France

Why it sticks

1. 1

   Thanks to its overseas territories, France spans 12 time zones — more than any other country.

2. 2

   France's longest land border is with Brazil, via French Guiana in South America.

3. 3

   The tricolour combines the colours of Paris (blue and red) with royal white.

4. 4

   The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1889 World's Fair and was meant to be temporary.

• Licence plates have the EU strip with "F" on the left and a blue strip on the right with a regional logo and department number; format "AB-123-CD".
• Bollards are white with a slanted black band containing an orange-red reflector.
• Motorway (autoroute) signs are blue and main-road signs green.
• Rural roads often have dashed white edge lines.
• Town entry signs are white with a red border.