French Test PDF

French test **Random How to see on which side of the bank you're on** - follow the river it goes from east to west **Random** Bastille was a prison, the stones of the bastille were used to build the bridge of place de la concorde **The role of deputies in the National Assembly:** \- they vote...

French test **Random How to see on which side of the bank you're on** - follow the river it goes from east to west **Random** Bastille was a prison, the stones of the bastille were used to build the bridge of place de la concorde **The role of deputies in the National Assembly:** \- they vote on French laws \- 577 seats \- direct vote of the French people \- elected every 5 years: same year as presidential elections \- Macron president since 2017 **Historical events on the Place de la Concorde:** \- during the revolution: place de la révolution \- Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette guillotined here \- opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games \- statues around the square: each statue represents a city and the direction in which the city is facing **The origin of the name "Concorde** \- it means peace, harmony -\> the return of that between the French \- Concorde means harmony and peace between people. Before it was called place de la revolutionaire. The statue was a gift from Egypt. Had to build a special ship to get it shipped to france. The countries were friends, they gifted it as a sign of friendship. Oldest monument of paris **The history of the obelisk** \- the obelisk comes from Egypt \- a gift from Egypt to France \- the obelisk was offered as a sign of friendship, it was on the Ursore temple \- it weighs 300 tons \- the oldest monument in Paris **The rooster, emblem of France** \- the fighting and resistant rooster \- France used to be called Gaulle \- Gaul in Latin = Galus \- Galus = inhabitants of Gaul + the rooster \- rooster atop church steeples: to make sure the devil doesn\'t get near **The meaning of the colors of the French flag** \- blue and red: colors of Paris, where the French Revolution took place \- white: the color of the monarchy \- why? when the French Revolution began, the French wanted to diminish the king\'s powers, which is why white is between blue and red -\> the French control the king\'s powers **The residence of the President of the Republic** \- The Elysée Palace \- Napoleon 3: first French president, first to live in the Elysée Palace **Characteristics of Haussmann buildings** \- Napoleon 1 decided to build a building to honor his army, and he also decided to build the Arc de Triomphe. \- To symbolize victory and honor his army: he built the Madeleine church \- Haussmann worked for Napoleon 3 in the 2nd half of the 19th century \- 60% of buildings in Paris are Haussmanian \- before the 2nd half of the 19th century, paris was a very dirty and dangerous city \- before that, there were only small streets and no boulevards =\> it was hard for the police to get around the city \- Napoleon 3 decided to demolish Paris and rebuild Haussman-style buildings and grand boulevards **Characteristics :** \- many storeys (between 5-6-7 storeys) \- terraces on the 2nd and 5th floors, on the fifth floor the balcony was placed for the overall harmony of the building \- balconies on the 2nd floor because the richest (French) people lived on the 2nd floor: larger windows and decoration around the balconies -\> fewer stairs to climb because before there were no elevators \- 1860-1914 \- 3rd and 4th floors: middle classes \- 5th floor: the less wealthy \- top floor: for maids **The Place Vendôme metre-standard** \- Napoleon winning the battle of Austerlitz is sculpted on top of the statue \- the cannons of Napoleon\'s enemies were melted down to create the column \- Ministry of Justice on the square \- after the first revolution: they created the metre \- a meter is installed on a building on Place Vendôme \- Metric-system was invented in france during the revolution. Before that it didn't exist. They put it on the building for people to see and know and get familiar with what a meter looked like **Anecdotes about the Garnier opera house** \- Garnier was the architect \- No trees in the street because he wanted people to see the building from every aspect without trees blocking the view \- There is a safe entrance because of a previous attack that happened ones \- in that time it was the most important thing to be seen by the people who were rich and had a high status in society and so it didn't matter to people if they couldn't actually see the show in the opera. It was all about being seen by the people from the upper class. That led to a lot of bad seats in the opera with a restricted view. Part 2 **The origins of the Louvre** \- built in the 12th century \- it was originally a fortress \- to protect itself from the English \- 4 days to visit the entire louvre \- column on the place de la bastille to celebrate the revolution \- kings in the louvre from the 14th to the 18th centuries **The Comédie française troupe** \- famous and prestigious \- the only theater in france to have its own troupe of actors - the sociétaires de la comédie française \- actors must request permission to appear in films - credits state that they come from the Comédie Française \- part of the royal palace **The Palais-Royal at the end of the 18th century** \- the burenne columns \- administrative tribunal \- conseil constitutionnel - ensures that laws in france conform to the constitution \- the king\'s cousins were there \- 180 different stores **The Palais-Royal cannon and the expression "midi pétante** \- the origin of the expression comes from the cannon, because at 12 o\'clock the sun was exactly on the cannon and so the cannon detonated at noon when the sun was shining. **Characteristics of the covered passages** \- le bon marché: the oldest shopping center \- the galleries connect 2 streets \- the glass roof to bring in natural light, because electricity had not yet arrived in the early 19th century \- galerie vivienne: the most chic **Hermes/Mercury God of commerce and his attributes** \- Hermes = messenger of the gods and also god of commerce, so above the gallery \- with cats and wings **Ex-votos in the Notre-Dame des victoires church** \- Catholics vs. Protestants \- catholic church \- ex voto = plaques thanking saints, gods etc. \- the church is covered with plaques \- the chic touch: faux marble on the walls - in reality, it\'s paint \-. The Paris motto "Fluctuat nec mergitur" on the door of a school. \- on a school door \- a boat on the water that is battered by the waves but doesn\'t sink **Reasons for the decline in passageways in the second half of the 19th century** \- the arrival of shopping malls, which took over many of the market\'s monopolies. **Drouot, the auction house** \- showrooms to view items for sale \- in the afternoon, there\'s an auction \- sale of clothes, paintings, furniture \- beautiful objects