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France. The school day in France typically runs from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a half day on Saturday, although students do not attend school on Wednesday or Sunday. Lunch is a two-hour break for public school students. Students usually attend school from ages 6 to 18.
The school week in France Students go to school between 24 and 28 hours a week, spread over four, four and a half, or five days depending on the region. Students preparing the baccalauréat may have as many as 40 hours per week. Some schools close on Wednesday afternoons and older pupils may have lessons on a Saturday.
4.2. The school year in France is separated by five periods of schooling and four holiday periods, comprising at least 36 weeks of study. As a general rule, in maternity and primary schools, each week comprises 4.5 days of schooling, with the half-day each Wednesday (in a small number of cases, Saturday morning).
The summer holidays officially begins in early July[1] for all state schools and all students, whatever their age or type of school start their new school year at the beginning of September. Teachers return on 1 September, pupils usually on 2 September, but that might vary depending on how the weekend falls.
School Year 2021-2022
School Holidays | Starts | Finishes |
---|---|---|
First Day of School | 2 Sep 2021 (Thu) | |
All Saints Holidays | 24 Oct 2021 (Sun) | 7 Nov 2021 (Sun) |
Christmas Holidays | 19 Dec 2021 (Sun) | 2 Jan 2022 (Sun) |
Winter Holidays (Zone B)* | 6 Feb 2022 (Sun) | 20 Feb 2022 (Sun) |
noon
The French take at least one hour to eat their lunch—up to two hours if they’re eating with friends. Eating at a slow, leisurely pace has made me appreciate my meals so much more.
A typical French lunch will consist of: a starter (une entrée), such as a mixed salad, soup, some terrine or paté. A main course, (le plat principal), typically a choice of meat or fish, with potatoes, rice, pasta and/or vegetables; a cheese course (often a selection of local cheeses) and/or a dessert.
Sundays in France, when most shops are closed. Nonetheless, small corner shops and essential services (such as boulangeries, small supermarkets) can open on Sundays if they want to, and indeed Sunday is the busiest days of the week for many patisseries. More information on the Shopping in France page.
A typical weeknight dinner in France may look like a small starter such as shredded carrots, radishes, charcuterie, or olive tapenade, a simple main dish (grilled chicken, steak or salmon, served with potatoes, pasta, or green beans), and a yogurt with a piece of fruit, and a cookie or piece of chocolate.
A hearty range of popular main dishes in France include meat, fish and poultry in a lineup that includes boeuf Bourguignon, steak frites, blanquette de veau, duck confit, cassoulet, bouillabaisse and coq au vin.
Also called beef Burgundy, this is one of the most classic French dishes, and usually ranks as France’s favourite food. In case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a beef stew braised in Burgundy red wine. Raclette is melted cheese, often scraped off the side of the cheese wheel (the French verb ‘to scrape’ is racler).
Top 10 French foods – with recipes
Pot-au-Feu
The French have the highest life expectancy in the whole western world, including the USA. And they NEVER eat oatmeal for breakfast. Instead, French breakfast is very scarce, just a croissant or a piece of bread with butter (yes, real butter, and nothing else!) and jam.
Pasta is a regular dish for many French households and almost 9 in 10 (87%) of French adults claim to eat pasta, rice or noodles at least once a week. Dry spaghetti is the most frequently eaten pasta among all age groups, eaten in 80% of households and accounting for 86% of volume sales in the French dry pasta market.
French dinner courses can include: an apéritif (which is an alcoholic drink before the meal), hors d’oeuvres (which is typically soup, vegetables, or eggs), the principal plate (a meat, pasta, or crêpe), a salad (which is typically served separately from the principal plate), cheese (which is also served separately).
98% of the French population eat bread and for 83% this is every day. They munch through 130 g of bread a day or 58 kg a year! Bread is considered healthy by 86% of the population and essential for a balanced diet by 82%.
Don’t put butter on the bread “The French just don’t do it except at breakfast, and then they slather it on,” says Herrmann Loomis. “But the French don’t serve butter with meals so don’t expect any.” And don’t put any on your croissant either, it’s made of butter.
But baguettes are also broken into pieces and eaten with something on top: cheese, charcuterie, or radishes, for example. At breakfast, many French people eat a piece of baguette (as-is or toasted) that’s covered in butter, jam, and/or Nutella. They often dip buttered a baguette into their coffee.
Furthermore, healthy habits are ingrained in the French culture from a young age. The French generally eat smaller portions than Americans, and they usually enjoy only one large meal a day — lunch — whereas Americans often enjoy three. In addition, snacking is rarely encouraged.
Parisians do wear jeans and t-shirts, but only in appropriate situations, and you’ll notice their jeans and t-shirts are a lot more design-y and cut a lot slimmer. When you’re going out to eat in a restaurant, think of how you’d dress for that same level of restaurant back home, and then dress nicer than that.
Foods that are a staple of the French diet include full-fat cheese and yogurt, butter, bread, fresh fruits and vegetables (often grilled or sautéed), small portions of meat (more often fish or chicken than red meat), wine, and dark chocolate.
Every day she has a teaspoon of honey, one glass of wine, and bread. On weekend she enjoys a croissant or pain au chocolat. At lunch, she makes sure to include lots of vegetables.
They generally eat healthy food. A healthy diet in France means one filled with multigrain bread, soups, fruit, tea, lower-fat foods and—most surprisingly of all—cakes and pastries.
Most French people eat dinner at 8 pm or later. Some French families, especially if they do not have young children, may start dinner as late as 9 pm or 9:30 pm. The first time I went to France, I was a teenager and used to dinner time at 6 pm or 6:30 pm.
Celebrate with these incredible French desserts, including fluffy éclairs and beautiful macarons.