Contents
- 1 Why is Scotland Yard not in Scotland
- 2 What are police called in London
- 3 Is MI6 part of Scotland Yard
- 4 Is James Bond a MI5 or MI6
- 5 Does City of London Police still exist
- 6 Why is Scotland so different to England
- 7 What is the old Scotland Yard used for now
- 8 Are the Met police different
- 9 What is the French equivalent of Scotland Yard
Why is Scotland Yard not in Scotland
Why is Scotland Yard called Scotland Yard, when it”s based in London – not Scotland?
- Why is Scotland Yard called Scotland Yard, when it’s based in London – not Scotland?
- G Evans, Staines UK
- The original address of the Metropolitan Police headquarters was 4, Whitehall Place. The rear of the building opened onto a courtyard called Scotland Yard, from which the headquarters took its name. Why the courtyard was so-named is not clear. Some say that it was named for a street called Great Scotland Yard, named for an early landowner called Scott; others say that it was named for a nearby house owned by the Kings of Scotland before Union. When the police headquarters were moved in 1890 to Norman Shaw’s red-and-white-brick Victorian Gothic building on Victoria Embankment, it was called New Scotland Yard, and that name was retained after the move to 10, Broadway, SW1, near the St James’ Park underground station, in 1976. It is not at all unusual for institutions to retain geographically inspired names even after moving away from the eponymous site. Charing Cross Hospital is a long way from Charing Cross, and New York’s Madison Square Garden has moved twice since its original appearance on Madison Square.
- Bill Dunlap, Hamden, Connecticut USA
- I was told that it was where the horse-drawn coach service from London to Scotland left from (I’m not sure what historical period- probably 17th/18th century).
- David Sutherland, Wick Scotland
- The King of England use to call down the Scottish Kings or rulers at the time once a year to tell them who is boss basically. They would reside in the area now known as Scotland Yard where the police were originally based. The name has now just stuck with it even though they have moved several times
- Mark McCabe, Guangzhou China
- The original Scotland Yard was on the site of the rambling Whitehall Palace. An area of the palace was known as Scotland. I suspect that the name may have more to do with land tenure than Calendonian Kings.
- Chris Walker, London UK
- I think I heard on that intellectually heavy weight show Blue Peter that the cop shop was set up on the old Scottish embassy in London.
- Ewan, Glesga Scotland
: Why is Scotland Yard called Scotland Yard, when it”s based in London – not Scotland?
What are police called in London
Sir Robert Peel and his ‘bobbies’ In Britain today all policemen are commonly referred to as ‘Bobbies’! Originally though, they were known as ‘Peelers’ in reference to one Sir Robert Peel (1788 – 1850). Today it is hard to believe that Britain in the 18th century did not have a professional police force.
Scotland had established a number of police forces following the introduction of the City of Glasgow Police in 1800 and the Royal Irish Constabulary was established in 1822, in large part because of the Peace Preservation Act of 1814 which Peel was heavily involved with. However, London was sadly lacking in any form of protective presence and crime prevention for its people as we entered the 19th century.
Following the success of the Royal Irish Constabulary it became obvious that something similar was needed in London, so in 1829 when Sir Robert was Home Secretary in Lord Liverpool’s Tory Cabinet, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed, providing permanently appointed and paid Constables to protect the capital as part of the Metropolitan Police Force. © Greater Manchester Police Museum The first thousand of Peel’s police, dressed in blue tail-coats and top hats, began to patrol the streets of London on 29th September 1829. The uniform was carefully selected to make the ‘Peelers’ look more like ordinary citizens, rather than a red-coated soldier with a helmet.
- The ‘Peelers’ were issued with a wooden truncheon carried in a long pocket in the tail of their coat, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle to raise the alarm.
- By the 1880s this rattle had been replaced by a whistle.
- To be a ‘Peeler’ the rules were quite strict.
- You had to be aged 20 – 27, at least 5′ 7″ tall (or as near as possible), fit, literate and have no history of any wrong-doings.
These men became the model for the creation of all the provincial forces; at first in the London Boroughs, and then into the counties and towns, after the passing of the County Police Act in 1839. An ironic point however; the Lancashire town of Bury, birthplace of Sir Robert, was the only major town which elected not to have its own separate police force.
- The town remained part of the Lancashire Constabulary until 1974.
