gibraltar, even if it were on a different continent.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 1, 2021
To be fair to @HickoryRun, at the beginning of the war, a significant percentage of Algerians were "Pied-Noir", people of French ethnicity who were born in Algeria.
Tramp
+3
Level 74
Apr 17, 2020
Does this mean that Algerians could freely move to and live in France without restriction before the war? Genuine question - I have no idea.
dunkinggandalf2
+7
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Of course not. Also: it was a colony.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 1, 2021
Are you sure @dunkinggandalf?
giuliano78
+2
Level 61
Mar 1, 2021
in theory, they could. Rich people would send their kids to study in France. But, then again, rich people would be French colonizers living in Algeria or their descendants.
Kesselian
+16
Level 69
May 4, 2018
De Gaulle did not become president after a coup. Rene Coty passed on power to him in the context of a constitutional transformation "in the framework of Republican legality", as Coty stated in front of the parliament.
Arp2600
+16
Level 85
May 4, 2018
It was not a real coup indeed. And France is by no means ashamed of that. By the way, most french politicans still refer to De Gaulle one way or another.
Quizmaster
+10
Level ∞
May 4, 2018
De Gaulle isn't the shameful part. It's the collapse of the Fourth Republic.
Arp2600
+3
Level 85
May 4, 2018
Ok, but it collapsed because of Indochina and Algeria, so it's a bit redundant.
Djilas
+3
Level 81
Jun 18, 2018
Not really, other countries lost colonies but carried on with the same political system.
fcalvaresi
+6
Level 37
Sep 29, 2018
The Fourth Republic was ill-designed. Glad it collapsed.
LemonTea
+9
Level 47
Oct 1, 2018
By collapse of the fourth republic, you actually mean major Constitution redesign, which could be good or bad or both depending on who you're asking. Nothing shameful about redesigning a constitution that was not working well (most government of the 4th republic lasted only a few months, which made it impossible to deal with major issues, like the war of Algeria).
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
No coup ever calls itself a coup. It's always called a coup by its enemies. No matter whether or not you like the outcome (the Fifth Republic - personally, I'm not a fan), it's undeniable that it has been brought about outside of the then-existing legal framework, and under military threat. It was, however, utlimately legalised by referendum.
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Also: not all French people are gaullists. Many do recognise "gaullism", which is a republicanised version of bonapartism, as one of the main problems of the French political system. It stifles meaningful parliamentary debate, it gives waaaaay too much power to presidents elected by a minority of the people, and renders the opposition essentially useless.
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Also: one last thing. The problem with the 4th Republic wasn't its instability, it was its fundamental stability. Sure, governments would fall all the time, but they would also be formed all the time, usually by reshuffling the same few people and parties from one position to the other. In the end, infighting within parties of the same broad coalition was more important than elections, which never changed the policies.
Djilas
+2
Level 81
Jun 18, 2018
De Gaulle's coming on power wasn't the coup referred to I think, but the military was pretty much on the way to a coup, partially even carried out already, like in Algeria and Corsica.
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
The Republic chose to sabotage itself before the coup happened. It's like agreeing to sex in order to avoid rape.
Ghostbuster
+7
Level 89
May 6, 2018
Francis I being captured by the Spanish army after the Battle of Pavia may be an interesting addition to the quiz.
fcalvaresi
+5
Level 37
Sep 29, 2018
Indeed, as well as John II being captured by the English at Poitiers in 1356 or Napoleon III being captured by the Prussians at Sedan in 1870.
TomatosRaafatos
+4
Level 73
Jun 8, 2020
Or even Louis IX's capture by the Egyptians in the Seventh Crusade in 1250. It seems there is a number of those.
joeythelemur
+24
Level 85
May 7, 2018
Say what you will, but I love hearing people sing La Marseillaise. Especially at a rugby match.
Djilas
+11
Level 81
Jun 18, 2018
The music is great, but the lyrics are nasty.

