Patricia has unearthed some very interesting, obscure French laws. For example: "Any woman wishing to dress like a man must request permission from the police department." Thankfully, no one obeys these antiquated laws!

Gérard will introduce you to Antibes, a beautiful city founded by the Phocaeans in the 400s BC. The Phocaeans were replaced by the Romans, who were replaced by the Christians. Nowadays Antibes has grown to become the third-largest city in the Alpes-Maritimes department.

Gérard tells us about the history of Antibes, which goes back to the Phocaeans. Those ancient people always consulted an oracle before undertaking a voyage into the unknown to conquer new territories.

Gérard will tell you about the history of Antibes, an ancient city with a fascinating past. One of the oldest cities in the region, it was built by the Phocaeans before Roman times.

Gérard tells us about the history of Antibes, from the time of Julius Caesar to the construction of the city walls and the Fort Carré.

Gérard explains the development of Antibes culminating in the creation of Sophia Antipolis, a kind of science park that changed the face of the city and created a traffic nightmare.

Gérard tells us about the city of Antibes where he was raised. He also sings a song about Jacques Audiberti, the renowned playwright, novelist, and poet, who was born in the city.

It took two hundred years to standardize French spelling before it could be taught in schools using a method called la dictée (dictation), in which a student writes out the words he or she hears. As a matter of fact, this is the exact same principle behind Yabla's Scribe game!

Patricia explains the importance of dictation exercises for learning French. Now an essential teaching tool in the classroom, dictation was originally a pastime for French nobility. The author Prosper Mérimée created a dictation exercise for Empress Eugénie that stumped even the brightest intellectuals. Think you can beat them? Try it yourself here.

Patricia delves into the festival of la Chandeleur, or Candlemas, which takes place on the second of February. In France, la Chandeleur is traditionally celebrated by eating crêpes.

Patricia continues her series on the feast of Candlemas, which in France is centered around the crêpe. Due to its round shape and golden color, the crêpe was a symbol of the sun in pagan times.

The first of April is the day of hoaxes, pranks, and jokes. In France, the tradition is to hang paper fish on people's backs and shout, "Poisson d'avril!" (April Fish!).

Humanity has always dreamed of flying through the air. That dream was made possible with the arrival of the zeppelin at the end of the nineteenth century.

Patricia discusses the various ways zeppelins were used in the twentieth century, as well as what led to their downfall.

In centuries past, when a person's honor was offended, he would challenge the culprit to a duel. The last duel in France took place as recently as 1967, between two respected politicians!