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To focus on restaurant behavior, I'd be curious to know how much time the average French person spends at the table in a day, compared with the average American. I'm sure it varies a lot from family to family, but it seems like Americans (and I'm no exception) rush through their meals, while the French linger and socialize while eating. Maybe that has something to do with French kids being more well behaved in restaurants.

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We do stay for a long time at the table. At lunch it's usually 1 hour (even at work) and it can be much longer in the evening, 2 or more hours maybe if we're at a restaurant. When I'm at my parent's house, it's never less than an hour. French people tend to talk a lot when at a table!

I don't have clear numbers, but I can tell that for us family meals are a moment to talk together; we usually don't hurry (father + mother both working at home here + 1 kid).

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