Geographical Puns: the Phraseological Units with the Component- Astionyms in the French Language

The paper is devoted to the analysis of the functioning of astionyms in the structure of phraseological units, based on a geographical pun, in the French language.
The paper observes their semantic structure and determines their ludic potential in the worldview formation. The authors believe that the range of the names of town used in the formation of French phraseological units (including argotic) is not very wide. The authors show that the units containing astionyms reflect the comic and the national character of native speakers of French. One of the most striking aspects of the French national character is the humour.
The ludic phraseological units with the component-astionyms in the French language are known upward the 13th century.
The model aller à + Nom de ville réelle ou imaginaire is very productive: for example, aller à Bologne, aller à Saint-Bezet, aller à Angoulême, aller à Argenton, aller à Cracovie, aller à Crevant, aller à Turin, aller à Montretout, aller à Clichy, aller à Niort, aller à Versailles, aller à Rueil, aller à Cachan, aller à Saint-Jacques.