French Loto results 2008

First drawn in 1976 at the Théâtre de l'Empire in Paris, the modern French Loto has spent five decades quietly evolving — but the most distinctive feature isn't the format. It's the way the lottery has been woven into the financing of France's cultural heritage, through a mechanism called Mission Patrimoine, that doesn't really exist in the German, British or Spanish equivalents.

We played 3,000 random lines in every draw of eight lotteries, at the prizes each draw really paid and the ticket prices of the day. The typical line got back 16 to 34 cents per euro.

Good news for France fans: Lottery winnings are tax-free. But watch out for the wealth tax on real estate!