RennesRennes (ʁɛn; Roazhon ˈrwɑːõn; Gallo: Resnn; Condate Redonum) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department. In 2017, the urban area had a population of 357,327 inhabitants, and the larger metropolitan area had 739,974 inhabitants. The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais (masculine) or Rennaises (feminine) in French.
DijonDijon (UKˈdiːʒɒ̃, USdiːˈʒoʊn, diʒɔ̃) is a city that serves as the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road between Lyon and Paris. The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries, and Dijon became a place of tremendous wealth and power, one of the great European centres of art, learning, and science.
ValenciennesValenciennes (ˌvælɒ̃ˈsjɛn, also UKˌvælənsiˈɛn, US-nz,_vəˌlɛnsiˈɛn(z), valɑ̃sjɛn; Valencijn; Valincyinnes or Valinciennes; Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt (Escaut) river. Although the city and region experienced a steady population decline between 1975 and 1990, it has since rebounded. The 1999 census recorded that the population of the commune of Valenciennes was 41,278, and that of the metropolitan area was 39,677.
Bastille DayBastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the Fête nationale française (fɛt nasjɔnal; ); legally it is known as le 14 juillet (lə katɔʁz(ə) ʒɥijɛ; ). The French National Day is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a major event of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération that celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790.
Gustave FlaubertGustave Flaubert (UKˈfloʊbɛər , USfloʊˈbɛər , ɡystav flobɛʁ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Cornelius Quassus, "in Flaubert, realism strives for formal perfection, so the presentation of reality tends to be neutral, emphasizing the values and importance of style as an objective method of presenting reality".
GrenobleGrenoble (ɡrəˈnoʊbəl , ɡʁənɔbl; Grenoblo or Grainóvol; Graçanòbol) is the prefecture and largest city of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the capital of the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac flows into the Isère at the foot of the French Alps. The population of the commune of Grenoble was 158,198 as of 2019, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area (French: aire d'attraction de Grenoble or agglomération grenobloise) was 714,799 which makes it the largest metropolis in the Alps, ahead of Innsbruck and Bolzano.