- Early Victorian police worked seven days a week, with only five days unpaid holiday a year for which they received the grand sum of £1 per week.
- Their lives were strictly controlled; they were not allowed to vote in elections and required permission to get married and even to share a meal with a civilian.
To allay the public’s suspicion of being spied upon, officers were required to wear their uniforms both on and off duty. Sir Robert Peel In spite of the huge success of his ‘Bobbies’, Peel was not a well liked man. is said to have found him ‘a cold, unfeeling, disagreeable man’. They had many personal conflicts over the years, and when he spoke against awarding her ‘darling’ Prince Albert an annual income of £50,000, he did little to endear himself to the Queen.
Although Peel was a skilful politician, he had few social graces and had a reserved, off-putting manner.After a long and distinguished career, Sir Robert came to an unfortunate end he was thrown from his horse while riding on Constitution Hill in London on 29th June 1850, and died three days later.His legacy remains however as long as the British ‘Bobbies’ patrol the streets and keep the population safe from wrong-doers and help lost tourists find their way back to the comfort of their hotels!
: Sir Robert Peel and his ‘bobbies’
Did Sherlock Holmes work for Scotland Yard?
Elementary – New Scotland Yard has been mentioned on numerous occasions in Elementary. Sherlock Holmes worked here with his mentor Inspector Gareth Lestrade before his descent into drug taking and subsequent move into rehab and to New York. Thomas Gregson mentions that after the 9/11 attacks he was sent over to London to observe how New Scotland Yard operate counter-terrorism, which is where he met Sherlock who was, at the time, working homicide.
Why is Scotland Yard so popular?
One of the most famous police forces in the world, The Metropolitan Police Services, or Scotland Yard, serves London. The headquarters currently stands alongside the River Thames north of Westminster Bridge. It became famous through novels and for its detective work to solve murders and other heinous crimes.
Is Scotland its own country?
Income and poverty – The Bank of Scotland is one of the oldest banks in the world The average weekly income for workplace based employees in Scotland is £573, and £576 for residence based employees. Scotland has the third highest median gross salary between the Countries of the United Kingdom and regions at £26,007 and is higher than the overall UK average annual salary of £25,971.
With an average of £14.28, Scotland has the third highest median hourly rate (excluding overtime working hours) of any of the countries of the United Kingdom, and like the annual salary, is higher than the average UK figure as a whole. The highest paid industries in Scotland tend of be in the utility electricity, gas and air conditioning sectors, with industries like tourism, accommodation and food and drink tend to be the lowest paid The top local authority for pay by where people live is East Renfrewshire (£20.87 per hour).
The top local authority for pay based on where people work are; East Ayrshire (£16.92 per hour). Scotland’s cities commonly have the largest salaries in Scotland for where people work.2021/2022 date indicates that there were 2.6 million dwellings across Scotland, with 318,369 local authority dwellings.
- Typical prices for a house in Scotland was £195,391 in August 2022.
- Between 2016 and 2020, the Scottish Government estimated that 10% of people in Scotland were in persistent poverty following housing costs, with similar rates of persistent poverty for children (10%), working-age adults (10%) and pensioners (11%).
Persistent child poverty rates had seen a relatively sharp drop, however, the accuracy of this was deemed to be questionable due to a number of various factors such as households re-entering the longitudinal sample allowing data gaps to be filled. The Scottish Government introduced the Scottish Child Payment in 2021 for low income families with children under six years of age in an attempt to reduce child poverty rates, with families receiving a payment of roughly £1,040 per year.
What is the difference between the Met and Scotland Yard?
Metropolitan Police Service | |
---|---|
Logo | |
Badge during the reign of Elizabeth II | |
Flag used during the reign of Elizabeth II | |
Common name | The Met |
Abbreviation | MPS |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 29 September 1829 ; 193 years ago |
Preceding agencies |
|
Employees | 43,571 in total 32,493 police officers 9,816 police staff 1,262 PCSOs |
Volunteers | 1,858 special constables 1,500 police support volunteers 3,658 volunteer police cadets |
Annual budget | £3.24 billion |
Legal personality | Police force |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Greater London |
Map of police area | |
Size | 1,578 km 2 (609 sq mi) |
Population | 8.95 million (2019/20) |
Legal jurisdiction | England and Wales (throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, under certain limited circumstances) |
Primary governing body | Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime |
Secondary governing body | Home Office |
Constituting instruments |
|
General nature |
Local civilian police |
Operational structure | |
Overviewed by |
|
Headquarters | New Scotland Yard, Westminster, London, England |
Police officers | 32,493 full time 1,858 special constables |
PCSOs | 1,262 |
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime responsible |
Sophie Linden |
Agency executives |
|
Website | |
www,met,police,uk |
The Metropolitan Police Service ( MPS ), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London,
- In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.
