Depardieu has been one of the quintessential faces of the French silver screen for decades.

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French rider Deborah Anthonioz clinched the silver medal, capitalising when Swiss Olivia Nobs and Norway's Helene Olafsen crashed out half-way through.

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The French word for money is argent, or silver.

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The auction's highlight: a silver compteur militaire, made by famed French watchmaker Breguet in 1822, that belonged to Alexander I , emperor of Russia, and later, his nephew Constantine Nicholaievich .

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Many French horns, for example, are made of nickel silver, an alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel (it's silver in name and color only), and some are made of nickel bronze, an alloy of copper, tin, and nickel. (Brass itself is an alloy of copper and zinc.) Many brass instruments are silver-plated (sterling silver on brass), and some are gold-plated.

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In a gesture of friendship, President Chirac presented his Algerian counterpart with the silver seal of the last ruler of Algiers, taken by French forces in 1830.

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This is because in the French tradition, they would drape hugely expensive white linen damask over a simple walnut table and place a silver mirror on top.

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