The case of the River Meuse The Meuse River in Autumn, Lorraine © French Moments These rivers are the Meuse and the Dordogne. Two rivers of France are being promoted as fleuves, despite the fact that we learnt at school they were only mere rivers… Now that we understand why a river is such an important thing to the French, let’s mention two cases. They instilled a national binding role that the rivers play in our collective awareness. Thus, from this time, we have kept a certain reverence shown to our rivers, and particularly to the longest rivers of France.Īnd the lessons in geography taught in French primary schools did the rest. Fountain of the Rivers on Place de la Concorde © French Moments This is the case for one of the fountains on place de la Concorde in Paris which represents the Rhine and the Rhône. In the past, skilled sculptors created statues representing the river gods (or goddesses). Water deities were often portrayed in the arts. Most are feminine (la Seine, la Loire, la Garonne) and a minority are masculine (le Rhin, le Rhône, l’Escaut). Let’s remember that rivers were venerated as deities in Ancient Times.įor instance, Sequana was the goddess of the River Seine, to which its name derives. It does to the regions, and the cities and towns the waterway is crossing.

It means ranking amongst the major rivers in France. Gaining a fleuve status means a lot culturally and also touristically. Therefore it’s not rare to see people getting oddly emotional on whether their local river should be called a fleuve or a rivière. In people’s minds, a “ fleuve” means a big river. Rivers in France: the Seine near La Défense © French MomentsĬalling a fleuve a mere “ rivière” belittles it a bit. Promoting a river to a fleuve status may seem a matter of no importance to foreigners… but in France, this is taken very seriously. Indeed, with the creation of canals joining large rivers, it made it possible to transport goods cheaply by water from one region of France to the other.Īt least, this was the case until the arrival of railways in the mid-19th century! Rivers in France: Lake Geneva where the Rhône discharges coming from the Swiss Alps © French Moments The great river system of France provides a source of water power in certain regions ( French Alps, Jura, Massif Central, Vosges). Over the centuries, it has provided irrigation and cheap transportation. Placed end to end the rivers in France would cover 430,000 km (metropolitan France, including Corsica).

A fleuve meets the sea at un estuaire (estuary, eg.

at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine where the Oise flows into the Seine)

A rivière flows into another one at une confluence (eg.

la cascade de la fraîche in Pralognan-la-Vanoise.Ī Waterfall in the Vanoise National Park (French Alps) © French Moments

un étang is a small lake … or a big pond, eg.

un ruisseau is a stream, often found in mountainous regions where it takes the name of un torrent.un canal (a canal) is a man-built waterway, eg.un cours d’eau (a waterway or a watercourse) is a general term that encompasses une rivière and un fleuve.Examples: the Ain, the Aube, the Cher, the Loir, the Marne or the Sâone.Īlso, there are a few words used in the topic of French rivers or Waterways in France: “ une rivière” or “ un affluent” is a tributary which empties into another river or a fleuve.Simply put, “ un fleuve” is a river that empties into the sea such as the Hérault, Loire, the Orne, the Somme or the Var.Let’s embark on an armchair river cruise!Ī few words before exploring the rivers in Franceīefore we begin our exploration of the rivers in France, it is important to understand the distinction the French make between “ un fleuve” and “ une rivière“. This article will show you the best places to see along the rivers in France from their sources to the sea. Many waterways find their way along with picture-postcard landscapes, towns and villages. Knowing the rivers of France is part of getting to know France.

Dordogne map france