- The main geographical area of responsibilities, the Metropolitan Police District, consists of the 32 London boroughs, but does not include the City of London proper – the central financial district – which is policed by a separate force, the City of London Police,
As the force responsible for the capital of the United Kingdom, the Met has significant unique responsibilities and challenges, such as protecting 164 foreign embassies and High Commissions, policing London City and Heathrow airports, protecting the Palace of Westminster, and dealing with significantly more protests and events than any other British force, with 3,500 such events in 2016.
- The force, by officer numbers, is the largest in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest in the world.
- Leaving its national responsibilities aside, the Met has the eighth-smallest police area (primary geographic area of responsibility) of the territorial police forces in the United Kingdom.
The force is led by the commissioner, whose formal title is the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, The commissioner is answerable to the Home Office and the Mayor of London, through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, The post of commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne,
- Sir Mark Rowley is the current commissioner; he succeeded Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House in July 2022.
- A number of informal names are used for the service, most commonly the Met,
- It is also referred to as Scotland Yard or the Yard, after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall,
The Met’s current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, on the Victoria Embankment,
Is there still a flying squad?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Flying Squad is a branch of the Serious and Organised Crime Command within London’s Metropolitan Police Service, It is also known as the Robbery Squad, Specialist Crime Directorate 7, SC&O7 and SO7, It is nicknamed The Sweeney, an abbreviation of the Cockney rhyming slang “Sweeney Todd” (rhyming “squad” with “todd”).
Is MI6 part of Scotland Yard
The British Intelligence Community: Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Security Service (MI5), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and other entities The intelligence community of the United Kingdom is both older and more complicated than that of the United States. MI5, or the Security Service, and MI6, the Secret Intelligence Service, are the most well known components of the British intelligence structure, but these are just two parts of a vast intelligence apparatus.
Communications intelligence is the responsibility of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which works closely with the Communications Electronics Security Group, while a number of agencies manage military intelligence under the aegis of the Ministry of Defense. London’s Metropolitan Police, or Scotland Yard, has its own Special Branch concerned with intelligence.
The “MI” by which the two principal British security services are known (MI5, or Security Service, and MI6, or Secret Intelligence Service) refers to their common origins in military intelligence. Both can trace their roots to the Secret Service Bureau, created in 1909 after a report by Parliament’s Committee on Imperial Defense concluded that “an extensive system of German espionage exists in this country.” Working with the War Office, Admiralty, and various operatives and agents overseas, the bureau had both a Home Section and a Foreign Section-precursors, respectively, of MI5 and MI6.
Is MI5 part of Scotland Yard?
MI5 was renamed to the Security Service in 1931 when it merged with Scotland Yard’s Special Section, which had similar responsibilities for domestic intelligence.
Is James Bond a MI5 or MI6
What is MI6? – MI6, properly known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), is the UK’s external intelligence agency, responsible for protecting and promoting British interests and security overseas. One of the methods by which it does this is espionage.
- Although the “MI” in MI6’s informal title stands for “Military Intelligence”, the SIS is a Crown Service that is formally responsible to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- The employer of the world’s most famous fictional British spy, James Bond, MI6 is a highly secretive organisation, whose work remains shrouded in mystery – much more so than its domestic security counterpart MI5.
MI6 is based in its own distinctive building at Vauxhall Cross in London. In both the fictional James Bond Films, ‘The World is Not Enough’ and ‘Skyfall’, the building is attacked by terrorists. The use of the building in this way, was the subject to criticism from Sir Richard Dearlove, who was the head of MI6 from 1999 to 2004 Some 3,600 MI6 staff are said to work out of the famous MI6 building on the Thames.
Does City of London Police still exist
The City of London Police is a local service, with a national role, trusted by our communities to deliver policing with professionalism, integrity, and compassion.
Why is Scotland so different to England
The first would be that their histories and culture have been distinct entities for the vast majority of their respective existences as Independent Nations and beyond. This would include language where Scottish dialects originally stem from Celtic whereas the English comes from Anglo-Saxon.
