A century ago, it was Manet’s déjeuner sur l’herbe, but these days it’s more likely to be luncheon on the curb. According to l’INSEE, the French national statistical institute, 70 percent of French people have a snack or a quick bite at noon instead of a proper sit-down meal. During the last 20 years, the time allotted to lunch has dwindled from an hour and twenty-two minutes—the time needed to comfortably enjoy, say, a slice of terrine de campagne, a blanquette de veau, and a slice of fruit tart, all with a glass or two of wine—to a very American 38 minutes.
The French call this abbreviated midday feed “Le Snacking,” and the end of the traditional lunch is reflected by the profusion of new take-out soup and salad places in the heart of Paris. Many of them serve organic food, too, along with smoothies, quiche, and tartines, or open-faced sandwiches, and flaunt their healthy credentials with names like Green or Bioba.
Traditional fast-food places continue to experience explosive growth in France as well. McDonald’s opened its first French outlet in Strasbourg, in 1972, and now has 1,070 locations across the country serving 1.2 million customers a day. France, in fact, is one of the chain’s top five markets, with an annual revenue of $3.5 billion. (The Belgian chain Quick is le McDo’s main competitor.)
The idiom of quick eats in France remains largely American (burgers and salads), Italian (pizza) and Middle Eastern (gyros and falafel), but there are signs that the French are rising to the challenge. In June, Chef Michel Bras opened an espace gourmand in the Aveyron region (at the approach to the magnificent Viaduc de Millau), featuring such local produce as Aubrac beef and aligot, the famous regional dish of cheese curds, garlic, and potatoes. Chef Thierry Marx of Cordeillan Bages near Bordeaux does a street-food menu every Sunday, serving dishes that are eaten without cutlery, and chef Christophe Beaufront of L’Avant Goût in Paris now has a takeaway shop serving excellent soups and salads.
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