@FrenchHist

🇫🇷 French history, one fact at a time | Kings, revolutions & forgotten stories | New post every day ⚔️

Joined August 2026
France in WWII 1/ France fell to Nazi Germany in just 46 days in 1940. 🧵
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4/ On June 14, 1940, German soldiers marched down the Champs-Élysées. Paris had fallen without a single shot fired to defend it.
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5/ Four years of occupation followed. But across the Channel, a general nobody had heard of gave a radio address promising France would fight on. Charles de Gaulle. The resistance began. #WWII #FrenchHistory #HistoryFacts #WorldWarII
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The Tour de France 1/ The Tour de France was invented to sell newspapers. 🧵
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4/ The newspaper's sales exploded. The race became an annual event. Today the Tour de France is watched by 3.5 billion people worldwide.
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5/ What started as a desperate marketing stunt became a century-old sporting institution. #TourDeFrance #FrenchHistory #DidYouKnow #FunFacts
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The Statue of Liberty 1/ The Statue of Liberty was entirely a French idea. 🧵
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4/ France funded the statue. America funded the pedestal. When America was slow to raise money, Joseph Pulitzer ran a campaign shaming wealthy Americans into donating.
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5/ The statue arrived in New York in 350 individual pieces and was assembled on site. The most iconic symbol of American freedom was designed, built, and gifted by France. #StatueOfLiberty #FrenchHistory #DidYouKnow #HistoryFacts
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French in England 1/ French used to be the official language of England. 🧵
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4/ The result? About 30% of modern English words come directly from French. "Beef," "justice," "parliament," "fashion," "government" — all French.
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5/ The next time someone tells you English and French are completely different languages — they're not looking close enough. #FrenchHistory #DidYouKnow #Language #HistoryFacts
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