Country Profile: 85 Facts & Figures About France

France lost so many workers during its failed attempt to dig the Panama Canal, that for a time their project's main source of income was selling the corpses (pickled in brine water) to medical schools all over the world as cadavers.

77. When Guinea declared its independence from France, the French retaliated by burning office files, cutting telephone lines, and even ripped electrical sockets out of walls before leaving the country, effectively cutting off all aid

78. Alexandre Dumas was black and suffered at the hands of racism for most of his life, yet still was celebrated as France's most widely read writer having written 'The Three Musketeers' and 'The Count of Monte Cristo'.

79. The Louvre was originally built as a fortress in 1190 to protect Paris from the Vikings

80. Women in Ancient Egypt and 18th century France used to keep a scented pouch in their vagina for a while before presenting it to a prospective lover.

There is a hotel (Hotel Arbez) that sits right on the border of Switzerland and France. A set of stairs started in France and ended in Switzerland upstairs. The upper rooms were thus ideal as a hideout for French Resistance members during WWII as the Nazis weren't allowed to cross into the Swiss side.

82. A chemist in France unboiled an egg.

83. After winning the Tour de France in 2006 Oscar Pereiro announced his real dream was to play professional soccer. He would quit cycling, join a Spanish team, and score twice in his first season.

84. There are more people speaking French in Africa than in France

85. A woman in France received a rather substantial phone bill of 11,721,000,000,000,000€ (6,000 times the GDP of France itself). The phone company suggested she pay it off in multiple installments and only admitted their error after further pressing.