Still, "I have always honoured the king of Spain" is much more embarassing (Dutch anthem).

fcalvaresi
+11
Level 37
Sep 29, 2018
The lyrics are not nasty and btw the 'impure blood' is the French people's blood as opposed to the 'pure blood' of the nobility.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 77
Apr 9, 2019
I don't think the Dutch anthem has that line
FadKrashmor
+6
Level 67
Mar 22, 2020
Dutch anthem does say (in -almost- modern language) "den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd geëerd" meaning basically what is said above. But subsequently the anthem points out that "Dat u de Spanjaards krenken, o edel Neerland zoet ... mijn edel hart dat bloedt" meaning "that the Spaniards injure you, sweet noble Low Country ... my noble heart bleeds". So the anthem is saying that "even though I have never attempted to hurt you, you are hurting us". Not so embarrassing then to try to do something about it.
FadKrashmor
+3
Level 67
Mar 22, 2020
What is perhaps embarrassing about it is that the first line says "Wilhelmus van Nassouwe ben ik, van Duitsen bloed den vaderland getrouwe", saying thus (you might think) "I Wilhelm being of German blood faithful to the Fatherland". Can't have gone down too well during the Second World War, I was thinking. Goes to show that the Dutch term "Duits" didn't then mean German in the way that it now does, so explaining the current confusion for English speakers between the English word "Dutch" and the German word "Deutsch". Hope that's clear now.
ander217
+7
Level 76
Apr 17, 2020
At least the music wasn't taken from a British drinking song. (The Star Spangled Banner)
rustwat
+1
Level 63
Mar 2, 2021
The Dutch anthem is written from the perspective of William of Orange, it is implied he sings/says it.
yingtoi
+14
Level 58
May 7, 2018
Attempting to spell "La Marseillaise" was difficult
Qikiq
+5
Level 84
May 8, 2018
Oui.
divantilya
+2
Level 37
Sep 30, 2018
^ Yes. DeGaulle was completed for us after DeGau..., and "7 years' war"after 7 year..." but we are forced to correctly spell "La Marseillaise" !!!
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Apr 16, 2020
No, you are not required to correctly spell it.
IsleAuHaulte
+23
Level 88
Jun 17, 2018
Petain?
Aarngeir
+16
Level 34
Jun 12, 2020
Petain might be THE most embarassing part in recent French history and it's not even there
dunkinggandalf2
+3
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Maybe some people don't consider enthusiastically collaborating with the Nazis an embarrassment? You know, Pétain does still have a plaque to his name on Broadway's Canyon of Heroes...
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 88
Feb 28, 2021
The statue has to do with his role in the First World War, not the Second.
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Mar 1, 2021
Yes, I know, but I don't think that makes it okay!
Etanna
+22
Level 69
Aug 17, 2018
how's La Marseillaise an embarrassing chapter??
Antimatter
+8
Level 44
Sep 30, 2018
+Etanna I think because the lyrics referenced above could be taken as advocating violence... ‘impure blood watering the land’ sounds pretty harsh! Calling it embarrassing’s maybe a bit of a stretch though; pretty much all the European national anthems have some similarly aggressive lines, most were written in a period when violent uprisings and border wars were the norm for the region... they reflect these (then) realities, I’d argue, instead of being essentially violent songs. History student lecture completed ;)
dunkinggandalf2
+7
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
As someone said before: the "impure blood" is meant to be blood of the French people defendingg themselves against the "pure-blooded" nobility. It's ironic. Still *very* violent, though, but understandable given the historical context.
jmellor13
+19
Level 67
Sep 30, 2018
The Zidane headbutt was awesome, and the French should be proud of it. Even his technique when headbutting the guy was excellent.
Moos1005
+9
Level 82
Apr 16, 2020
Italy should be ashamed of Materazzi instead!
boxter97
+22
Level 43
Sep 30, 2018
Please accept also Azincourt for the "Agincourt battle". Nobody knows about "Agincourt" in France, they use Azincourt.
diguedondon
+7
Level 67
Aug 17, 2019
Yes, as a french, I never heard of Agincourt ! We only know Azincourt
fremok
+3
Level 67
Apr 17, 2020
+1
AzSteph
+2
Level 65
Nov 19, 2020
+1
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
+1
IsadoraDuncan
+1
Level 7
Mar 17, 2021
True
cornflakesfu
+3
Level 85
Sep 30, 2018
Clue could be "This country is able to quickly overwhelm and defeat France in 1870 and then again in 1940." Well, technically the first time it was the North German Confederation and not Germany, but we don't have any nitpickers on this site, right? ;)
IsleAuHaulte
+2
Level 88
Feb 28, 2021
And very close in August, 1914.
Ibath
+15
Level 59
Oct 1, 2018
As a french, some question really surprises me:

-The "pants law": an old law no one knows about, not enforced since a very long time. I don't see how i can't be see as a national shame.

