Does daylight savings really make sense? According to this report, it is becoming harder to justify its existence, prompting some countries to drop the idea altogether.

Find out how Pope Leo XIV was chosen after a complicated process. This video explains in great detail how the college of cardinals gather for a conclave in the Vatican to elect the pope.

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!

Tarte flambée is a specialty of the Alsace region of France that resembles a pizza. Typically made with crème fraîche, onions, and bacon, the traditional tarte flambée has also undergone many variations. Flam’s, a restaurant franchise based in Strasbourg, has dedicated itself to perfecting this Alsatian delicacy.

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 lesson, you will learn the difference between homonyms, homophones, and homographs illustrated with amusing examples. Challenge yourself by repeating the words that sound the same and see if you can spell them correctly. Good luck!

In this video you will learn about synonyms, words that share the same general meaning but convey different degrees of intensity, illustrated by various examples of feelings. Armed with this new vocabulary, you should never be at a loss for words, whether you're overjoyed or wild with anger!

Some expressions are not be taken literally, as they would not make a lot of sense. For example, vider son sac—literally, "to empty one's bag"—actually means something entirely different. Find out the real meaning of vider son sac and its origin in this video!

In the second installment on French expressions not to be taken literally, Patricia discusses the phrase se faire l'avocat du diable (to play devil's advocate).

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.

A terrible tragedy struck Nice on what should have been a celebration of Bastille Day, France's national holiday. A driver crashed his truck into a crowd of people who came to watch the fireworks on the famous Promenade des Anglais. The city is in mourning, but the people of Nice are determined not to be defeated by this tragedy.

In the wake of the recent tragedy on the Promenade des Anglais, Nice remains a beautiful and diverse city. In this video, Patricia talks about what makes the city such a great place to live and visit.

Jean de La Fontaine's fables are all-time classics that have been in the French school curriculum for many years, at all levels. It's safe to say that every French person knows at least one of his fables.