26Holocaust
In France, it is illegal to deny that the holocaust happened.
27. France has done more nuclear weapons testing than the UK, China, Pakistan, India and North Korea combined
28. 5-time Tour de France winner, Miguel Indurain, had a resting heart rate of just 28 BPM. The average person rests at about 60 BPM.
29. While playing a game of Chess in France, Benjamin Franklin took his opponent's King after she inadvertently put it in check. When she said, "Ah, we don't take kings so" Franklin replied, "We do in America."
30. When Louis Rèard introduced the bikini in France in 1946, no models were willing to wear such revealing swimwear, so Rèard had to hire a stripper to model it.
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31Thanksgiving grocery store
There is a grocery store named "Thanksgiving" in Paris that sells U.S. "cuisine" like Pop-Tarts, Heinz ketchup, and Skippy peanut butter to homesick ex-pats.
32. When Napoleon emancipated the Jews he stated that "I will never accept any proposals that will obligate the Jewish people to leave France, because to me the Jews are the same as any other citizen in our country"
33. In France and Belgium, there is a folk character called "The Whipping Father" who accompanies St. Nicholas. He beats naughty children with sticks and carries them away in a bag.
34. The first Tour de France winner (Maurice Garin) was disqualified because he cheated by taking the train
35. France is the only country in Europe to be completely self-sufficient in basic food production.
36Victor Lustig
A man named Victor Lustig in France impersonated a government official, and managed to sell the Eiffel Tower not once, but twice.
37. In France, nearly 96% of high schools have condom vending machines
38. In France, by law, a bakery has to make all the bread it sells from scratch in order to have the right to be called a bakery
39. Despite the Seven Years' War between Britain and France, France instructed its ships not to interfere with the Endeavour's expedition to Tahiti to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus as it was ‘out on enterprises of service to all mankind'.
40. Child beauty pageants are illegal in France, and punishable with up to 2 years in prison.
41Canadian National Vimy Memorial
During the Nazi occupation of France, Hitler did not destroy the Canadian Vimy Memorial and told the Allies that it remained intact, as he admired the peaceful nature of the sculpture
42. Paris holds an annual contest to find the city’s best baguette. Around 200 bakers each submit two baguettes (must be eligible) to be graded on quality, look, smell, taste, and crunch. The winner wins €4000 and a contract to supply the French president fresh baguettes every day for 1 year.
43. There are castles for sale in France cheaper than old two bedroom apartments in Australia.
44. When Catherine di Medici was the queen of France, she kept a 'Flying Squad' of 80 women tasked with sleeping with powerful men to extract their secrets.
45. Despite World War 1, being over 100 years ago, France still recovers 900 tons of unexploded munitions (mostly from that war) every year.
46Adrenaline
Adrenaline addicts in France can buy a basic kidnap package where they've bundled away, bound and gagged, and kept incarcerated for four hours. Clients have no idea when the kidnappers will strike in order to maximize the surprise.
47. A Paris shooting survivor (Lilian Lepere) sued a TV station for giving away his location during the shooting
48. France wants to ensure all new rooftops must be topped with either solar panels or plants
49. During the 2015 Paris attacks the German National Soccer Team couldn't go back to their hotel and as a result had to sleep on mattresses and as a sign of solidarity the French National Team slept with them in the stadium.
50. In Japan, if someone is photographed or filmed while handcuffed, their hands have to be pixelated if it is used on TV or in the newspapers. In France, a law prohibits media from airing images of people in handcuffs, or otherwise restrained, before they have been convicted by a court.
