The 10 quiz questions
Question 1 : Which treaty, signed on 10 May 1871, ended the Franco-Prussian War and confirmed France's defeat?
Possible answers:
- The Treaty of Versailles
- The Treaty of Frankfurt
- The Treaty of Paris
- The Treaty of Vienna
Explanation: The Treaty of Frankfurt imposed harsh conditions on France: the cession of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany and the payment of a war indemnity of 5 billion gold francs. This territorial and national loss would fuel a deep feeling of revenge in France for more than forty years, until the First World War.
Question 2 : On 10 May 1940, Nazi Germany launched the Yellow Plan. Which country, in addition to Belgium, France and the Netherlands, was invaded that day?
Possible answers:
- Denmark
- Switzerland
- Luxembourg
- Poland
Explanation: The Yellow Plan (Fall Gelb) called for an offensive through the Belgian Ardennes, deemed impassable by the Allies. The Wehrmacht thus bypassed the Maginot Line, causing the rapid collapse of the French defence in just a few weeks.
Question 3 : Which Saint-Malo navigator reached Newfoundland on 10 May 1534 on behalf of France?
Possible answers:
- Amerigo Vespucci
- Giovanni da Verrazzano
- Jacques Cartier
- Samuel de Champlain
Explanation: Jacques Cartier made three voyages to North America between 1534 and 1542. During his second voyage in 1535, he sailed up the Saint Lawrence River as far as what he named "Canada", a term derived from the Iroquois word "kanata" meaning village. He is considered one of the founders of New France.
Question 4 : On 10 May 1981, François Mitterrand was elected President of the French Republic. What historical particularity did this event represent under the Fifth Republic?
Possible answers:
- First presidential election by direct universal suffrage
- First election of a socialist president under the Fifth Republic
- First presidential election held in France
- First president re-elected under the Fifth Republic
Explanation: François Mitterrand's election marked the first political alternation of the Fifth Republic, founded in 1958. Mitterrand had already lost the presidential election twice, in 1965 against de Gaulle and in 1974 against Giscard d'Estaing. His election also inaugurated the first early cohabitation with the appointment of socialist Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy.
Question 5 : On 10 May 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected to the presidency of South Africa. What was the particularity of this electoral assembly?
Possible answers:
- It was the first multiracial assembly in the country's history
- It was the first election held in sub-Saharan Africa
- It was the first presidential election by universal suffrage in South Africa
- It was the first time a former political prisoner became Head of State
Explanation: Nelson Mandela had spent 27 years in prison, notably on Robben Island, before being released in 1990. His election officially ended apartheid. He served only one presidential term, from 1994 to 1999, handing over power to Thabo Mbeki in a strong symbolic gesture for the young South African democracy.
Question 6 : What did Rudolf Hess do on 10 May 1941, an act that stunned Hitler and his allies?
Possible answers:
- He signed the German surrender in Hitler's place
- He parachuted into Scotland to negotiate a separate peace with the United Kingdom
- He attempted to assassinate Hitler at a meeting in Berlin
- He fled to Switzerland to reveal military secrets to the Allies
Explanation: After his forced landing in Scotland, Rudolf Hess was imprisoned by the British for the duration of the war. Tried at Nuremberg, he was sentenced to life imprisonment and remained the sole inmate of Spandau prison in Berlin until his death in 1987 at the age of 93, in circumstances that remain controversial to this day.
Question 7 : The Taubira law, passed in France on 10 May 2001, recognises a major crime in history. What crime is involved?
Possible answers:
- Colonial genocide
- War crimes in Algeria
- Slavery as a crime against humanity
- The deportation of Jews during the Second World War
Explanation: The Taubira law, championed by Guianese MP Christiane Taubira, was the first law in the world to recognise slavery as a crime against humanity. It notably recognises the transatlantic and Indian Ocean slave trade. Since then, 10 May has become the National Day of Remembrance of the Slave Trade, Slavery and their Abolitions in France.
Question 8 : In May 1968, the "night of the barricades" shook Paris. In which neighbourhood did the clashes between students and police take place?
Possible answers:
- Montparnasse
- Belleville
- Montmartre
- The Latin Quarter
Explanation: The night of 10 to 11 May 1968 will be remembered as a turning point of the May 68 movement. The barricades of the Latin Quarter, built notably with paving stones, symbolised the student revolt. These events pushed the Pompidou government to open negotiations, leading to the Grenelle Agreements which granted major social advances to workers.
Question 9 : John Wilkes Booth, born on 10 May 1838, is best known in American history for which infamous act?
Possible answers:
- He organised the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
- He assassinated President Abraham Lincoln
- He was the first outlaw sentenced to death in the United States
- He attempted to assassinate General Ulysses Grant during the Civil War
Explanation: John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln on 14 April 1865 at Ford's Theatre in Washington, while the president was attending the play "Our American Cousin". Lincoln died the next day. Booth was a Southern actor fiercely opposed to the abolition of slavery. He was himself killed twelve days later, on 26 April 1865, during his capture by federal forces.
Question 10 : In 1869, a historic rail link was completed in the United States, connecting the country's east and west coasts. What is this type of railway line called?
Possible answers:
- An intercontinental railway line
- A transatlantic railway line
- A transcontinental railway line
- A Pan-American railway line
Explanation: The completion of the American transcontinental railroad at Promontory Summit (Utah) on 10 May 1869 was celebrated by the driving of a symbolic "golden spike". This line, built simultaneously from east to west by two companies, revolutionised trade and accelerated the colonisation of the American West, reducing coast-to-coast travel from several months to a few days.
