Back on the mainland, Metropolitan France is divided into 13 regions and sub-divided into 96 départements. Champlain Founds Quebec. On July 3, 1608, Samuel de Champlain sailed up the St. Lawrence River in the company of 26 recruits. The lumberjacks, carpenters, and laborers were the types of the 26 recruits. At the behest of Pierre Dugua de Mons, who held a monopoly over the fur trade, Champlain had come to establish a trading post. One of the national emblems of France, the Coq Gaulois (the Gallic Rooster) decorated French flags during the Revolution. It is the symbol of the French people because of the play on words of the Latin gallus meaning Gaul and gallus meaning coq, or rooster.The Gallic rooster is an unofficial
