Culture and civilisation (francophonie)
What the exam tests
Culture and civilisation checks factual knowledge of France and the French-speaking world: geography, symbols, monuments, festivals, food and daily life. Questions are usually matching, true/false or short answer in French.
Core facts
- France: capital Paris; river Seine; mountains Alpes and Pyrénées; neighbours include Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Spain.
- Symbols: blue-white-red tricolour; motto « Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité »; anthem « La Marseillaise »; national day 14 July (la Fête nationale).
- Monuments: la Tour Eiffel, le Louvre (home of the Mona Lisa), Notre-Dame de Paris, le château de Versailles.
- Festivals: Noël (25 December), Pâques, la Fête de la Musique (21 June), la Fête nationale (14 July).
- Francophone countries and capitals: Belgique–Bruxelles; Suisse–Berne; Canada–Ottawa; Sénégal–Dakar; Côte d'Ivoire–Yamoussoukro; Madagascar–Antananarivo.
Worked example
Question: « Quel fleuve traverse Paris ? » Answer: « La Seine. » Reasoning: the Seine flows through Paris; the Loire, Rhône and Garonne are other French rivers but not the one crossing the capital. If the question asked « Quel fleuve se jette dans la Manche ? », the answer would still be la Seine, since it reaches the sea at Le Havre.
Traps
- Confusing Bern with Zurich as Switzerland's capital; Ottawa with Toronto for Canada; Yamoussoukro with Abidjan for Côte d'Ivoire.
- Saying « la fête nationale est le 21 juillet » - 21 June is the Fête de la Musique; 14 July is the national day.
- Calling Quebec a country; it is a Canadian province whose capital is Quebec City.
- Mixing « la Manche » (the English Channel) with « la mer Méditerranée ».