Did you know that the French, when talking about their country and translate english to french, almost never call it France? So, it’s true! They use a number of nicknames. Let’s find out what nicknames the French give to their country and what they mean. So, here is a list of the 10 most popular nicknames.
1. La France
This is perhaps the most popular nickname in France. The name La France dates back to the 5th century when the Frankish kingdoms invaded Gaul. The name “France” itself comes from the word “Frank”, which means “free man”. This is what characterized the Frankish people.
2. La République or La République Française
La République is a patriotic French nickname that appeared after the establishment of the first French Republic in 1792 during the French Revolution of 1789. La République Française is the official name of France, usually abbreviated RF.
3. L’Hexagone
The nickname L’Hexagone (Hexagon) is distributed along the entire mainland border of France, with the exception of the overseas regions and the island of Corsica. If you look at the map, you can see that France really looks like a six-sided polygon. It has three sides of land and three sides of the sea. Therefore, L’Hexagone is often used to describe the territory of France.
4. La Métropole or La France Metropolitaine
This nickname is commonly used by citizens from the French overseas regions when talking about the French mainland and translate french to english. It’s sort of synonymous with L’Hexagone. The only difference between La Métropole is the “inclusion” of the island of Corsica.
5. La France Continentale
La France Continentale or “Continental France” is another synonym for L’Hexagone. Also designates the hexagon of metropolitan France, not including the island of Corsica.
6. Le Pays des Droits de L’Homme
This nickname literally translates as “Land of Human Rights” or “Land of Human Rights”. Le Pays des Droits de L’Homme was born out of the French Revolution of 1789, during which the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the French Citizen was created.
7. La France D’Outre Mer or DROM-COM, DOM-TOM
Following the reformation of the French regions in 2016, the overseas departments of D’Outre-Mer (DOM) and the overseas territories of Territoires d’Outre-Mer (TOM) ceased to exist. The new names “DROM-COM”, “DROM” refer only to Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guiana, Reunion and Mayotte. However, all these nicknames are still used by the French.
8 La France Profonde
It is one of the three provincial nicknames of France. La France Profonde means “Deep France”. This nickname is used to describe small villages, villages and provinces in France.
9. La Province
Another provincial nickname for France. La Province is often used by Parisians to describe anywhere in France, not including Paris, which often offends French people who live in other major cities.
10. “La Diagonale du Vide”
“Empty Diagonal” or “Diagonal of the Void” – this nickname is used by the French to refer to a vast territory with a small population. La Diagonale du Vide stretches from the northeast to the southwest of France.