France is home to hundreds of festivals every year, from small local celebrations to internationally renowned events such as the Strasbourg Christmas market, Nice Carnival and the Lyon Fête des lumières.
But there are other festivals that are, frankly, a bit strange.
Here are France's 9 strangest festivals (obviously, we mean strange in a good way);
Fête du Citron
When life gives you lemons...create a festival involving over 140 tonnes of citrus fruit and invite about 230,000 visitors annually? That is pretty much what Menton, a town on the French Riviera, did in 1928 when a hotelier in the region wished to increase tourism.
Known for its delicious lemons, Menton has grown the fruit since the 1500s and shipped them all over the world.
The hotelier's idea, which came into fruition in 1934, ended up becoming a world recognised three-week festival, where the city and its garden show off giant sculptures - some over 10 metres in height - made of lemons and oranges, amid parades, shows, concerts and art exhibits.
Fête de l'Ours
Recently added to the UNESCO 'intangible heritage' list, the Bear Festival takes place in the Pyrenees, along the border with Spain. Stretching all the way back to the Middle Ages, the festival has some surprising components: it involves a man dressing up as a bear and chasing humans.
At the end of the festival, the humans catch the man in the bear costume, and ‘skin’ him (take off his bear costume) so he can become a person again.
READ MORE: What you need to know about the French bear festival recognised by Unesco
It is intended to be a celebration of the end of winter, and while it was practised in all villages in the region up to the 19th century, it still occurs in three villages in the Haut Vallespir, located in the Pyrenees-Orientales département.
La Pourcailhade (Festival of the Pig)
Every year the small village of Trie-sur-Baise in the Pyrenees hosts a unique festival dedicated to pigs. Throughout the celebration, you'll see pigs in various forms - from piglets to pork and people in pig costumes.
The Pourcailhade is known for one moment in particular: the pig squealing competition, where participants get on stage and attempt to give their best pig imitation.
The festival first started in 1975, at the former home to Europe's largest pig market, and it usually takes place in August, though the festival had a six-year pause and made its comeback in 2018.
There are also piglet races and competitions to see who has the best pig-costume, but the cri de cochon (pig squeal) contest is something to behold, as shown below.
Seagull impressions
Pigs are not the only animal to have a dedicated imitation event. The Dunkirk Carnival, which takes place every spring, involves a whole host of bizarre traditions, from the parade of giants to the time the mayor throws fish at the townspeople.
But it also includes the Cri de la mouette contest, where people compete to do the most realistic impression of the cry of a seagull, often while dressed up as a seagull. There are now so many contestants that knockout rounds are held to progress to the grand final.
We're not making this up - The French carnival that has seagull impressions and herring throwing✎
The Underwear festival
Captain Underpants would fit right in to this village in the south of France, located the Lot département.
Started in 2016, this festival is meant to pay homage to a reporter who made the little town of Montcuq famous across France during a nationally televised segment in 1976. During the celebration, participants can compete with one another in games from sumo-wrestling to a race (in underwear).
If you have a nice pair of underwear to show off, you can find out about the Fête du slip here.
The sausage and pickle festival
Andouillette might be one of the French foods that foreigners find least appealing, but its cousin, andouille, is perhaps a bit more appealing...though possibly not enough to join a contest for the fastest andouille and pickle eater.
READ MORE: Readers reveal: The worst food in France
The village of Bèze, located in eastern France, hosted for several years a festival dedicated to celebrating the sausage. One key moment was the competition to see who can swallow one kilo and 200 grams of tripe as quickly as possible, all with their hands tied behind their backs. The festival also crowned a queen of andouille and a king of the pickles, and the proceeds went toward helping children with disabilities.
Unfortunately, this festival ended in 2016, but luckily it is not the only andouille centered festival in France. Another one, the "Fête de l'Andouille" which takes place in northern France involves a very important step where the crowd tries to catch pieces of andouille thrown at them from a balcony.
Fêtes de Bayonne
Known as France's wildest festival, the Fêtes de Bayonne are a five-day party celebrating Basque cultural identity, and they take place in Bayonne every summer.
Starting in 1932, the Fêtes can be controversial because they have traditionally involved bull fighting, or corrida, which some French lawmakers have been working to outlaw.
READ MORE: Could bullfighting finally be banned in France?
Aside from the bulls, the festival consists of lots of singing, dancing, sports competitions, traditional dress, and crowd-surfing.
Festival-goers wear red and white outfits to symbolise the northern Spanish province of Pamplona, though some purists wear the colours of Bayonne: white and blue.
One of the most notable parts of the festival is the paquito chocolatero - a type of crowd-surfing where a person is passed over a chain of people sitting on the ground. The Fêtes de Bayonne have beaten the world record for the longest chain of people several times.
In 2022, a chain of 8,000 people passed one person over the crowd. You can see an example on X (formerly Twitter).
The Historic Ladle Festival
In practice since 1884, the Fête Historique des Louches, this tradition takes place in northern France in Comines. The legend goes that the Lord of the town was imprisoned in a high tower, and to show his people where he was being held, he apparently threw a wooden spoon with his coat of arms from the tower.
The festival, which takes place each October, has plenty of other activities, including a pageant, but the most noteworthy part is the parade where wooden spoons are hurled at the crowd. The goal is to walk away with the most ladles, proving to everyone that you truly deserve to live in the town of Comines.
The Gayant Festival
Close to the border with Belgium, the city of Douai in France's north engages in a festival to celebrate three large statues, representing a giant family. Called the "Gayants" - they symbolise the city and according to folklore, they helped the villagers survive battles, invasions and wars over the centuries. The procession involves a parade where the giant statues are taken around the city.
This is another French festival that was registered in the "intangible cultural heritage" list with UNESCO, specifically under the category of "Giants and processional dragons of Belgium and France." You can see an image on social media.
Festival of the Unusual
Taking place in Finistère, on France’s western coast, the festival de l’insolite has been going on for almost three decades.
Every July 14th, villagers come to demonstrate one of their “unusual talents,” whether that be throwing an egg or demonstrating how long they can peel an apple. One highlight of the festival is the race - where contestants try to go faster than one another on bed frames with rollers.
Some contestants use the festival as a way to show their prowess in the Guinness Book of World Records. In 2019, one participant broke the world record for drinking a litre of lemon juice through a straw!
While France's many festivals might seem a bit odd to foreigners, they still pale in comparison to some festivals taking place in the anglophone world, such as the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling event in the UK, where participants race down a 180 metre hill to try to catch the Gloucester cheese rolling down it.
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