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Tour de France
Submitted by France.com on June 16, 2004 - 10:35am.History and general descriptionThe race was founded as a publicity event for the newspaper L'Auto (ancestor of the present l'Équipe) by its editor, Henri Desgrange, to rival the Paris-Brest et retour (PBP) ride sponsored by Le Petit Journal and Bordeaux-Paris sponsored by Le Vélo. In the early days of the race, it was a near-continuous endurance event. Racers slept by the side of the road and were required to avoid all assistance, but several competitors in the second Tour de France were disqualified for taking a train part of the way. These days, the tour is a "stage race", divided into a number of stages, each stage being a race held over one day.
Pernod Fils
Submitted by France.com on May 23, 2004 - 5:53am.
Pernod Fils (pronounced: Perno-Fee) was the most popular brand of absinthe during the period before prohibition of absinthe throughout most of Europe (1915). Like most absinthe, the herbs wormwood, fennel, hyssop, anise, and star anise, among others, were first macerated, and then placed in a larger still where they were then distilled, to produce a transparent liquor.
The Eiffel Tower
Submitted by France.com on October 23, 2003 - 4:46pm.
The Eiffel Tower is the most recognizable landmark in Paris and is known worldwide as a symbol of France. Named after its designer, Gustave Eiffel, it is a premier tourist destination, with over 5.5 million visitors per year. The tower received its 200,000,000th guest on November 28, 2002.
Bastille Day
Submitted by France.com on February 21, 2003 - 7:01pm.This month, like every year on the 14th of July, the French will celebrate their Fête Nationale or Bastille Day, as it is known in English-speaking countries. It commemorates the storming of a Paris royal fortress––the Bastille––on July 14, 1789, a date of great historical significance as it marks the transition from an absolute monarchy to a republican regime.