What you didn t know about Scotland Yard?
It’s in London, Not Scotland This courtyard was called the Great Scotland Yard because it sat on the site of a former medieval palace that was used by Scottish royalty. Hence, the name Scotland Yard. Just before the turn of the 1900s, the police force moved into a new building, located on the Victoria Embankment.
How long has Scotland Yard existed?
Event Description – In June 1829, the British Parliament established Greater London’s Metropolitan Police, popularly known as “bobbies.” Scotland Yard, the site of their first headquarters, opened on September 29, 1829, and eventually became the official name of the force.
What is the old Scotland Yard used for now
Great Scotland Yard Hotel – 3–5 Great Scotland Yard is now a five-star Hyatt luxury hotel located on Great Scotland Yard Road in Westminster. It has a very long history as it sits on the previous site of the Ministry of Defence Library, but was built in 1906 as the Central London Recruiting Office.
The current building has never had any connection with the Metropolitan Police. The hotel has 152 rooms with 15 suites and a stand-alone townhouse located at 1 Great Scotland Yard. The Edwardian townhouse has its own private entrance and has two bedrooms across five floors. The hotel also contains four bars and restaurants and a gym.
The history of the building is split between the back and the front of the hotel.
Are the Met police different
The series of scandals that has hit the UK’s biggest police force suggests longstanding and serious underlying problems. The newly published Casey review details these problems in depth, adding another stain to the Metropolitan police’s reputation. The report found that institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia are rampant throughout the Met, the organisation’s recruitment and vetting is weak, and internal processes fail to adequately tackle poor performance.
But how different is the Met from the 44 other police forces in England and Wales? The Met generally deals with more violent offences, such as murder and robbery, than other forces. It also has the highest percentage of firearms operations and the highest number of firearms officers, Firearms roles are seen as the most prestigious and lucrative jobs in the force.
And it is these specialist units where the Casey review identified “some of the worst cultures, behaviours and practices” in terms of bullying, racism and sexism, and found that “normal rules do not seem to apply or be applied”. Newcomers to these groups often have to adapt to these established, toxic cultural norms if they want to succeed.
The review described sexist attitudes towards the (very few) female firearms officers, and reported officers being granted immunity and even encouraged to break rules. The Casey review suggests that the institutional sexism in the Met doesn’t just affect officers, but also the women who need the Met’s services.
As one officer told Casey review investigators, the force’s detection rate for rate is so low “you may as well say it’s legal in London”. In recent years there has been an explosion in the number of offences being reported that predominantly affect women, including domestic abuse and rape,
Currently, only 30% of the Met’s workforce is female, less than the national average of 34.9% in police forces. Other forces fare a little better in comparison, with West Yorkshire police having 42% of its workforce as female, one of the highest in the country. At leadership levels there is an even greater discrepancy between genders – 76% of Met chief inspectors are male,
This is higher than most other forces, as 70% of Greater Manchester police and 64% West Midlands police chief inspectors are male. In general, forces are moving in the right direction when it comes to gender representation. In 2021, eight forces hired more women than men,
And in senior leadership, 40% of chief constables are now female, a nearly five-fold increase since 2019. Increased representation on its own doesn’t automatically lead to culture change. Research suggests that women are more likely to use transformational leadership techniques in the workplace, such as cooperation and consultation with the workforce, which can help foster an inclusive environment.
But in policing, senior women are still frequently discriminated against and feel that they struggle to have their authority recognised and accepted by the rank-and-file. Overall, the differences women bring to policing appear to be underappreciated by frontline officers, with leaders also failing to adequately value and reward their contributions.
Is Scotland on the same land as England?
Geography and natural history – Iona in the Inner Hebrides The mainland of Scotland comprises the northern third of the land mass of the island of Great Britain, which lies off the north-west coast of Continental Europe, The total area is 30,414 square miles (78,772 km 2 ), comparable to the size of the Czech Republic.
Scotland’s only land border is with England, and runs for 96 miles (154 km) between the basin of the River Tweed on the east coast and the Solway Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean borders the west coast and the North Sea is to the east. The island of Ireland lies only 13 miles (21 km) from the south-western peninsula of Kintyre ; Norway is 190 miles (305 km) to the east and the Faroe Islands, 168 miles (270 km) to the north.
