While more than half of the French enjoy eating in fast food restaurants, these establishments attract more parents with young children and young people since an overwhelming majority of 18-24-year-olds frequented fast food establishments, compared to 50 percent of those aged over 50.
France is a country known for its fine dining, fresh produce and the slim waistlines of the locals, but the reality is quite different. Half of French adults are overweight and one in six is obese and it's mostly to do with the fact the nation has been having a not-so-secret love affair with junk food for years.
This bar chart presents the opinion of French people on fast-food restaurants in a survey from 2019. It appears that 41 percent of the respondents stated liking fast-food restaurant but eating there rarely, while 16 percent ate at fast food restaurants regularly.
Lots of people around the world are completely bemused by the fact that French people want a McDo (as it's affectionately called here in France) at all. Many of us see gastronomy in France as something to be cherished and a visit to McDo is letting the side down and a slap in the face to the heritage of French cuisine.
In France, food is taken seriously and not eaten on the go or in large quantities. Meals are consistent at the same time every day. French people have a healthy relationship with food because they have a balanced diet consisting of all food groups. For example, the French eat meat but not in huge portions every day.
Fixed meal times and no snacks
The French have always stuck to three meals a day and generally don't do food outside these set meals. Children usually have a small snack or goûter after school - a piece of fruit or a cake - but this is limited to a specific time, and adults generally don't snack.
Many French people in larger cities enjoy having their breakfast in “un café”. They may even indulge in “un café noir et un croissant” every day! Many adults skip breakfast in France, or just drink coffee…
French people usually eat a smaller meal for dinner, such as a soup or salad with bread and a dessert (often a yoghurt or a slice of cheese). Considering French people famously don't snack, they must survive a long break between lunch and dinner. The solution is that lunch is the biggest meal of the day.
Everyone loves them, and they are enjoyed the world over. Still, less well known is the fact that fries are a part of France's culinary heritage. No joke! Even as the Belgians claim to have invented them, the Americans insist on calling them French fries.
Considering France is well-known for its gastronomy, it may come as a surprise to you that French people typically eat a very simple meal for breakfast. Usually more sweet than savory, le petit déjeuner, as the French say, is not a very big or important meal in France.
There are many options to choose from, but France's national dish is probably the Boeuf Bourguignon. Well known in and outside France, it represents the beauty of the cuisine by transforming a simple piece of meat into an intensely flavored dish, only composed with national ingredients.
They Eat Smaller Portions
And another secret to the French secret of slimness is portion control. French women don't deprive themselves of the good, rich food their country has to offer, they just eat small portions. If the food is high quality, well-prepared, and delicious, you don't need a lot of food to feel full.
The French are commonly regarded to enjoy eating cheese, snails, frog legs, and plenty of bread, particularly baguettes and croissants. The French are also known for their fondness for wine.
Iceland was ranked as the BEST COUNTRY for food quality and diet diversification.
Most French people eat bread every day. It's not just a cliché, bread in France is a staple and something most people care about. French people take bread very seriously. In some countries bakers add nutritional supplements to their bread, or they add gluten to make the bread rise better.
Funnily enough, while the French portion sizes may seem “too small” compared to the American size, the amount that the French eat is actually normal sized. Smaller portion sizes allow the French to truly savor their meal to the point of contentment, not gluttony.
A French breakfast is sweet. It is composed of slices of buttered bread and jam spread on it, sometimes croissants or other pastries and cereals. Usually, the drinks are coffee, orange juice or milk.
The amount of sugar our society consumes is astonishing. The average American consumes about 126g of sugar a day, while the average French person consumes about 68g of sugar.
The traditional evening meal in France is considered a family affair – around a table, lots of chatter, more good food, and an all-round convivial experience that rolls along merrily for an hour or so. They usually run from roughly 7.30pm until 8.45pm.
A typical French breakfast consists of a croissant or bread with butter and jam and sometimes a sweet pastry. Fresh fruit juice and hot beverages, like coffee or tea, are also included.
Although there are patisseries on every street corner and pastry is one of the things that the French do best, they tend to be more of a once or twice a week treat rather than an everyday item.
As we told you at the beginning of this article, the McDonald's breakfast menu in France is absolutely wonderful. It's just like walking into a regular café or pastry and delight yourself with tasty croissants (and other puff pastries), traditional pancakes, hot coffee, and fresh orange juice.