The French History Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The French History Quiz
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About This Quiz

Think you know your Louis XIV from your Louis XVIII, your Mitterrand from your Chirac? Take this French history quiz to find out.
Where did France get its name?
Francia trees used to line the Rhone River.
The Franks used to rule the area.
Julius Caesar's wife was named Francia.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It's derived from "francia," Latin for "country of the Franks." The Franks controlled the area from the 5th century C.E.

What was it called before that?
Aquitania
Gaul
Celtica
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Gaul" was the term for the enormous area that included much of present-day western Europe.

Who controlled Gaul before the Franks took over?
the Greeks
the Romans
the Gauls
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There was a long period of Roman invasion before Caesar finally got the job done around 50 B.C.E. The area was then part of the Roman Empire until 486 C.E.

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Who were the first kings of France?
the Merovingians
the Visigoths
the Druids
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Childeric I was the first of the Merovingian kings.

What title did King Charlemagne obtain in the year 800?
the Divine King
Charlemagne the Great
Holy Roman Emperor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Charlemagne took the French throne in 768, and Pope Leo III made him the Holy Roman Emperor in 800.

There was something of a power vacuum when Charlemagne's three grandsons were left in charge for various reasons. The grandsons in question were Lothar, Louis the _____ and Charles the ______.
German, Bald
Black, Brave
Great, Wicked
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louis the German had the German areas (duh), and Charles the Bald took the Frankish areas.

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What name did the Vikings give to the area they conquered and colonized in the 10th and 11th centuries?
Picardy
Normandy
Alsace
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Vikings, otherwise known as "Northmen," called the area Normandy.

For roughly 350 years, starting around 1000, this line of kings controlled the area around Paris.
Bourbons
Courtenays
Capetians
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Capetians reigned over the Ile-de-France.

What was the deciding battle when William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066?
Naseby
Hastings
Marston Moor
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

William, duke of Normandy, invaded England and eventually bested King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. He then became the first Norman king of England, ending Anglo-Saxon reign.

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In the Hundred Years' War against England, the English House of Plantagenet battled the French House of _________.
Valois
Avignon
Evreux
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The House of Valois finally won the war in 1453.

In which major battle did Joan of Arc lead France to victory?
Orleans
Lyon
Toulouse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Joan of Arc successfully stopped the English siege of Orleans.

In 1598, the Edict of Nantes gave religious freedom to this group of French Protestants.
the Huguenots
the Carolingians
the Carcassonnes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Huguenots were followers of John Calvin.

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Which French king established absolute monarchy during his reign?
Louis XIII
Philip the Fair
Francis I
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Louis XIII established absolute monarchy, and his son Louis XIV took it to new heights during his long reign.

What was Louis XIV's nickname?
Master of Versailles
Dapper King
Sun King
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

"Nickname" is probably too trite a word for it, but Louis XIV was also known as the Sun King.

The storming of this prison by a Parisian mob marked the start of the French Revolution.
Perpignan
Marseille
Bastille
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

And that is why we have Bastille Day.

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When is Bastille Day?
October 6
July 14
April 23
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The storming of the Bastille happened on July 14, 1789.

The next month, the National Constituent Assembly passed the Declaration of ________, which strove to give all citizens equal status.
Citizens' Rights
the Rights of Man
Liberty
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Declaration of the Rights of Man is now considered an essential document in the history of human rights.

The conflict between the Girondins and this other French political group was the cause of the Reign of Terror in 1793 and 1794.
the Nationales
les Marat
the Jacobins
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

More than 30,000 French citizens were executed during the 10-month Reign of Terror, which started because of the ongoing conflict between the Girondins and Jacobins.

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Who engineered a coup in 1799 and became the emperor of the French in 1804?
Napoleon
Richelieu
Robespierre
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Army commander Napoleon Bonaparte installed himself as first consul of the republic in 1799 and stepped up to emperor five years later.

Where was Napoleon defeated?
Bruges
Waterloo
Rotterdam
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Napoleon abdicated in 1814 but escaped from exile the following year and came back to power. The British finally defeated him at Waterloo, Belgium, in 1815.

Which royal family was restored to power after Napoleon was exiled again?
the Capulets
the Valois
the Bourbons
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Bourbons came back, with Louis XVIII taking the throne.

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What happened on Aug. 3, 1914?
the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
the Battle of the Somme
France and Germany declared war on each other.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Germany declared war on France early in the day, and France responded in kind later on, thus setting World War I into motion.

What happened on Aug. 25, 1944?
The Allies liberated Paris.
D-Day
The Nazis occupied Paris.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Paris was freed from Nazi occupation on Aug. 25, 1944.

When was World War II hero Charles de Gaulle elected president?
1948
1952
1958
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

De Gaulle became the 18th president of France in 1958 and ruled until 1969.

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Which was NEVER a French colony or occupied by the French?
Andorra
Canada
Senegal
Haiti
Morocco
United States
Ivory Coast
Saudi Arabia
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The French have held plenty of colonies over the years, but Saudi Arabia was not one.

Who was the first female prime minister of France?
Francoise Chretien
Edith Cresson
Jacqueline Ribaud
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Edith Cresson was prime minister from 1991-92.

Who was the longest-serving president of France?
Georges Pompidou
Jacques Chirac
Francois Mitterrand
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mitterrand was president from 1981-95.

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In 2012, Francois Hollande was sworn in as the first French president from this party in 17 years.
Socialist
Green
Republican
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hollande was the first Socialist president since Mitterrand.

What is the name of the French magazine that was targeted by Islamic terrorists in 2015?
Paris Match
Charlie Hebdo
Jalouse
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A pair of brothers shot and killed 11 people in the Charlie Hebdo offices on Jan. 7, 2015.

How many people were killed in the 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris?
85
130
165
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

One hundred thirty people were killed in suicide bombings and mass shootings across Paris on Nov. 13, 2015.

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You Got:
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