Editing Culture of France (section)

==Lifestyle==

===Food and alcohol===
{{Main|French cuisine}}
[[File:Crêpe opened up.jpg|thumb|A sweet [[crêpe]]. Crêpes are originally from [[Brittany]].]]
Traditional French culture places a high priority on the enjoyment of food.<ref>{{cite web|author=UNESCO |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/celebrations_healing_techniques_crafts_and_culinary_arts_added_to_the_representative_list_of_the_intangible_cultural_heritage/ |title=Celebrations, healing techniques, crafts and culinary arts added to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage |publisher=UNESCO |date=16 November 2010 |access-date=4 June 2012}}</ref> French cuisine was codified in the 20th century by [[Auguste Escoffier|Georges Auguste Escoffier]] to become the modern version of ''[[haute cuisine]]''. Escoffier's major work, however, left out much of the regional character to be found in the provinces of France. Gastro-tourism and the ''[[Guide Michelin]]'' helped to bring people to the countryside during the 20th century and beyond, to sample this rich ''[[bourgeois]]'' and [[peasant]] cuisine of France. [[Basque cuisine]] has also been a great influence over the cuisine in the southwest of France.

Ingredients and dishes vary by region (see: [[French cuisine#Regional cuisine|Regional cuisine]]). There are many significant regional dishes that have become both national and regional. Many dishes that were once regional, however, have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. Cheese (see: [[List of French cheeses]]) and wine (see: [[French wine]]) are also a major part of the cuisine, playing different roles both regionally and nationally with their many variations and ''[[Appellation d'origine contrôlée]]'' (AOC) (regulated appellation) laws, ([[lentils]] from [[Le Puy-en-Velay]] also have an AOC status). Another French product of special note is the [[Charolais cattle]].

[[File:Jacques Lameloise, escabèche d'écrevisses sur gaspacho d'asperge et cresson.jpg|thumb|left|A [[nouvelle cuisine]] presentation]]

The French typically eat only a simple breakfast ("petit déjeuner") which consists of coffee, tea or [[hot chocolate]] with milk, served traditionally in a large handleless "bol" (bowl) and bread or breakfast pastries ([[croissants]]). Lunch ("déjeuner") and dinner ("dîner") are the main meals of the day. Formal four course meals consist of a starter course ("entrée"), a [[salad]], a main course ("plat principal"), and finally a cheese or dessert course. While French cuisine is often associated with rich desserts, in most homes dessert consists of only fruit or [[yogurt]].

Food shopping in France was formerly done almost daily in small local shops and markets, but the arrival of the supermarket and the even larger ''"hypermarchés"'' (large-surface distributors) in France have disrupted this tradition. With depopulation of the countryside, many towns have been forced to close shops and markets.

[[File:Lille Meert2.JPG|thumb|French ''[[pâtisserie]]'' play a role in traditional part in French culture]]

Rates of [[obesity]] and [[heart disease]] in France have traditionally been lower than in other north-western European countries. This is sometimes called the [[French paradox]] (see, for example, [[Mireille Guiliano]]'s 2006 book ''French Women Don't Get Fat''). French cuisine and eating habits have however come under great pressure in recent years from modern fast food, such as American products and the new global agricultural industry. While French youth culture has gravitated toward fast food and American eating habits (with an attendant rise in obesity), the French in general have remained committed to preserving certain elements of their food culture through such activities as including programs of taste acquisition in their public schools, by the use of the [[appellation d'origine contrôlée]] laws, and by state and European subsidies to the French agricultural industry. Emblematic of these tensions is the work of [[José Bové]], who founded in 1987, the ''Confédération Paysanne'', an agricultural union that places its highest political values on humans and the environment, promotes [[organic farming]] and opposes genetically modified organisms; Bové's most famous protest was the dismantling of a [[McDonald's]] franchise in [[Millau]] ([[Aveyron]]), in 1999.

[[File:French taste of wines.JPG|thumb|left|[[French wine]]s are a traditional part of French cuisine.]]

In France, [[cutlery]] is used in the continental manner (with the fork in the left hand, prongs facing down and the knife in the right hand). French etiquette prohibits the placing of hands below the table and the placing of elbows on it.

The legal drinking age is officially 18 (see: [[Legal drinking age]]).

France is one of the oldest wine producing regions of Europe. France now produces the most wine by value in the world (although Italy rivals it by volume and Spain has more land under cultivation for wine grapes). [[Bordeaux wine]], [[Bourgogne wine]] and Champagne are important agricultural products.

