In 2019, 89 million people visited France to take in the culture and enjoy the food. On top of that, Paris is one of the most visited cities in the world. Out of the 89 million people visiting France, 19 million visited Paris in 2019. Every year, Paris is ranked in the top ten of most visited cities in the world.

Following the Norman Conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066, French became the official language in England for about 300 years until 1362. French was widely used by aristocrats, royalty, and people in power. As a result, a lot of English words are influenced by the French language, especially in formal domains such as laws and politics.

It is a distress signal that is used globally, especially in the aviation industry. In fact, the word “Mayday” derives from the French language of “m’aidez” (help me). In the 1920s, airports in the UK and France needed a clear distress signal which would not be mistaken easily. The Brits took the French word and turned it into the emergency procedure word we know today.

To say the gray zinc roofs (les toits) are an iconic feature of Paris is an understatement. Zinc has been used as the roof for more than 80% of the city’s architecture since the 1840s, when Emperor Napoleon III selected Baron Haussmann to renew urban Paris. Not only did he build the Haussmannian buildings, but he also set the archetype of the Parisian skyline with the gray roofs which we still see today.