On Wednesday, No. 1-ranked Serena Williams extended her career-high winning streak to 26 matches and improved to 69-3 since a first-round loss at the French Open a year ago by beating French wild-card entry Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-2.

NPR: Ex-No. 1 Jankovic Advances At Rainy French Open

She has bounced back from a shock second-round loss to British teenager Laura Robson at January's Australian Open and a surprise defeat by French wild-card entry Kristina Mladenovic at the Paris Open, winning both matches as the Czechs thrashed Australia in the first match of their Fed Cup title defense.

CNN: Kvitova ends drought with Dubai title

Dr Hadwin points to a newspaper report in The Cambrian in December 1813 detailing how French officers were foremost in the rescue attempts after a wild-fire engulfed the town of Welshpool.

BBC: Dry stone wall 'built by Napoleon PoWs' is restored

Together with the wild cards handed out by the Roland Garros organisers to young French hopefuls, it means the home nation are going to have plenty of chances for glory this year.

BBC: The French revolution

The wild card in Europe's biggest armoured-vehicle programme is French rather than German.

ECONOMIST: European defence

The plugin supports German, Spanish, and French, but Stremor notes that the world wide web is still more like a wild wild west.

FORBES: Don't Have Time To Read This Article? There's An App For That

Pioline, the top man in French tennis before a series of injuries caused him to slip down the rankings, entered the tournament as a wild card.

BBC: Safin blows out Gasquet

French second seed Tsonga kicked off his title bid with a 6-3, 6-2 win over British wild card Jamie Baker.

CNN: Top seed Murray crashes out at Queen's