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French lunchtime – famous as a bastion of the French way of life – is under threat.
The government says it is planning to pass a new decree allowing workers to eat at their desks, a practice officially prohibited in the country’s labor laws. But is this concession to changing times due only to the coronavirus?
Like many cultural ideals, the pleasant and elaborate lunch break in France is more defended in theory than in practice. Even before Covid, the daily lines outside the cafeterias were just as frightening as the waiters straightening the tables on the café terraces.
In fact, several surveys suggest that most French workers have had lunch at the office for years.
But, for a long time under siege, the pause-déjéuner concept is now under attack by Covid too.
With restaurants and cafes closed – except for take-away or deliveries – and canteens in the workplace filled with new restrictions, many people have little choice but to have lunch at their tables – or even, according to a report, eat alone in their cars.
The idea that eating at your table was officially banned was met with surprise – even scorn – here. Rolling your eyes at France’s impenetrable labor laws is another tradition in the workplace, and there is comfort in clinging to at least some of them.