===Tobacco and drugs===
The cigarette smoking age is 18 years. According to a widespread cliché, smoking has been part of French culture – actually [[List of countries by cigarette consumption per capita|figures]] indicate that in terms of consumption per capita, France is only the 60th country out of 121.

France, from 1 February 2007, tightened the existing ban on smoking in public places found in the 1991 Évin law: Law n°91-32 of 10 January 1991, containing a variety of measures against alcoholism and tobacco consumption.

Smoking is now banned in all public places (stations, museums, etc.); an exception exists for special smoking rooms fulfilling drastic conditions, see below. A special exemption was made for cafés and restaurants, clubs, casinos, bars, etc. which ended, 1 January 2008.<ref>[http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/texteconsolide/SQHYN.htm Decree n°2006-1386 over 15 November 2006] taken as application of [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnArticleDeCode?commun=&code=CSANPUNL.rcv&art=L3511-7 article L3511-7] of the Public Health Code, banning smoking in public places.</ref> Opinion polls suggest 70% of people support the ban.<ref>{{cite news | title=France to ban smoking in public | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6032125.stm | access-date=9 October 2006 | work=BBC News | date=8 October 2006}}</ref> Previously, under the former implementation rules of the 1991 Évin law, restaurants, cafés etc. just had to provide smoking and non-smoking sections, which in practice were often not well separated.

Under the new regulations, smoking rooms are allowed, but are subjected to very strict conditions: they may occupy at most 20% of the total floor space of the establishment and their size may not be more than 35 m<sup>2</sup>; they need to be equipped with separate ventilation which replaces the full volume of air ten times per hour; the air pressure of the smoking room must constantly be lower than the pressure in the contiguous rooms; they have doors that close automatically; no service can be provided in the smoking rooms; cleaning and maintenance personnel may enter the room only one hour after it was last used for smoking.

Popular French cigarette brands include [[Gauloises]] and [[Marlboro (cigarette)|Marlboro]].

The possession, sale and use of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] (predominantly Moroccan [[hashish]]) is illegal in France. Since 1 March 1994, the penalties for cannabis use are from two months to a year and/or a fine, while possession, cultivation or trafficking of the drug can be punished much more severely, up to ten years. According to a 1992 survey by SOFRES, 4.7&nbsp;million French people ages 12–44 have smoked cannabis at least once in their lives.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cedro-uva.org/lib/boekhout.france.html|title=Cannabis in France|website=Cedro-uva.org|access-date=21 August 2017}}</ref>

===Sports and hobbies===
{{Main|Sport in France}}
[[File:2020 Tour de France, 2nd stage, before km zero.jpg|thumb|alt=The peloton in the streets of Nice during the 2nd stage of the Tour de France on 30 August 2020|Starting in 1903, the [[Tour de France]] is the most prestigious of [[Grand Tour (cycling)|Grands Tours]], and the world's most famous cycling race.]]
[[File:Zinedine Zidane 2015 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=.7|[[Zinedine Zidane|Zidane]] is regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time]]

France hosts "the world's biggest annual sporting event", the annual cycling race [[Tour de France]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 July 2019 |title=Tour De France 2019: Everything you need to know |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/18769169 |access-date=15 July 2019 |publisher=[[BBC]]}}</ref> Other popular sports played in France include: [[Association football|football]], [[judo]], [[tennis]],<ref>{{In lang|fr}} [http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?ref_id=NATTEF05401&reg_id=0 Les licences sportives en France]&nbsp;– Insee</ref> [[rugby union]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=All you need to know about sport in France |url=http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610041323/http://www.france-pub.com/esport.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> and [[pétanque]]. France has hosted events such as the [[1938 FIFA World Cup|1938]] and [[1998 FIFA World Cup]]s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the World Cup Final Draw |url=https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226235749/http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/mcwc/ip-201_10e_fwcdraw-history_8842.pdf |archive-date=26 February 2008 |access-date=22 July 2011}}</ref> the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110606170717/http://www.rugby.com.au/news/2003_april/france_wins_right_to_host_the_2007_rugby_wor_15381%2C3851.html France wins right to host the 2007 rugby world cup]. Associated Press. 11 April 2003</ref> and the [[2023 Rugby World Cup]].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=McLaughlin |first1=Luke |last2=Symons |first2=Harvey |last3=Amani |first3=Julian |date=2023-09-06 |title=Everything you need to know about the 2023 Rugby World Cup |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/sep/06/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2023-rugby-world-cup |access-date=2024-01-12 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The country also hosted the [[1960 European Nations' Cup]], [[UEFA Euro 1984]], [[UEFA Euro 2016]] and [[2019 FIFA Women's World Cup]]. The [[Stade de France]] in [[Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis|Saint-Denis]] is France's largest stadium and was the venue for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2007 Rugby World Cup finals. Since 1923, France is famous for its [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] [[sports car racing|sports car]] [[endurance racing (motorsport)|endurance race]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Une course légendaire |url=http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116131353/http://www.lemans.org/fr/courses/24h/histoire.html |archive-date=16 January 2013 |language=fr}}&nbsp;– [http://www.lemans.org Site officiel du 24 heures du Mans]</ref> Several major tennis tournaments take place in France, including the [[Paris Masters]] and the [[French Open]], one of the four [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments. French [[martial arts]] include [[Savate]] and [[Fencing]].

