The 15 quiz questions
Question 1 : "Those who live are those who fight.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Victor Hugo
- Émile Zola
- Lamartine
- Musset
Explanation: A verse from Les Châtiments (1853) by Victor Hugo, written in exile against the regime of Napoleon III.
Question 2 : "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Albert Camus
- Romain Gary
- André Gide
- Marcel Proust
Explanation: A quote from The Prisoner (In Search of Lost Time) by Proust: to travel is to see with different eyes.
Question 3 : "Culture is what remains when you have forgotten everything.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Jean Cocteau
- André Malraux
- Édouard Herriot
- Charles de Gaulle
Explanation: A saying by Édouard Herriot, French politician and academician, often quoted in debates on education.
Question 4 : "Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Victor Hugo
- Aragon
- Prévert
- Saint-Exupéry
Explanation: An excerpt from Wind, Sand and Stars (1939) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Question 5 : "Idiots dare anything. That's even how you recognize them.", Who wrote this line?
Possible answers:
- Pierre Desproges
- Raymond Devos
- Coluche
- Michel Audiard
Explanation: An iconic line by Lino Ventura in Les Tontons flingueurs (1963), written by Michel Audiard.
Question 6 : "Impossible is not French.", Who is this quote attributed to?
Possible answers:
- De Gaulle
- Victor Hugo
- Richelieu
- Napoleon
Explanation: A saying attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte, reflecting his unwavering will and French ambition.
Question 7 : "A pessimist is a well-informed optimist.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Alphonse Allais
- Sacha Guitry
- Pierre Dac
- Coluche
Explanation: An aphorism by Pierre Dac, French humorist and resistance fighter, master of the absurd.
Question 8 : "Happy is he who, like Ulysses, has made a fine journey.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Joachim du Bellay
- François Villon
- Pierre de Ronsard
- Clément Marot
Explanation: A sonnet from Les Regrets (1558) by Du Bellay, written during his stay in Rome, expressing nostalgia for France.
Question 9 : "Speech was given to man to disguise his thoughts.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Richelieu
- Talleyrand
- Machiavelli
- Voltaire
Explanation: A saying by diplomat Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, master of the art of negotiation and ambiguity.
Question 10 : "Truth is on the march and nothing will stop it.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Clemenceau
- Victor Hugo
- Émile Zola
- Jean Jaurès
Explanation: A phrase by Émile Zola during the Dreyfus affair (1897), even before the publication of "J'accuse".
Question 11 : "Twenty times upon your work, put it back on the loom.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- La Fontaine
- Molière
- Boileau
- Racine
Explanation: A verse from L'Art poétique (1674) by Nicolas Boileau, advocating hard work and rewriting.
Question 12 : "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.", Who is this attributed to?
Possible answers:
- Rousseau
- Voltaire (attributed)
- Montesquieu
- Diderot
Explanation: A phrase summarizing Voltaire's thinking, actually coined by his biographer Evelyn Beatrice Hall in 1906.
Question 13 : "You can laugh about anything, but not with just anyone.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Pierre Desproges
- Guy Bedos
- Fernand Raynaud
- Coluche
Explanation: A maxim by Pierre Desproges, defining the limits of humor by context rather than subject.
Question 14 : "If you give technocrats the Sahara, in five years they'll have to buy sand elsewhere.", Who said this?
Possible answers:
- Fernand Raynaud
- Coluche
- Thierry Le Luron
- Guy Bedos
Explanation: This satirical quote is typical of Coluche (1944-1986), a French comedian and actor. Founder of Les Restos du Cœur in 1985, he used humor to denounce the absurdities of power.
Question 15 : "Hypocrisy is a tribute that vice pays to virtue.", Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Pascal
- Montesquieu
- La Bruyère
- La Rochefoucauld
Explanation: This maxim comes from the Maxims (1665) by the Duke of La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680), a French moralist. His incisive reflections on human nature remain among the most quoted in French literature.