-De gaulle fifth republic: even if there is still to this day debates (in the leftwing) about this constitution, certainly no national shame or forgetable things (except for the algeria wars contest but that's an other question)

-Zidane headbutt: some critics publicly but in the end every frenchmen approves, certainly no shame or regret (except for the final result of the match..)

-Depardieu, who is indeed a living legend in france brought shame on himself with his many departures (belgium for taxe reason, Russia for the fun of pissing people). No shame here.

-Chanel: don't think anyone is ashamed about that either.

Didnt know azincourt is spelled agincourt in english (why though?).

Franco-prussian war of 1870 was way more embarassing.

Ferbin
+17
Level 74
Oct 4, 2018
Because this site is predominantly US centric, and therefore tends to have a bias for all things french. Notice the large amount of military loses in this quiz, following the myth of France always losing wars.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Apr 16, 2020
Such as this quiz for example:

https://www.jetpunk.com/quizzes/april-fools-quiz-3

Ferbin
+2
Level 74
Apr 29, 2021
One exception doesn't refute a rather frequent ocurrence.

Nice sarcasm, btw.

dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
To the extent that there is any sense in being ashamed of anything you had no personal part in, as a Frenchman, I do find those chapters embarrassing. I also find that this quiz is generally very fair.
divantilya
+1
Level 37
May 24, 2019
JackintheBox: "Den Koning van Hispanje heb ik altijd ge-eerd"

(The King of Spain I have always honored) is definitely a stanza in "Wilhelmus", (the Dutch National Anthem)! WHY it's still there, is another question.

Bringitonlarsons
+15
Level 87
Apr 16, 2020
Why the dig at postmodernism? Appreciate the attempt to be tongue-in-cheek, but I think Poe's Law kicks in here...
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Apr 16, 2020
It's tongue in cheek, but it's also mostly true. Here, for example, is an excerpt from Derrida:

This inflation of the sign "language" is the inflation of the sign itself, absolute inflation, inflation itself. Yet, by one of its aspects or shadows, it is itself still a sign: this crisis is also a symptom. It indicates, as if in spite of itself, that a historico-metaphysical epoch must finally de­termine as language the totality of its problematic horizon. It must do so not only because all that desire had wished to wrest from the play of lan­guage finds itself recaptured within that play but also because, for the same reason, language itself is menaced in its very life, helpless, adrift in the threat of limitlessness, brought back to its own finitude at the very moment when its limits seem to disappear, when it ceases to be self­assured, contained, and guaranteed by the infinite signified which seemed to exceed it.

Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Apr 16, 2020
Poe's law clearly applies more to Derrida's writing than it does to my question which at least parses as human language.
Bringitonlarsons
+25
Level 87
Apr 17, 2020
I mean we can all take random excerpts from philosophy and argue that it's gibberish, but if you take the time to read something by Derrida in its entirety, I think you'll find it's a lot less challenging that it appears on the surface. Something like, say, The Spectre of Marx, is relatively straightforward. The complex language has more to do with the highly specific nature of academic language and the difficulties of translating French to English.

Derrida is challenging, but others who are tarred with the label of 'postmodernist' can be quite straightforward - Foucault's Discipline and Punish, for example, is very accessible (and indeed is often assigned to undergrads for precisely that reason).

But the argument that postmodernism is just artful bullshitting is weak and reminiscent of the 'cultural Marxism' conspiracy theory.

