All articles starting with F
15,892 articles
French Geodesic Mission to the Equator
The French Geodesic Mission to the Equator, also called the Geodesic Mission to Peru, was an 18th-century expedition sent in 1735 to measure a meridian arc near Quito.
French Girl
French Girl (French title Chez les beaux-parents) is a 2024 Canadian romantic comedy by James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright, starring Zach Braff, Evelyne Brochu, and Vanessa Hudgens, about a Brooklyn teacher following his chef girlfriend to Quebec City; released March 15, 2024, rated R, 24% on Rotten Tomatoes.
French Gothic
French Gothic is the Gothic architecture that originated around Paris in the mid-twelfth century, based on the pointed arch, the rib vault, and flying buttresses, and practiced until about 1500.
French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix (Grand Prix de France, Grand Prix de l'ACF): France's motor race, first held 1906 at Le Mans, won by Ferenc Szisz; a Formula 1 round at seven circuits, last run 2022 at Paul Ricard.
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane, is an overseas department and region of France bordered by Suriname and Brazil. It is notable for the Guiana Space Centre.
French Hill (Arkansas politician)
French Hill, also known as J. French Hill, is an American Republican politician representing Arkansas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House since 2015.
French horn
French horn (cor d'harmonie): brass wind instrument with a coiled tube up to 3.7 m long, valves played by the left hand, and the right hand in the bell. Transposing in F, evolved from 17th-century hunting horns; valves added 1814, double horn 1898.
French house
French house, also called French touch or filter house, is the 1990s Parisian house style built on filtered disco and funk samples, heavy compression, and vocoded vocals at 120–128 BPM, known for Daft Punk, Stardust, Air, Cassius, and Justice.
French Imperial Eagle
French Imperial Eagle (aigle de drapeau): gilt-bronze eagle finial on Napoleonic regimental flagstaffs, adopted 10 July 1804, designed by Chaudet, cast by Thomire; losing it was the supreme regimental disgrace.
French India
French India (Établissements français dans l'Inde): French trading posts in India, headquartered at Pondicherry from 1674, with Karikal, Mahé, Yanam and Chandernagore; transferred to India de facto in 1954 and de jure in 1962.
French Indies Company
The French Indies Company is the English name for French chartered trading companies with crown monopolies on trade with Asia and the Americas, founded by Colbert in 1664.
French Indochina
French Indochina (l'Indochine française, Union indochinoise): the French-administered federation of Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin, Cambodia, Laos, and Kouang Tchéou Wan, 1862–1954, ending with the Geneva Accords after Dien Bien Phu.
French invasion of Malta
French invasion of Malta (June 1798): Napoleon's fleet under Admiral Brueys ended the Order of St John's 268-year rule; the capitulation was signed aboard the Orient on 12 June 1798, and the occupation lasted until Vaubois surrendered on 5 September 1800.
French invasion of Russia
Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia (Patriotic War, Отечественная война): Grande Armée crossed the Niemen 24 June, won Borodino, occupied a burning Moscow, and lost up to half a million men in the retreat.
French ironclad Gloire
The French ironclad Gloire, also known as La Gloire, was a French Navy broadside ironclad launched at Toulon in 1859, generally regarded as the first ocean-going ironclad warship.
French Jesuit mission at Ayutthaya
The French Jesuit mission at Ayutthaya was a Jesuit presence in Siam's royal capital, established in 1662, whose astronomers served King Narai until the 1688 coup ended French favor.
French kiss
French kiss: a deep, open-mouth kiss using the tongue, also called tongue or deep kissing. Named for an Anglophone stereotype of France; French speakers say baiser avec la langue. Covers etymology, history, microbiology (80 million bacteria per kiss), and STI risk.
French Kiss (1995 film)
French Kiss is a 1995 romantic comedy directed by Lawrence Kasdan, written by Adam Brooks, starring Meg Ryan, Kevin Kline, and Timothy Hutton; a Fox, PolyGram, and Working Title production about a stolen necklace in Paris, released May 1995 in the US.
French Kiss (music)
"French Kiss" is a 1989 instrumental house track by Chicago producer Lil' Louis, known for its mid-song slowdown and two weeks at number 1 on Billboard's dance chart.
French Kiwi Juice
French Kiwi Juice (FKJ) is the stage name of Vincent Fenton, a French multi-instrumentalist and producer of new French house. Debut album French Kiwi Juice (2017), viral improvised track Tadow with Masego, later albums V I N C E N T and Tyber.
French land laws in Algeria
The French land laws in Algeria, chiefly the sénatus-consulte of 1863 and the Warnier Law of 1873, dismantled collective land tenure and opened Algerian land to European settlers.
French language
French (français) is a Romance language from popular Latin in Roman Gaul, standardized by the 1539 Villers-Cotterêts ordinance and the Académie française (1635); the OIF's 2026 report counts 396 million speakers, ranking it fourth worldwide.
French language in Canada
French in Canada: one of two official languages, 22.0% first official language spoken (2021), sole official language of Quebec under the Charter of the French language (loi 101), governed federally by the Official Languages Act (1969, modernized 2023).
French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools
Law no. 2004-228 of 15 March 2004, the French headscarf ban: prohibits ostentatious religious signs (Islamic veil, kippa, oversized cross) for pupils in public schools, allowing discreet signs; in force since 2 September 2004.
French Lick, Indiana
French Lick, Indiana: small Orange County town famed for its sulfur springs, French Lick Springs Hotel, Pluto Water, the 1931 FDR Governors' Conference, 1924 PGA, Larry Bird, and the Cook-restored resort and casino.
French locomotive classification
French locomotive classification is the notation used in France to describe a locomotive's axle arrangement and number individual engines, counting axles rather than wheels, from the SNCF's 1938 steam scheme to the European Vehicle Number.
French lycées in Africa and the Indian Ocean
French lycées in Africa and the Indian Ocean are French-state-accredited secondary schools administered by the AEFE, descended from colonial schools and now serving local elites and French families.
French maid
French maid (フレンチメイド): eroticised fancy-dress costume derived from the 19th-century French housemaid's black-and-white uniform, named for the theatrical soubrette; fixed under the Third Republic, spread via burlesque, pin-ups, and Japanese meido culture.
French Mauritania
French Mauritania was the territory of present-day Mauritania under French colonial rule from 1903 to 1960, first as a protectorate, then a colony within French West Africa.
French military withdrawal from West Africa (2022–2025)
The French military withdrawal from West Africa (2022–2025) ended Operation Barkhane, the ~5,100-strong Sahel counterterrorism force: Mali left in August 2022, Burkina Faso in February 2023, Niger by December 2023, then Chad, Ivory Coast, and Senegal through 2025, replaced partly by Russia's Africa Corps.