The territorial extent of Scotland is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and the Kingdom of England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Important exceptions include the Isle of Man, which having been lost to England in the 14th century is now a crown dependency outside of the United Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and Shetland, which were acquired from Norway in 1472; and Berwick-upon-Tweed, lost to England in 1482 The geographical centre of Scotland lies a few miles from the village of Newtonmore in Badenoch,
What is the difference between the Met and Scotland Yard?
Metropolitan Police Service | |
---|---|
Logo | |
Badge during the reign of Elizabeth II | |
Flag used during the reign of Elizabeth II | |
Common name | The Met |
Abbreviation | MPS |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 29 September 1829 ; 193 years ago |
Preceding agencies |
|
Employees | 43,571 in total 32,493 police officers 9,816 police staff 1,262 PCSOs |
Volunteers | 1,858 special constables 1,500 police support volunteers 3,658 volunteer police cadets |
Annual budget | £3.24 billion |
Legal personality | Police force |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Greater London |
Map of police area | |
Size | 1,578 km 2 (609 sq mi) |
Population | 8.95 million (2019/20) |
Legal jurisdiction | England and Wales (throughout the whole of the United Kingdom, including Scotland and Northern Ireland, under certain limited circumstances) |
Primary governing body | Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime |
Secondary governing body | Home Office |
Constituting instruments |
|
General nature |
Local civilian police |
Operational structure | |
Overviewed by |
|
Headquarters | New Scotland Yard, Westminster, London, England |
Police officers | 32,493 full time 1,858 special constables |
PCSOs | 1,262 |
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime responsible |
Sophie Linden |
Agency executives |
|
Website | |
www,met,police,uk |
The Metropolitan Police Service ( MPS ), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police, is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London,
- In addition, it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom, including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people, such as the monarch and other members of the royal family, members of the government, and other officials.
- The main geographical area of responsibilities, the Metropolitan Police District, consists of the 32 London boroughs, but does not include the City of London proper – the central financial district – which is policed by a separate force, the City of London Police,
As the force responsible for the capital of the United Kingdom, the Met has significant unique responsibilities and challenges, such as protecting 164 foreign embassies and High Commissions, policing London City and Heathrow airports, protecting the Palace of Westminster, and dealing with significantly more protests and events than any other British force, with 3,500 such events in 2016.
- The force, by officer numbers, is the largest in the United Kingdom by a significant margin, and one of the biggest in the world.
- Leaving its national responsibilities aside, the Met has the eighth-smallest police area (primary geographic area of responsibility) of the territorial police forces in the United Kingdom.
The force is led by the commissioner, whose formal title is the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, The commissioner is answerable to the Home Office and the Mayor of London, through the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime, The post of commissioner was first held jointly by Sir Charles Rowan and Sir Richard Mayne,
Sir Mark Rowley is the current commissioner; he succeeded Acting Commissioner Sir Stephen House in July 2022. A number of informal names are used for the service, most commonly the Met, It is also referred to as Scotland Yard or the Yard, after the location of its original headquarters in a road called Great Scotland Yard in Whitehall,
The Met’s current headquarters is New Scotland Yard, on the Victoria Embankment,
What are police called in London?
Sir Robert Peel and his ‘bobbies’ In Britain today all policemen are commonly referred to as ‘Bobbies’! Originally though, they were known as ‘Peelers’ in reference to one Sir Robert Peel (1788 – 1850). Today it is hard to believe that Britain in the 18th century did not have a professional police force.
- Scotland had established a number of police forces following the introduction of the City of Glasgow Police in 1800 and the Royal Irish Constabulary was established in 1822, in large part because of the Peace Preservation Act of 1814 which Peel was heavily involved with.
- However, London was sadly lacking in any form of protective presence and crime prevention for its people as we entered the 19th century.
Following the success of the Royal Irish Constabulary it became obvious that something similar was needed in London, so in 1829 when Sir Robert was Home Secretary in Lord Liverpool’s Tory Cabinet, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed, providing permanently appointed and paid Constables to protect the capital as part of the Metropolitan Police Force. © Greater Manchester Police Museum The first thousand of Peel’s police, dressed in blue tail-coats and top hats, began to patrol the streets of London on 29th September 1829. The uniform was carefully selected to make the ‘Peelers’ look more like ordinary citizens, rather than a red-coated soldier with a helmet.