Gokpor
+7
Level 61
Feb 28, 2021
Derrida: "Without context, there is nothing." In an effort to discredit him you've taken a paragraph completely out of context - in this case the very specific context of definitions of terms - and pointed to the resulting nonsense as evidence against him. Hilariously, you've thereby proven him right!
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Feb 28, 2021
That's circular reasoning Gokpor.

By the way, I didn't go looking for some particularly stupid quote from Derrida. I just did a Google search and quoted the first thing I found.

Temudhun
+4
Level 68
Feb 28, 2021
Yeah, there are many harmful ideologies and postmodernism just isn't part of them, it can even be considered as the origin of the modern-day scientific method, so putting it together with warcrime is rather odd...
Clarisse451
+5
Level 65
Feb 28, 2021
I'm not sure that the claim "the humanities have been ruined by postmodernism" is proven by taking one paragraph out of Derrida (no citation needed?) from the first hit off Google. To agree with Bringitonlarsons and Gokpor, the fact that you can't understand that paragraph (with no context, as they both pointed out) does not mean no one understands that paragraph. Plenty of disciplinary and philosophical work relies on particular language conventions and styles of writing that make sense within a particular body of work. I can read a paper on astrophysics and understand almost nothing; that doesn't mean the paper is necessarily bad, it just means that I haven't done the necessary study to enter into that conversation. While Derrida has some accessible texts like Bringitonlarsons said, he is a difficult thinker who demands a lot from his readers. As a result, there are plenty of lazy or bad faith readings of Derrida (including the nihilism accusation).
TWM03
+1
Level 67
Mar 3, 2021
@Temudhan - the scientific method has existed for much longer than postmodernism has. @Clarisse - context might make the paragraph a bit more understandable, but I think the reason convoluted language is so prevalent in postmodernism is to make it more exclusionary. Every actual meaning contained in that paragraph could be expressed clearly and it would be easily understandable. But that can't happen because then everyone would see that there is no insightful meaning contained in the words - the statements are either false or tautological. This is different to astrophysics in that terms used in astrophysics that are not well understood, such as "neutron star", have to be described using language that can't easily be understood because most people have never seen and do not understand the concept of a neutron star. Everyone uses language, so it should be possible to talk about it in a way that people can understand. That said, other schools of philosophy are guilty of the same thing.
Temudhun
+1
Level 68
Mar 7, 2021
The scientific method has existed for centuries, sure, but it has evolved over time and its current state is influenced by postmodernism.
Fuffle33
+19
Level 75
Apr 17, 2020
I agree, I don't understand how it can be preceived as an Embarrasing chapter in history, particularly when you take into account the influence post-structuralist thought has had in certain liberation movements.
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Interestingly, "French theory" is almost never taught in French universities. American students are likely to be way more familiar with it than French students - which I think is the real embarrassment here, that France fails to teach its own thinkers!
camus
+2
Level 77
Feb 28, 2021
Interesting. What is taught in French universities, then?
Ferbin
+1
Level 74
Apr 29, 2021
For the uninitiated, complex fields of study may seem like nonsense. In the case of the humanities (and indeed even the social sciences), since they more or less are lacking in the empirical department (aggravated by the fact that we live in a very materialistic world), they are often seen as useless, intellectually masturbatory endeavours. Of course it doesn't help when thinkers like Derrida are intentionally obscure and byzantine. Some of them do tend to have their heads up their own asses.

(continued...)

Ferbin
+3
Level 74
Apr 29, 2021
... But to say that postmodernism "forever ruined the humanities" is a bit melodramatic. It's just a movement that made valuable contributions but, like it tends to happen with movements, was carried too far. And the mentioned nihilism (more like relativism) started way back in the 19th century.

Also, the tongue-in-cheek defense doesn't hold much water considering it'd be the only clue written that way. When all the other clues in the quiz are just facts to be taken at face value, it's natural to think this one was written in the same way.

cpgatbyu
+2
Level 84
Apr 16, 2020
After watching _A French Village_'s portrayal of the complexities of life in France under the German occupation, it's hard for me to get too worked up about Chanel's collaboration.
sumguy
+1
Level 83
Apr 16, 2020
"enivornmental" = "environmental". "13 year old" = "13-year-old".
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Apr 16, 2020
Fixed the misspelling, but I am not writing "13-year-old". It burns my eyes with its stylistic awfulness.
DonTheLamplighter
+3
Level 84
Apr 17, 2020
He is correct, though, QM. But, dealer's choice.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Apr 17, 2020
The New Yorker magazine, the bastion of all things nitpicky when it comes to grammar, appears to use both conventions.

