Étranger Things: Why France is nicknamed “l’Hexagone” (and how to use it without stepping on any of its six toes)

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If you watch French news or chat with your neighbors, you’ll hear it a lot: l’Hexagone. The nickname comes from a very simple school-map trick—draw a six-sided shape over mainland France and it fits pretty neatly. This way of seeing the country was popularized in late-19th-century geography teaching and stuck in everyday language (and even shows up in official texts). (Wikipedia)

Where you’ll hear it (and what it usually means)

  • TV & radio news: Headlines like “Pluies sur l’ensemble de l’Hexagone” are routine—think “across mainland France.” (The Open University)

  • Geography, tourism & school contexts: Teachers, guidebooks, and museum panels love the visual shortcut. (Wikipedia)

  • Everyday speech: It’s a breezy synonym for la France métropolitaine—i.e., European France including Corsica, but not the overseas regions/territories. (More on that nuance next.) (Wikipedia)

  • Politics & admin language: You’ll sometimes see Hexagone used in policy debates or documents to mean “mainland” as distinct from the Outre-mer. (Le HuffPost)

A polite caution from the word police (with love 💙)

France isn’t only six-sided! The Académie française gently warns against using Hexagone as a blanket synonym for France, because it erases Corsica and the overseas communities. It also side-eyes the adjective hexagonal used to mean “French” in general. Translation: use it, but use it knowingly. (academie-francaise.fr)

Quick rule of thumb
Do say: “Partout dans l’Hexagone, les températures baissent.”
Avoid when you mean all of France: Overseas France isn’t inside that hexagon outline.

Tiny timeline (because we love a map doodle)

  • Late 1800s–early 1900s: Third-Republic schoolteachers—the famed hussards noirs—drill geography with strong visuals; the hexagon outline spreads via school maps and atlases. (Wikipedia)

  • 20th century to today: The nickname becomes mainstream in media, education, and everyday speech—one of those curated cultural shortcuts that stick. (The Open University)

Jokes & gentle blagues you’ll hear (or can safely make)

  • Geometry class humor: “Tu viens de quel coin de l’Hexagone ?” — “Which corner of the Hexagon are you from?” (Bretagne often claims the top-left crêpe-shaped corner.)

  • Weather small talk: “On fait le tour de l’Hexagone cet été” — “We’re doing a loop of the Hexagon this summer.” Cue finger-tracing the outline on a napkin.

  • Music nerd Easter egg: Renaud’s 1975 protest song “Hexagone” used the nickname to roast French habits month by month—cultural reference gold for advanced learners. (Wikipedia)

Learner’s corner: how to use l’Hexagone naturally

  • Meaning: In most contexts, it = mainland (metropolitan) France. If you mean all of France including the overseas departments/regions, say la France or specify la France et l’Outre-mer. (academie-francaise.fr)

  • Pronunciation: [lek-sa-GOHN] — the h is silent, liaison after l’.

  • Common newsy frames you can reuse:

    • sur l’ensemble de l’Hexagone = across (mainland) France

    • aux quatre coins de l’Hexagone = all over the country

  • When abroad or in Overseas France: You’ll also hear “en Hexagone” to mean “in mainland France,” contrasting with ici (Guadeloupe, Réunion, etc.). (Wikipedia)

Micro-practice (A1 → Advanced)

A1: Fill the blank.
Je voyage ____ l’Hexagone cet automne. → dans

A2: Transformations.

  1. Il pleut partout en France. → Il pleut sur l’ensemble de l’Hexagone.

  2. Où habites-tu ? → Tu es de quel coin de l’Hexagone ?

B1: Mini-opinion (2–3 lines).
Penses-tu que dire “l’Hexagone” oublie l’Outre-mer ? Pourquoi/pourquoi pas ? (Use parce que, cependant.)

B2: Nuance and register.
Rewrite a short news lead twice: (1) with Hexagone, (2) with France including Outre-mer, noting the scope change.

Advanced/C2: Cultural reference.
Listen to Renaud’s “Hexagone.” Identify one dated reference and explain it in contemporary terms (register, irony, intertext). (Wikipedia)

Handy sources if you want to dig deeper

  • Origin & usage in geography/administration (late 19th c. onward): the Hexagone (France) article. (Wikipedia)

  • Académie française guidance on Hexagone/hexagonal. (academie-francaise.fr)

  • How the media use it in everyday contexts (learner-friendly explainer). (The Open University)

  • Renaud’s Hexagone (1975): song + museum write-ups. (Wikipedia)

Your turn 👇

Where are you on the Hexagon today—north wind in Lille, mistral in Provence, butter in Bretagne? Drop a comment with (1) your “corner,” and (2) one example sentence using l’Hexagone. Extra credit: share an Outre-mer vs Hexagone nuance you’ve noticed.

(P.S. Got a great hexagon-map photo or board-game tile pic from class? Post it!)

Location: France