Everything from grocery shopping and socializing to health care is dramatically different in France.
But this one thing may have surprised me the most.
The menu changes weekly, drawing passersby who review it with interest.
Oliver described the lunchroom scene as loud and chaotic, with the lunch monitors struggling to maintain order.
And then we moved to France in late 2023 as a sort of grown-up gap year.
We enrolled 7-year-old Oliver in a small privateecole elementairein the city center that was recommended by a local friend.
Kids can choose to stay at school fordejeuner(lunch) or return home to eat with their families.
Thecantineat the school is a cozy yellow room where the students sit at tables with eight place configs.
The meal is served on real plates with real cutlery, which are washed and reused the following day.
Local, seasonal ingredients are prioritized, including sustainable seafood and organic produce.
Other days featuredtajinewith olives, vegetarian Cantonese rice and homemade peach milk cake.
If they want more, they can ask for another serving.
They spend the rest of their break on the playground.
You might assume this is all some fancy private school frivolity, but youd be wrong.
Lunches like this are pretty standard fare in both public and private schools across France.
Do kids really need a multi-course meal prepared with high-quality ingredients?
Whats the point of it all, and what does any of this have to do with education?
Its clear that these lunchtime lessons stick with the French into adulthood.
Some stores close midday so the shopkeepers can go home for a break.
Its still very rare to see someone eating lunch on the go or at their office desk.
In France, food isnt just fuel its a crucial element of the French way of life.
