How did Napoleon conquer and then lose nearly all of Europe in a span of just fifteen years? Find out in the second part of this series.

How did Molière become so successful? The French playwright, whose plays are still being performed today, did not just rely on his talent as a writer—he knew how to drum up publicity for himself as well.

Molière wasn't afraid of his plays causing a scandal—in fact, he often orchestrated scandals in order to drum up publicity. Find out more about his marketing genius in this video.

In 1983, the Marche des Beurs highlighted the problem of anti-Arab racism in France. Forty years on, the country is still feeling its effects.

On October 15, 1983, a dozen people set out from Marseille to march against racism and police violence. En route to Paris, they met many people who, to their surprise, were sympathetic to their cause.

In 1983, the murder of an Algerian immigrant on a train galvanized a massive anti-racism protest that led to significant government reforms. But racism remains a serious problem in France to this day.

Paris would be an entirely different city today if the architect Le Corbusier had carried out his ambitious project for the capital. But Minister of Culture André Malraux put a stop to this and set out to preserve the historic heritage of Paris by introducing a new law. Find out what Paris could have looked like in this video!

This video is all about the people of France, from the ancient Franks and Gauls to the present-day population, which currently numbers over sixty-six million inhabitants.

It's been said that Paris is the most romantic city in the world. In this video, you will discover the origin of the word "romantic" and learn about the romanticism movement, which originated not from France as one might expect, but from England and Germany and later took hold in France.

This video takes an in-depth look at the curious French idiom mener une vie de bâton de chaise (to lead a chair-pole life). Though the life of a chair pole might not seem very interesting, the history behind the idiom certainly is!

In this video, you will learn the history of the French flag. Once it was completely white, the color of the French royalty, and now it's blue, white, and red. The French flag has recently been tainted with controversy by nationalist groups who have appropriated it as a symbol of their own causes.

Patricia discusses the history of the the French national anthem, "La Marseillaise," explaining how the song traveled from the Rhine region to Marseille, where it earned its final name.
She even sings a few lines of the song for us!

Part two of this video on "La Marseillaise" explains how it evolved from a song of war and freedom to its current status as the French national anthem. The fact remains that it still stirs up controversy for its violent content, which some find offensive.

In this episode you will learn how Paris officially became the capital in the sixth century under the reign of Clovis. Paris was not built in a day, and in many respects, Paris is still being built today as many significant events, past and present, are still defining the history of the city.

Patricia discusses the galette des rois (kings' cake), a classic holiday delicacy associated with the festival of Epiphany. A small figurine is placed inside the cake, and whoever finds it in his or her slice is crowned "king" or "queen" for the day.