Perhaps it is because I am fasting in a non-Muslim country but never has the long languid French lunch seemed so appealing. Perhaps too because in the Arab world lunch is also often drawn out, eaten late and followed by a well-deserved nap. In fact, there are a number of reasons why lunch has a special place in my mind's view of the good life. Having time to eat and savor real food at lunchtime is a sign of a well-balanced life. Running around like a headless chicken grabbing a sandwich at your desk if you get the chance is a sign of a life hijacked by the rat race.
And so, in these days of doom and gloom, when the political landscape is dominated by the colossal consequences of irresponsible risk-taking and the financial greed of an elite band of Wall Street bankers, I find the most depressing news of all, the greatest harbinger that hard days are upon us, is the news that the French lunch is in danger of extinction.
Don't get me wrong, I realize that on a scale of world events, the end of a Gallic tradition is hardly a tragedy, but symbolically at least, it is a sign that the good old days here in Europe are over.
There was a time when if you took a walk around Paris at midday, you would find shops and small businesses closed and cafes and restaurants packed with people eating lunch. It was de rigueur. No sooner had noon chimed than office workers and shopkeepers closed up shop and headed to their local bistros. Lunch was a proper sit-down meal with a starter, main course, dessert and coffee, accompanied by lively conversation and debate, and long enough to fully digest your steak frites.
Perhaps this image is a cliché but it is borne out by statistics. Moreover it is no more. Here are some of the numbers being banded about since July: a 25 percent rise in the number of restaurants going bust, a 56 percent rise in the number of bars going bust, a 30 percent drop in the number of restaurant customers, a 37 percent rise in the number of hotels, restaurants and cafes going bust, all this in the first six months of this year according to UMIH, the union representing the French hotel and restaurant industry. Whereas in 1975 the average lunch was said to last one hour and 22 minutes, it now only takes 38 minutes. Disheartened restaurateurs report that lunch customers now not only skip starter and dessert, but also resort to ordering tap water and pass on coffee! How could it be?
Money of course. Prices have risen and real incomes have fallen. Even if the French lunch is a pretty good deal, with many restaurants offering a 3-course meal for the price of a pizza just across the channel in London, it has simply become too costly to do on a daily basis, or even on a weekly basis. Hence the trimming of the meal down to essentials.
Add to that the creeping Anglo-Saxonization of France. Working habits are changing fast, here just as elsewhere in the world. More and more people are finding that taking an hour - or two - off at lunchtime is just unfeasible. Shops and businesses are staying open longer, working hours are slowly but surely moving away from the French sacred cow of the 35-hour week.
And the proof of the pudding lies in the thriving business of fast food. Traditional restaurants and cafes may be closing down at an alarming rate - 3,000 establishments closed their doors this year alone - but boulangeries, sandwich shops and other fast-food outlets are growing fast. Take the international chain Subway. It opened its 100th French outlet last week and plans to have 400 outlets open by 2010. And as for MacDonalds, the French may roll their eyes and say they only go there with their kids, but France is the second most profitable market for the hamburger giant. In 2007, MacDonalds France posted an 11 percent increase in revenue.
Take a walk around Paris at midday today and you are likely to see a lot of familiar shop fronts. From Starbucks, to MacDonalds, to Subway, international food chains are mushrooming and replacing that old institution, the French local bistro. Goodbye le bistro, hello MacDo, as the French call MacDonalds.
It's not all bad news though. French fast food chains are developing fast too, doing what the French do best: Quality food, beautifully presented, at a reasonable cost. And just like in any crisis, the fittest will survive. Customers will remain loyal to the best restaurants and cafes and intelligent restaurateurs will adapt to the changing demands of the market. Paris will remain Paris, its charm and character is way too precious to be destroyed by a global downturn.
