Quiz Update

Soirée Quiz 2026  : Merci et Félicitations

Congratulations and many thanks to the winners and the non-winners, in fact, to all of the over 75 Francophiles and friends who stretched their brains in hexagonal directions and helped make the event such a great evening. It was a close finish. The winning team Le Parisien Bleu, pictured above, pipped last year’s winners, the Vintner’s Luck team, by only one point, with 3^rd placed Allez les Bleus a few points behind.
However, it must be mentioned that Le Parisien Bleu team is living proof that perseverance does pay off. They have not missed a quiz in over 15 years, and this is the first time they have won !  There is hope for everyone.

Very special thanks to Benny & Brew, Audrey’s Ateliers Peinture , the Fly Funky Fly Team, Françoise, IRFA -Incident Response First Aid (the wine ?) and others for the spot prizes.
Special thanks too for the food prep team of Glennis, Debra & Caylee, the collector & distributor of the sheets as well.
Rendez-vous en 2027 pour un autre quiz incontournable !

Contested Questions:
1. Velcro : This was a badly worded question.  It should have been Which of the following has no connection with France a) velcro b) nylon c) denim ? with the answer being nylon. George de Mestral, the inventor was Swiss, but local leaders initially doubted his idea, so he partnered with a weaver in Lyon, and experimented with heat-treated nylon thread. This collaboration laid the technical groundwork for the hook-and-loop fastener patented in 1955 in Switzerland.

2. Assisted Dying :  This was illegal at the time of the quiz. But on 15^th July 2026 – yes, the very next day –  the French Parliament passed a law to legalize assisted dying and euthanasia under strict conditions, but the legislation is currently pending review by the Constitutional Council and is expected to take effect no sooner than early 2027.

3. The Marseillaise : this might have lacked a word. It would have been a lot more accurate to ask Which singer made the French national anthem radically less bloodthirsty ?  with the answer being Graeme Allwright. Serge Gainsbourg did one version but Graeme Allwright changed the words to create a peaceful version
Check both versions out to see what I mean.

And this year,  it was on the 14th !

Date: Tuesday July 14^th 2026

Venue: Wesley Church, 100 13^th Ave, Tauranga

Quiz Start Time: 7pm

Cost: $20 – This covers the quiz, coffee/tea and dessert and perhaps some entertainment !
Bring: Yourself, your friends, your partners, in fact anyone who wants to have fun, stretch their mind in hexagonal directions, and discover what they know about all things French.

Format: Tables of 4-6 people (not necessarily pre-arranged). Questions are about France, French things, Francophone countries and Franco-NZ links. Questions are in both French and English, so no French language knowledge and no dictionaries are required. No laptops or other digital devices please.
Lots of multiple-choice questions plus some that require answers. For example:

1: Who was the French President before Macron ?  a) De Gaulle  b)  Sarkozy   c) Hollande ?

2: Which of the following regions do you MOST associate with white wine?  a) Bordeaux  b) Alsace  c) Burgundy ?

3:  What is the connection between the Astrolabe Reef & the street in Welcome Bay called D’Urville Way ?

Please register with shelley@lovefrench.nz as soon as possible and by Tuesday July 13th at the very latest. Payment details will then be confirmed.

There will be a couple of spot prizes.