The lunch hour in France has been a sacred time for more than 100 years. All over the country, workers gather in sidewalk cafes or office canteens for a ninety-minute break. Strangers share hors-d’oeuvres with colleagues, and they attempt to talk about anything but work.
Kaitlin Plachy is an American expat who doesn’t like conviviality. She often spends her lunch hour alone, eating a salad, and grading piles of papers.
Kaitlin wrote us about her quiet rebellion against having lunch with colleagues. We were curious: Why would a culture so dedicated to segregating work and rest need such laws?
This question was posed to lunchgoers in Paris by us. With the help of Martin Bruegel, aEUR”, a French food historian, we examine the 100-year history and 19th-century French epidemiologists’ views on taking a break.
Can Kaitlin be persuaded to take a break for lunch (in the same amount of time as you are taking yours) Play your favorite meal and sit down.
Additional context:
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