France has a close association with the Modern [[Olympic Games]]; it was a French aristocrat, Baron [[Pierre de Coubertin]], who suggested the Games' revival, at the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hill |first=Christopher R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0o-9AAAAIAAJ |title=Olympic Politics |publisher=Manchester University Press ND |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-7190-4451-9 |page=5 |access-date=5 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="Olympic">[http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/olympic.htm Olympic History]&nbsp;– World Atlas of Travel</ref> After [[Athens]] was awarded the first Games, in reference to the Olympics' Greek origins, Paris hosted the second Games [[1900 Summer Olympics|in 1900]] (see: [[France at the Olympics]]).<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 August 2018 |title=Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Official Site of the Olympic Movement |url=http://www.olympic.org/paris-1900-summer-olympics |publisher=International Olympic Committee}}</ref> Paris was the first home of the [[International Olympic Committee]], before it moved to [[Lausanne]].<ref>[http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E Lausanne, olympic capital]&nbsp;– Tourism in Lausanne {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006220349/http://www.lausanne-tourisme.ch/view.asp?DomID=63416&Language=E|date=6 October 2007}}</ref> Since 1900, France has hosted the Olympics on 5 further occasions: the [[1924 Summer Olympics|1924]] and [[2024 Summer Olympics]], both in Paris<ref name="Olympic" /> and three [[Winter Olympic Games|Winter Games]] ([[1924 Winter Olympics|1924]] in [[Chamonix]], [[1968 Winter Olympics|1968]] in [[Grenoble]] and [[1992 Winter Olympics|1992]] in [[Albertville]]).<ref name="Olympic" /> Similar to the Olympics, France introduced Olympics for deaf people (Deaflympics) in [[1924 Summer Deaflympics|1924]] with the idea of a French deaf car mechanic, [[Eugène Rubens-Alcais]] who paved the way to organise the inaugural edition of the [[Summer Deaflympics]] in Paris.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 December 2004 |title=Deaflympics lowdown |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/disability_sport/4113957.stm |access-date=8 July 2018}}</ref>

Both the [[France national football team|national football team]] and the [[France national rugby union team|national rugby union team]] are nicknamed "''Les Bleus''" in reference to the team's shirt colour as well as the national [[Flag of France|French tricolour flag]]. Football is the most popular sport in France, with over 1,800,000 registered players and over 18,000 registered clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fédération Française de Football |url=https://www.fff.fr/ |website=fff.fr}}</ref> While football is the most popular, [[rugby union]] and [[rugby league]] takes dominance in the southwest, especially around the city of [[Toulouse]] (see: [[Rugby union in France]] and [[Rugby league in France]]).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090615002946/http://www.123voyage.com/realsw/tosee/rugby.htm Rugby]. 123 Voyage</ref> The national rugby union team has competed at every [[Rugby World Cup]]; it takes part in the annual [[Six Nations Championship]].

The French Open, also called Roland-Garros, is a major [[tennis]] tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June at the [[Stade Roland Garros|Stade Roland-Garros]] in Paris. It is the premier clay court tennis championship event in the world and the second of four annual [[Grand Slam (tennis)|Grand Slam]] tournaments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clarey |first=Christopher |date=30 June 2001 |title=Change Seems Essential to Escape Extinction: Wimbledon: World's Most Loved Dinosaur |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016123550/http://iht.com/articles/2001/06/30/a20_16.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date=16 October 2007 |access-date=26 February 2018 |website=[[International Herald Tribune]]}}</ref>

Professional sailing in France is centred on singlehanded and shorthanded ocean racing with the pinnacle of this branch of the sport being the [[Vendée Globe]] singlehanded around the world race which starts every four years from the French Atlantic coast. Other significant events include the Solitaire du Figaro, [[Mini Transat 6.50]], Tour Voile and Route du Rhum transatlantic race. France has been a regular competitor in the [[America's Cup]] since the 1970s.

