For the Guardian-reading classes, it’s an article of faith that the French do things better. They’re more civilised, they eat better……they know how to live. These articles write themselves. Anglo-Saxons: MacDonalds…tasteless…constant snacking…driven…joyless…zombies. French: leisurely meals…slow cooking…eating with the family…laughter…joie de vivre…sophistication. When it comes to the “French paradox” – how come they eat all those fatty foods and drink all that wine and still have less heart disease than us – I’m open-minded. There do seem to be benefits from drinking red wine, and I’m happy with that, though I can’t help thinking it’s one of those myths that’ll soon be exploded when it turns out that they measure things differently over there. But when it comes to young Parisian women, and how come they’re all so chic and slim – the subject of this Observer piece which retreads all the old cliches – a clue may be found in this comment from one of the interviewees: “most French women smoke instead of eating”.
Well exactly. End of story.
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