French playing cards (
jeu de cartes) are
cards that use the French
suits of
trèfles (clovers or clubs),
carreaux (tiles or diamonds),
cœurs (hearts), and
piques (pikes or spades). Each suit contains three
face cards; the
Valet (
Knave or Jack), the
Dame (
Lady or Queen), and the
Roi (
King). Aside from these aspects, decks can include a wide variety of regional and national patterns which often have
different deck sizes. In comparison to
Spanish,
Italian,
German, and
Swiss playing cards, French cards are the most widespread due to the geopolitical, commercial, and cultural influence of France and the United Kingdom in the past two centuries. Another reason for their expansion was the simplicity of the suit insignia which simplifies mass production and the popularity of
Whist,
Contract Bridge, and the recent
Poker boom.