When there is a choice, I believe that the simpler option is usually best. The extra dashes feel fussy.

matthias144
+4
Level 78
Apr 23, 2020
Gilets Jaunes should also be accepted
DaffyDucktheWizard
+1
Level 61
Apr 29, 2020
Oh please. The most embarrassing moment was the attempted coup by Captain Pete before an unnamed mouse, duck, and dog did him in.
kalbahamut
+1
Level 83
Jun 1, 2020
Heh. Is Derrida new? Worthy inclusion. But what about Foucault?
camus
+2
Level 77
Jan 27, 2021
Why Foucault?
wielblad
+8
Level 66
Jun 29, 2020
La Marseillaise is not embarassing and its 'violent' message was written at a time of war. How would you like it to go? "Come, invaders, make yourselves at home! Traitors and kings, return us to our old slavery"?
Guelan
+6
Level 63
Jul 15, 2020
You are wrong about La Marseillaise. When we speak about impure blood, we mean OUR blood, the blood of the French revolutionaries, in opposition to the noble "blue" blood
WoManonEarth
+2
Level 20
Nov 9, 2020
nope, it's is the blood of the enemy. If you read the lyrics again you'll see that it's the most logical explanation : They come to take away our family from our arms, to kill them, they "low" like beasts so their blood must flow. This song was sung by soldiers as they were walking to the battle field. No revolutionaries, only a bunch of men singing in hopes of getting their courage up. Hope you'll understand me, my english isn't very good.
dunkinggandalf2
+3
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Guelan is right. The impure blood refers to the blood of the revolutionaries. It's still extremely violent, and wouldn't be my first choice for an anthem if we had to pick one now, but, as said, it's understandable in historical context.
chonny
+10
Level 53
Feb 28, 2021
Don't like the way opinion crept into this quiz. I don't come here for opinion. However, since you started it, not all would agree that tax increases reduce the quality of life (last question). USA with its lower taxes is 46th in the world in life expectancy and France with its high taxes is 20th (source: CIA world factbook). The rest of the world can't believe Americans do not use taxes to have a single payer health system and increase how long people live.
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
I think the gilets jaunes movement, while it started for tax reasons, is way more complex than that. I'm personally not a fan and would never have participated in it, because it's far too right-wing to me, but I hate that self-satisfied incompetent prick Macron with a burning passion, and with many many a good reason that has factored in to many a demonstration against him - not just the gilets jaunes. He gets a pass because he's not Donald Trump, but that's about the only thing he has going for him.
dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
Nevertheless, since the gilets jaunes did start as a revolt against a carbon tax, I think the clue in this quiz is fair.
camus
+3
Level 77
Feb 28, 2021
The way the clue is written, it sounds like the gilets jaunes had something against high taxes in general. I'm not sure that's the case. They were protesting against taxes that disproportionally affected the lower classes, and actually for higher taxes for the rich.
Julotek
+1
Level 58
Feb 28, 2021
Yes they wanted to prevent a tax about 40€ per year while smoking 20€ of cigarettes per month :')
dunkinggandalf2
+2
Level 67
Mar 1, 2021
I'm not sure that's the case, camus. I know that the movement was diverse, and that people from all parts of the political spectrum have tried to co-opt it, but it did start as a revolt of people with cars against a carbon tax that would have made gas more expensive. That's not exactly the "lower classes" fighting for tax justice!
camus
+2
Level 77
Mar 1, 2021
I didn't comment on how the movement started or who participates the most, gandalf. You are closer to the source but if my news bubble and some research don't misrepresent them, the gilets jaunes are a diverse group who share resentment against what they perceive as a neoliberal establishment. And while taxes do play a major role, part of their agenda is also to tax the rich more, although I don't know how much they push that goal. Anyway, the clue above is probably fine and I read more bias into it than there probably is.
dunkinggandalf2
+4
Level 67
Mar 1, 2021
I think it's more complicated than that. The movement definitely started against the carbon tax, and it's definitely anti-establishment to some degree, but it comes from all fronts. There are some left-wing protesters, sure, but I think the more prevalent opposition was provincial and rural France (where one, you know, has a car) against the big cities, and especially Paris. In such a centralised country as France, a lot of the provincial establishment considers itself anti-establishment because they're not Paris, but they might easily be richer than a lot of Parisians.
camus
+2
Level 77
Mar 1, 2021
Depending on who you listen to in Germany, they are either heroes of the class struggle, racist and xenophobic bigots, or mindless hooligans, so it's clear that they come from all fronts :). But I didn't know that the rural-urban divide was so central, although it makes sense. It looks like this divide is becoming more and more relevant in many countries, as we've seen in the US of course and even here, where hip Berliners seem to assume that people in the countryside only drive cars because they don't understand climate change. No surprise it's so distinct in centralized France with Paris overpowering everything.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 1, 2021
The conflict between city and country goes back a long time.