Other important sports include:
* [[Skiing]] – France has an extensive number of ski resorts in the French alps such as [[Tignes]]. Ski resorts are also located in the Pyrénées and Vosges mountain chains.
* [[Parkour]] – Developed in France, Parkour is a training discipline with similarities to [[self-defense]] or [[martial arts]].
* [[Babyfoot]] ([[table football]]) – A very popular pastime in bars and homes in France, and the French are the predominant winners of worldwide table football competitions.
* [[Kitesurfing]]
* [[Bullfighting]] – Spanish style bullfighting is still popular in the southern part of France.

Like other cultural areas in France, sport is overseen by a government ministry, the [[Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (France)|Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports]], which is in charge of national and public sport associations, youth affairs, public sports centers and national stadia (like the [[Stade de France]]). Sport is encouraged in school, and local sports clubs receive financial support from the local governments.

===Fashion===
{{Main|French fashion}}
[[File:Channel headquarters bordercropped.jpg|thumb|upright|left|alt=Chanel's headquarters storefront window at the Place Vendôme Paris with awning|[[Chanel]]'s headquarters on [[Place Vendôme]], Paris]]

Along with Milan, London and New York, Paris is center of an important number of fashion shows. Some of the world's biggest fashion houses (e.g. [[Chanel]]) have their headquarters in France.

The association of France with fashion ({{lang|fr|la mode}}) dates largely to the reign of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]]<ref>Kelly, 101. DeJean, chapters 2–4.</ref> when the luxury goods industries in France came increasingly under royal control and the French royal court became, arguably, the arbiter of taste and style in Europe. France renewed its dominance of the high fashion ({{lang|fr|couture}} or {{lang|fr|haute couture}}) industry in the years 1860–1960 through the establishing of the great [[couturier]] houses, the fashion press (''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'' was founded in 1892; ''[[Elle (magazine)|Elle]]'' was founded in 1945) and [[fashion shows]]. The first modern Parisian couturier house is generally considered the work of the Englishman [[Charles Frederick Worth]] who dominated the industry from 1858 to 1895.<ref>Kelly, 101.</ref> In the early twentieth century, the industry expanded through such Parisian fashion houses as the house of [[Chanel]] (which first came to prominence in 1925) and [[Balenciaga]] (founded by a Spaniard in 1937). In the post-war years, fashion returned to prominence through [[Christian Dior]]'s famous "new look" in 1947, and through the houses of [[Pierre Balmain]] and [[Hubert de Givenchy]] (opened in 1952). In the 1960s, "high fashion" came under criticism from France's youth culture while designers like [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]] broke with established high fashion norms by launching ''[[prêt-à-porter]]'' ("ready to wear") lines and expanding French fashion into mass manufacturing and marketing.<ref>Dauncey, 195.</ref> Further innovations were carried out by [[Paco Rabanne]] and [[Pierre Cardin]]. With a greater focus on marketing and manufacturing, new trends were established in the 1970s and 1980s by [[Sonia Rykiel]], [[Thierry Mugler]], [[Claude Montana]], [[Jean Paul Gaultier]] and [[Christian Lacroix]]. The 1990s saw a conglomeration of many French couture houses under luxury giants and multinationals such as [[LVMH]].

Since the 1960s, France's fashion industry has come under increasing competition from London, New York, Milan and Tokyo, and the French have increasingly adopted foreign (particularly American) fashions (such as jeans, tennis shoes). Nevertheless, many foreign designers still seek to make their careers in France.

===Pets===
{{Expand section|date=February 2012}}
In 2006, 52% of French households had at least one pet:<ref>''Le marché des aliments pour chiens et chats en Belgique''. Mission Economique de Bruxelles, 2006. [http://www.ubifrance.fr/download/download.asp?cleautonomy=3204091 Read this document (in French) PDF] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081126062953/http://www.ubifrance.fr/download/download.asp?cleautonomy=3204091 |date=26 November 2008 }}</ref> In total, 9.7&nbsp;million cats, 8.8&nbsp;million dogs, 2.3&nbsp;million [[rodent]]s, 8 million birds, and 28&nbsp;million fish were kept as pets in France during this year.