The 15 quiz questions
Question 1 : "Don't despair about fools. With a little training, you can make soldiers out of them." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Coluche
- Pierre Desproges
- Guy Bedos
- Michel Audiard
Explanation: A typically dark humor quip by Pierre Desproges, a French comedian known for his acidic and literary style.
Question 2 : "Nothing is small in love." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Victor Hugo
- Alfred de Musset
- Lamartine
- Baudelaire
Explanation: A quote from Les Misérables by Victor Hugo, celebrating the greatness of love.
Question 3 : "Culture is not inherited, it is conquered." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Albert Camus
- Jean Moulin
- De Gaulle
- André Malraux
Explanation: André Malraux (1901-1976), writer, adventurer and France's first Minister of Cultural Affairs, spoke these words that became emblematic of French cultural policy.
Question 4 : "War! It is too serious a matter to entrust to the military." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- De Gaulle
- Georges Clemenceau
- Aristide Briand
- Napoléon
Explanation: Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929), nicknamed "the Tiger", spoke these words during World War I. As Prime Minister, he embodied the 1918 victory and the primacy of politics over the military.
Question 5 : "Mirrors should think more before reflecting images." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- André Breton
- Jean-Paul Sartre
- Paul Valéry
- Jean Cocteau
Explanation: Jean Cocteau (1889-1963), poet, playwright and filmmaker, was a master of wordplay. This phrase plays on the double meaning of "reflect" (mirror/think), typical of his surrealist wit.
Question 6 : "If those who speak ill of me knew exactly what I think of them, they would say much more." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Michel Audiard
- Sacha Guitry
- Marcel Pagnol
- Tristan Bernard
Explanation: Sacha Guitry (1885-1957), playwright, actor and director, was famous for his witticisms. This retort illustrates his art of repartee and sharp humor that made him one of the wittiest figures in French theater.
Question 7 : "There is no use in running; you must start on time." — Who wrote this moral?
Possible answers:
- Ésope
- Charles Perrault
- Jean de La Fontaine
- Boileau
Explanation: This moral opens the fable The Hare and the Tortoise by Jean de La Fontaine (1621-1695). Inspired by Aesop, La Fontaine gave his fables a universal reach that has endured through the centuries.
Question 8 : "Without the freedom to criticize, there is no true praise." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Mirabeau
- Beaumarchais
- Voltaire
- Condorcet
Explanation: Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais (1732-1799) wrote this phrase in the preface to The Marriage of Figaro (1784). It became the motto of the newspaper Le Figaro, founded in 1826.
Question 9 : "Ignorance is closer to truth than prejudice." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Diderot
- Rousseau
- Voltaire
- D'Alembert
Explanation: Denis Diderot (1713-1784), Enlightenment philosopher and chief editor of the Encyclopedia, championed critical thinking against received ideas. This phrase sums up his belief that knowledge begins with doubt.
Question 10 : "Ugliness has this advantage over beauty: it lasts." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Léo Ferré
- Charles Bukowski
- Boris Vian
- Serge Gainsbourg
Explanation: Serge Gainsbourg (1928-1991), provocative singer-songwriter, often played with self-deprecation about his looks. This phrase twists a moralist maxim into a piece of dark humor typical of his style.
Question 11 : "Everything has been said, and we come too late after more than seven thousand years of human thought." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- La Rochefoucauld
- Montaigne
- La Bruyère
- Pascal
Explanation: Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) opens his Characters with this famous phrase, humbly acknowledging his debt to earlier moralists while distinguishing himself through his incisive style.
Question 12 : "Liberty is the right to do everything that the laws permit." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Rousseau
- Voltaire
- Tocqueville
- Montesquieu
Explanation: Montesquieu (1689-1755) formulated this definition in The Spirit of the Laws (1748). This concept of liberty framed by law profoundly influenced the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789.
Question 13 : "A truly free man is one who can decline a dinner invitation without giving an excuse." — Who is the author?
Possible answers:
- Tristan Bernard
- Courteline
- Oscar Wilde
- Jules Renard
Explanation: Jules Renard (1864-1910), author of the Journal and Poil de Carotte, excelled at sharp observations of daily life. This phrase illustrates his art of turning a mundane situation into philosophical reflection.
Question 14 : "We must ask more from taxation and less from the taxpayer." — Who is credited with this paradox?
Possible answers:
- Pierre Dac
- Alphonse Allais
- Raymond Devos
- Coluche
Explanation: Alphonse Allais (1854-1905), humorist and writer, was the king of absurdity and nonsense. This apparent fiscal paradox is typical of his offbeat logic that inspired generations of French humorists.
Question 15 : "We can no longer close our eyes to the 300,000 abortions that mutilate women in this country every year." — Who spoke these words at the National Assembly?
Possible answers:
- Simone Veil
- Yvette Roudy
- Simone de Beauvoir
- Gisèle Halimi
Explanation: Simone Veil (1927-2017) spoke these words on November 26, 1974 before the National Assembly to defend the abortion law. Her speech, facing a largely hostile assembly, remains one of the most significant in French parliamentary history.