One could even read the French Revolution as the persecution and subjugation of the rural majority by the Parisien elites.

In the Vendeé, republicans rounded up priests, nuns, and people who supported them, tied them together, and drowned them in the Loire.

The rural folk might have done the same to the Paris radicals, if they had the power. But they didn't. They never really do.

By the way, if you have an immense amount of spare time, I highly recommend Mike Duncan's "Revolutions" podcast. The season devoted to the French Revolution is probably his best work.

dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 67
Mar 2, 2021
There tends to be a very one-sided narrative about "Paris oppressing rural France", when in reality, you could also claim the exact opposite. I mean, look at what rural France did to the Paris Commune! France is obviously rules from Paris, but rather rarely by Parisians, and when it's ruled by Parisians, they have generally needed to go get elected somewhere in the deepest possible province first, to show that they're not "Parisian". Even now, although so many provincials will complain about Paris ruling them, Paris is the only city in the country that doesn't fully rule itself. Paris got its own mayor a full century after everyone else, and still doesn't control its own police to this day.
camus
+1
Level 77
Mar 2, 2021
Qm, I just started that podcast. Thanks for the tip!
ClutchNferno
+2
Level 57
Feb 28, 2021
If you are going to put this quiz on the front page, then please change the Roman Polanski question. It is very disturbing, and indeed harsh if you wish to "keep it clean" for the few schools that rely on this site.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Mar 1, 2021
Consider it a PSA. Don't let your nubile daughters spend a lot of time unsupervised around Hollywood types.
gzx5
+2
Level 70
Feb 28, 2021
Other than China, why are all the quizzes you've made about "embarrassing chapters" in a nation's history about predominantly white countries? Why the hyper focus there? Why not expand that to include places like Turkey, Mexico, Congo, and India too?
Quizmaster
+5
Level ∞
Feb 28, 2021
It's a western site. Most westerners don't know about the history of those places.
rabble
+1
Level 61
Jul 13, 2022
Part of the site's usefulness is in teaching and exposing people to new things. I agree with gzx
cashmercury
+2
Level 65
Feb 28, 2021
This quiz is ridiculous. It's easy to rewrite history and to call something embarrassing. You just embarrassed yourself publishing this. This new form of puritanism, mixed with a feeling of superiority tends to be really tiring. Congrats!
dunkinggandalf2
+8
Level 67
Feb 28, 2021
How so? I find this series brilliant (and I'm French). There are quizzes about many countries, and undoubtedly more to follow. I can't stand the version of history that just glosses over or dismississes anything embarrassing in favour of some sort of rose-coloured "roman national" where your country is always heroic and leading the world to a brighter tomorrow. If we want to avoid repeating history, we need to learn from it - all of it. I can't think of a single country where that's not true, and if you can, there urgently needs to be a quiz about that country.
Pandora49
+2
Level 55
Feb 28, 2021
agreed
JWatson24
+7
Level 71
Feb 28, 2021
Also, plenty of this quiz is just a joke. Admittedly, a lot of it is quite serious (Nazi occupation, the Reign of Terror, Roman Polanski, etc.), but also a lot of them are really silly. Like having your wine taste worse than California's isn't super shameful, just mildly embarrassing considering France is famous for its wine. And, the postmodernism question is very tongue-in-cheek. There are a couple of others here that are very clearly not meant to be taken seriously, as is true of all of these country quizzes. That's one of the reasons why I love this series :)
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 1, 2021
Thank you. You are correct. Not only is this quiz meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it's also intended as a badge of honor. France can withstand our slings and arrows and still remain one of the greatest cultures of all time.

