What French food is served in French schools?

Answer 1

In general the French are not great eaters of breakfast. Traditionally bread with butter and confiture (jam or Jelly) and coffee has been the normal fare. However in the last fifty years the French breakfast has been changing particularly for children. In the 1960's the French dairy industry encouraged the consumption of dairy products notably yoghourts flavoured and non- flavoured and this has become a common product for children to eat at breakfast. Bread and confiture is still a staple and many households buy tartines or toasts (essentially a dried bread rusk) to eat at breakfast. Except in towns and larger villages it is often too far to go to collect fresh bread from the baker. The baker often delivers fresh bread to the household or to a depot de pain later in the day. The French now consume the breakfast cereals that are familiar in the USA and the UK but they tend to be regarded as food principally for children and are not much eaten by adults. Some children particularly if they walk to school in town may supplement their breakfast with a croissant, chocolate croissant or raisin pastry ( pain au raisin) bought from a bakers shop on the way to school.

Children also consume pretty milky coffee and increasingly I think flavoured milk drinks with their breakfast.

Answer 2

It is my understanding that many French schools (middle and high) do not have a cafeteria like those in the United States. I am under the impression that most French middle and high school students are permitted/required to leave campus during their lunchtime in order to get food from either surrounding cafés or their homes. Certainly, there are exceptions to this.