- The ‘Peelers’ were issued with a wooden truncheon carried in a long pocket in the tail of their coat, a pair of handcuffs and a wooden rattle to raise the alarm.
- By the 1880s this rattle had been replaced by a whistle.
- To be a ‘Peeler’ the rules were quite strict.
- You had to be aged 20 – 27, at least 5′ 7″ tall (or as near as possible), fit, literate and have no history of any wrong-doings.
These men became the model for the creation of all the provincial forces; at first in the London Boroughs, and then into the counties and towns, after the passing of the County Police Act in 1839. An ironic point however; the Lancashire town of Bury, birthplace of Sir Robert, was the only major town which elected not to have its own separate police force.
The town remained part of the Lancashire Constabulary until 1974. Early Victorian police worked seven days a week, with only five days unpaid holiday a year for which they received the grand sum of £1 per week. Their lives were strictly controlled; they were not allowed to vote in elections and required permission to get married and even to share a meal with a civilian.
To allay the public’s suspicion of being spied upon, officers were required to wear their uniforms both on and off duty. Sir Robert Peel In spite of the huge success of his ‘Bobbies’, Peel was not a well liked man. is said to have found him ‘a cold, unfeeling, disagreeable man’. They had many personal conflicts over the years, and when he spoke against awarding her ‘darling’ Prince Albert an annual income of £50,000, he did little to endear himself to the Queen.
Although Peel was a skilful politician, he had few social graces and had a reserved, off-putting manner.After a long and distinguished career, Sir Robert came to an unfortunate end he was thrown from his horse while riding on Constitution Hill in London on 29th June 1850, and died three days later.His legacy remains however as long as the British ‘Bobbies’ patrol the streets and keep the population safe from wrong-doers and help lost tourists find their way back to the comfort of their hotels!
: Sir Robert Peel and his ‘bobbies’
What is the French equivalent of Scotland Yard
Photo – the “Quartier latin” in old Paris A dictionary of France, including institutions, places, significant people, French specialities, and a selection of other useful or intriguing expressions.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | |
R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
QG, Quartier général : headquarters of an operation or force, command post. Quai d’Orsay – part of the left bank of the River Seine in Paris, in the 7th Arondissement; location of the French Foreign Office (ministry). By extension, the expression “Le Quai d’Orsay” is used to mean the French Foreign Office, in the same way as “Downing Street” designates the office of the British prime minister.
- Quai des Orfèvres : road beside the Seine on the Ile de la Cité, in central Paris, famous as the headquarters of the Paris police.
- The Paris equivalent of Scotland yard.
- Quartier : word implying a district or area of a town, as in le Quartier Latin, the Latin quarter.
- See the quarters of Paris Quartier Latin : Covering part of the 6th arrondissement, and also part of the 5th, this is the traditional student quarter of Paris, centered on the Sorbonne and the Panthéon.
The narrow pedestrian streets are full of cafés and restaurants, and the busy boulevards, particularly the Boulevard Saint Michel, known as the Boul’Mich, have bookshops, cinemas and other shops Quatorze Juillet – 14th July : Bastille Day, the French national holiday, celebrated by a big military parade down the Champs Elysées in Paris, in the presence of the President, and firework displays in the evening in most towns and cities.
Que Choisir? French consumer magazine, similar to the UK’s Which? magazine. Queen Mary 2 : World’s largest ocean liner, built in the Chantiers de l’Atlantique at Saint Nazaire, at the mouth of the Loire, and launched in 2003. Quinté: Form of betting on horses, involving selecting the first five horses in a race.
See Tiercé and PMU. Quinzaine, une : A fortnight, two weeks. Quinzaine commerciale, two-week period when shops in a town or shopping centre put on special offers. These special offer periods cannot be called ‘Sales’, since the wordSoldes, meaning ‘sales’, can only be used at specific times of the year designated by the government.
- Quotient familial – QF : factor applied during calculation of the income tax due by a French household.
- The QF is 2 for a couple with no children, 2.5 for a couple with one child, 3 for a couple with 2 children, and therafter one point extra per additional child.
- Something missing? If you cannot find a word, phrase or name that you believe we ought to have included in this Dictionary of France, please contact About-France.com.
Dictionary editors will consider your request, and if appropriate include a definition of the missing term at the next update. To contact About-France.com, use our get in touch form