BTW, I am huge Francophile, and have spent more time in France than any other country besides the United States.

Badge0Master
+1
Level 54
Feb 28, 2021
Not wearing pants is just utterly ridicule.
Laurens
+2
Level 58
Feb 28, 2021
Could you accept jeans for pants?
blackgirl
+7
Level 44
Feb 28, 2021
Is it slavery or being overthrown by slaves that's embarrassing?
Julotek
+3
Level 58
Feb 28, 2021
The law about the forbidden pants would be embarassing only if it had to be followed. But since everyone ignored it and nobody had ever been punished for that, there were no reasons to remove it from the Laws...

I don't feel it embarassing at all but ok.

dunkinggandalf2
+3
Level 67
Mar 1, 2021
Or you could argue that having such a law in the first place, and not even being able to enforce it, is double the embarrassment! Anyway, I'm glad it's gone.
JWatson24
+2
Level 71
Feb 28, 2021
If anyone wants to try a quiz like this for France's southern neighbor, I have one here.
IamTheSam
+1
Level 39
Feb 28, 2021
It's Agincourt because the English won and the French lost.

If only changing the spelling of a place was the worst part about losing a war...

IamTheSam
+1
Level 39
Mar 1, 2021
I haven't read every comment so this may have been aDRESSed, but could you be embarrassed about a law banning women from wearing pants/trousers if you didn't know about it and had (probably) never seen it being enforced?
PrettyTiedUp
+1
Level 67
Mar 1, 2021
A bit catty
TheForsakenFurby
+1
Level 70
Mar 1, 2021
I would love quizzes like this for more countries!
prussiup
+4
Level 14
Mar 2, 2021
"Derrida forever ruins the humanities [with postmodernism]"...? Seriously?

A tax hike on the French, specifically over fuel prices, sparked the Yellow Vest movement, but you frame this to have been an anti-tax movement? It was incredibly clearly rooted in leftist ideas; take a look at their list of demands. It was a response to neoliberal economics.

Please be more subtle about your political biases, or, better yet, leave them out of a quiz, where they have no place, entirely.

dunkinggandalf2
+1
Level 67
Mar 2, 2021
Whether it ended up being "rooted in leftist idea" is debatable, but it is *not* debatable that the movement was started by people from semi-rural areas in France who did not want to pay more for gas. How the hell is that "leftist"???
Aqquar
+3
Level 21
Mar 2, 2021
WTF is this french bashing full with crap and false information quiz? Jetpubk used to be worth more than that...

France does not defend Polanski (he is even boycotted at major ceremonies). Gauguin certainly did not spread syphilis to tahiti. Algeria was not a colony. La marseillaise is not a "violent song" it is a war chant and is mostly metaphorical. De Gaulle did not make a coup and the fourth already collapsed. What the fuss about derrida ruining anything?

How are yellow jacket a shame to France.

I'm not even offended, just disappointed that Jetpunk is becoming twitter

dunkinggandalf2
+3
Level 67
Mar 2, 2021
I'm French, and I think people like you is exactly why this whole series of quizzes is both very cool, and badly needed.
cledun2
+1
Level 86
Feb 22, 2022
Maybe the hint should be changed to "this french painter married a child bride after moving to tahiti"
Vivelageo
+2
Level 31
Mar 10, 2022
Nul à chier, ça se voit que vous avez un problème avec la France, y'a la moitié dont on n'a pas honte du tout (voire on en est fiers, genre La Marseillaise)
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