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French phrases featuring "France"
Of course you know that la France means “France,” but are you aware that this country’s name is also used in some idiomatic expressions? Learn how to say ordinary people, the rich, and more with this list of expressions with France.
The name of the country is feminine: la France.
But le France means something too: it was the name of a French ocean liner built in 1960 (though it was renamed le Norway in 1979).
A number of French TV stations and radio stations include "France" in their names:
- France 2
- France 3
- France 4
- France 5
- France 24
- France Info
- France Inter
- France Ô
- Radio France
- Radio France Internationale
Expressions with "France"
| la France black-blanc-beur | multicultural, multiracial France | ||
| la France continentale | Metropolitan France minus Corsica | ||
| la France d’en bas | ordinary people | ||
| la France d’en haut | the privileged classes (the ruling establishment, the rich) | ||
| la France d’outre-mer | French overseas departments and territories | ||
| la France jacobine | France’s centralized system of government | ||
| la France libre | free France | ||
| la France métropolitaine | France, not including overseas departments and territories | ||
| la France profonde | rural France | ||
| la France qui se lève tôt | working classes | ||
| la France ultramarine | French overseas departments and territories | ||
| de France et de Navarre | from everywhere, from all over the place | ||
| le Collège de France | prestigious higher education and research center in Paris | ||
| les Compagnons du Tour de France | organization of craftsmen and artisans | ||
| les Grandes Chroniques de France | illuminated manuscripts of the history of France | ||
| l’Île-de-France | Greater Paris, metropolitan area including Paris and its neighboring departments | ||
| les internationaux de France (de tennis) | French Open (French tennis tournament) | ||
| le midi de la France | the South of France | ||
| Miss France | Miss France (winner of French beauty pageant) | ||
| le onze de France | French soccer (European football) team | ||
| la Patrouille de France | French Air Force’s aerobatic demonstration team | ||
| le premier flic de France | (informal) | French Minister of the Interior | |
| la première dame de France | France’s first lady | ||
| les quatre coins de la France | all over France, everywhere in France | ||
| le quinze de France | French rugby union team | ||
| le Tour de France | “the Tour of France” – annual French cycling race | ||
| le treize de France | French rugby league team | ||
| la vieille France | France of yesteryear | ||
| Vive la France ! | Long live France! | ||
| le XI de France | French soccer (European football) team | ||
| le XIII de France | French rugby league team | ||
| le XV de France | French rugby union team | ||
France is also a fairly common French name (first and last):
- Anatole France – French novelist
- France-Albert René – former president of Seychelles
- Joseph Antoine France Antelme – Franco-Mauritian spy
- France Staub – Mauritian botanist
Related lessons
- 7 names for France
- Synonyms for "French"
- French and France vocabulary
- Prepositions with countries
- Roman numerals
- Sports
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La France d’en-bas: does it mean ordinary people of France or just ordinary people? Can I replace la France with les Etats-Unis to mean ordinary people of the US or do I always have to use la France even when writing about the US? Merci.
Bonjour Johnny,
It means “ordinary people of France.” It’s sort of a special expression – I don’t believe it can be used for other countries. Instead, you’d used one of these more general expressions: