French Departments

Quiz

1. France is divided into administrative regions called "departments". How many departments are there: (a) 51, (b) 71, or (c) 101?
2. Which French department is named according to a compass point?
3. Which is the largest department in mainland France? It includes the famous Bordeaux wine region.
4. The Paris department was actually named after which geographical feature until 1968?








5. Three departments have just three letters in their name, can you name any one of them?
6. Which French department gets its name from the range of low mountains near its border with Germany?
7. Which coastal French department in Normandy, takes its name from the English Channel?
8. Which department in the extreme west of Brittany gets its name from words meaning 'the end of the earth' and shared its name with a Shipping Forecast sea area renamed FitzRoy in 2002?
9. Which department shares its name with an American singer?
10. Versailles is a commune in which department?
11. The north central area of which department was the site of a series of battles during World War I?
12. Marseille is the prefecture of which French department?
13. The former department 20 is now departments 2a and 2b, which are situated where in France?
14. Lyon is the principal city in which department?

Answers

1. (c) 101
2. Nord ("North". It's also the biggest by population, with around 2.6 million people.)
3. Gironde
4. Seine (after the river)
5. Var, Ain, or Lot
6. Vosges
7. Manche
8. Finistere (from the words "fin" and "terre" meaning the end of the earth)
9. Cher
10. Yvelines
11. Somme
12. Bouches-du-Rhone
13. On the island of Corsica
14. Rhone department