Home » Travel » France » French icons.

French icons.

© Marc A. Cormier

French icons. The Eiffel tower, the Béret, French bread and the bottle of wine are universally recognised icons of France. So is the French Képi.

The Eiffel tower The Eiffel tower, built for the 1889 Exposition, was the brainchild of Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, two engineers who worked for Gustave Eiffel. At first Eiffel was not very keen with the project, but by 1884 he patented the idea and signed a contract with Nouguier and Koechlin which gave him exclusive rights. By 1886, the project won the first prize in a contest for the 1889 exposition.

After two years, 8 000 000 Francs, 18 000 metal pieces, 7 million holes, millions of rivets shaped the Eiffel tower. It was designed to accommodate over 10 000 visitors on three levels. According to a French encyclopaedia it also weighs about 9 000 tons, moves up to 10 cm in strong winds, measures 320.75 meters and witnessed more than 300 suicides. Plans were made to tear it down in 1913 and 1920 but by 1964 it became a historic monument. Rumours about the tower being sold for scrap metal or being purchased by foreign interests abound even to this day, but the tower still stands and will for a long time to come.

The French Béret.

Thought to be Basque in origin, the Béret is actually from the Béarn region in southern France. Manufactured for shepherds during the XVth century, it is still worn by older men in rural France. The béret was also adopted by the army, the air force and colonial troops. It was also for many years a fashion accessory for women. Today some consider it a political statement in the Basque country.

French bread

The baguette, the pain d'une livre, the pain de campagne, the flûte, the ficelle can be found in any French boulangerie from Lille to Marseilles, from Brest to Strasbourg! French bread is a commodity so fundamental to the cultural fabric of the nation, that its price is state controlled. Today, 75 % of bread produced in France still comes from more than 30 000 small Boulangeries. French bread is characterised by a hard golden crust, numerous cavities of various sizes. It is made only with water, salt, yeast and flour and no additives or preservatives. True French bread does not stay fresh more than a day. Although simple in composition it is often copied abroad with varying results.

The copyright of the article French icons. in France is owned by Marc A. Cormier. Permission to republish French icons. in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.